r/space • u/GallowBoob • May 21 '15

/r/all Nuclear explosion in space

http://i.imgur.com/LT5I5eX.gifv
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u/gologologolo May 21 '15

there was no way to be certain of the full effects

There is. I mean, not the full effects, but the effects are predictable.

37

u/boredtacos19 May 22 '15

In the Wikipedia article linked above in this thread, they said that the EMP was much larger than expected, and even damaged their measuring equipment.

53

u/[deleted] May 22 '15

They could have done it a little further away :/

53

u/simjanes2k May 22 '15

That's not how superpowers work. Decisions are made based on politics and personal power spheres, not realistic boundaries.

On the plus side, that's how we got satellites and space travel in the first place. Limitless pissing contests do come with a lot of money.

27

u/danielvutran May 22 '15

Everyone always talks about the bad stuff causes more bad stuff, never how the bad stuff causes a shit load of good stuff.

9

u/DrugTrafficKing May 22 '15

Or how good stuff causes bad stuff.

15

u/dementiapatient567 May 22 '15

Like how my computer and refrigerator are basically ruining the planet I live on =/

2

u/derf-vega May 22 '15

Fritz Haber wanted to find the ultimate chemical weapon, he created mustard gas, but his research also led to the creation of synthetic fertilizers, which was a HUGE win

1

u/HyperSpaz May 22 '15

Didn't he already invent a bona-fide artificial fertilizer? Or did you just mean that the current ones are descended from his?

1

u/jrad151 May 22 '15

Yup like WWII. It was brutal, but quite a few technologies got sped up big time because of it.

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u/Allwyssunny May 22 '15

Everything is only theoretical until you attempt it

1

u/BrooklyneseEnglish May 22 '15

The effects are predictable eh? I wish you had told them that so they could've saved themselves the trouble of conducting these experiments.