Breakthrough Simulation: How X-Rays from Nuclear Explosions Could Deflect Dangerous Asteroids

• Scientists have simulated the effect of X-rays from a nuclear explosion on asteroids.
• The results show that the method can provide enough power to change the orbit of large asteroids.
• The technology could be used to ward off threats from asteroids up to four kilometers in diameter.

Simulation of asteroid motion in the laboratory

Scientists have conducted an experiment that shows that X-rays from a nuclear explosion could be enough to save the Earth from an incoming asteroid. The study, published in Nature Physics, used Sandia National Laboratories’ Z instrument to shoot X-rays at two small asteroids, reports Science.

Nathan Moore, a physicist at Sandia National Laboratories, and his colleagues designed the experiment to simulate what might happen if a nuclear charge is detonated near an asteroid. Previously, scientists have studied the impact of the explosion’s shock wave, but Moore’s team argues that the large amount of X-rays produced in the explosion would have a greater effect in asteroid path change.

Test conditions and results

The Z machine uses magnetic fields to produce high temperatures and powerful X-rays. It created an X-ray bubble that collided with two small asteroids made of quartz and silicon, each about 12 millimeters in size. The asteroids were suspended in thin foil inside a vacuum.

When the X-ray bubble hit, it cut the foil and sent the asteroids into free fall. The test lasted only 20 millionths of a second. The results showed that the quartz and silicon samples were accelerated to 69.5 meters per second and 70.3 meters per second respectively before they were moved. The acceleration caused by the X-rays vacuumed the surface of the asteroids, creating thrust as gas expanded away from the surfaces.

Possible use for planetary protection

Moore says the results show the technology can be scaled up to much larger asteroids, up to about 4 kilometers in diameter, to remove them from a collision course with Earth. This is especially interesting for the largest short-period asteroids, where other methods do not have enough energy to change their orbits.

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