AuburnCreed
What is the smallest amount of material that can be brought to critical mass for a nuclear explosion? Wondering if a very small yield nuclear explosion could be harnessed to drive a space craft (not necessarily manned).
What is the smallest amount of material that can be brought to critical mass for a nuclear explosion? Wondering if a very small yield nuclear explosion could be harnessed to drive a space craft (not necessarily manned).
Suppose it were possible to explode fissile material as small as a grain of sand or as small as a dust mote. I imagine that is not theoretically possible, but if it were - then the resultant explosion could possibly be contained for propulsive purposes. A series of such explosions could drive a probe fast enough (I think) to another star system in a few decades. That'd be awesome.
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zorro
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