From: dproudfo@jarthur.claremont.edu (Kekoa Proudfoot)
Subject: Re: Why ?
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 06:02:16 GMT

In article <WMPERRY.92Apr13223752@cherry.ucs.indiana.edu>
wmperry@cherry.ucs.indiana.edu (William M. Perry) writes:
> [stuff deleted]
> 
> Speaking  of a way to rip [the earth] apart, how about this: make some
> von-neumann type machines, set  them loose  in the oceans.  Have these
> machines break  the H2O apart, make  hydrogen bombs, line all the deep
> ocean trenches with them, in the process breaking down sea-flooring to
> make more machines like themselves?
>
> [stuff about the origins of this idea deleted]
> 
> How about it?  Wouldn't this work?  Those ocean trenches can go pretty
> deep, and there is a _LOT_ of hydrogen getting wasted in those oceans!
> I think this would pretty much take care of all life on  the planet if
> there were enough bombs to crack the mantle in enough places.
> 
> OR:
>   How about  making one  _HUGE_  bomb,  or sequence of  theme, in  the
> trigaton range?  Place them on  the  continental  shelves, then let em
> rip?  Not sure how much  damage this would  do to the mantle, but  put
> this  in conjunction with rmcglincs idea  about nuking  water life, it
> has  some potential.  Might not  destroy the  earth totally,  but  the
> fallout alone might make it unlivable.
> 
> Comments? Suggestions?  Diagrams for machines?  Lets get started! ;)
> 
> [joke deleted]
> 
> -Bill P.

A few comments:

   Hydrogen _is_ available in the oceans.  As a matter of fact, a lot
of energy is available from the deuterium in the oceans.  This would
be the primary fuel for fusion if we could just figure out how to get
fusion to work how we want it to in the first place.
   As for bombs, it's a nice idea.  I believe you meant cracking the
crust, as the mantle extends from just below the crust to just above
the core.  You'd have to crack the crust to crack the mantle, and
cracking the crust is going to be a very difficult job.  It's quite
thick.
   Well, let's assume you get your bombs made, and in your moment of
triumph, you press the switch and KABOOM.  Nice explosion.  Now I
must admit that you've created quite a ruckus.  Maybe some major
earthquakes and tidal waves.  Maybe even California will fall into the
ocean, never to be seen again...  However, no amount of earth-quaking
and water can kill off all life.
   Radiation, you say?  As I remember, the radiation from a hydrogen
bomb comes from the fission reaction used to set off the fusion
reaction.  That is, some uranium is used to set off the hydrogen, and
this uranium is the source of the radiation.  So, for the radiation
effect, you'd need a lot of uranium.  But I have my doubts as to
whether a lot of radiation would kill as opposed to mutate.  I think
some life would survive.
   Well, it's not a bad idea.  As a matter of fact, it sounds neat,
like most of the other destroy-the-earth ideas I've heard.  I must
say I especially liked the plan to destroy the earth with resonance.
The practicality of the ideas in this newsgroup, however, is another
issue entirely.  They are all "suicide fantasies" as Bob Cain
previously put it.  I'd like to put my emphasis on "fantasies."
My point: enjoyable, yes; practical or even possible, no.  Sorry to
have to bring reality to this newsgroup.

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        (|avid |)roudfoot              dproudfo@jarthur.claremont.edu
               |                        HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE, c/o '95
Newsgroups: alt.destroy.the.earth