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E9 - Why Hasn't Anyone Built Something Stronger Than A Nuke?
07/19/2025
E9 - Why Hasn't Anyone Built Something Stronger Than A Nuke?
When considering weapons that might exceed the power of thermonuclear devices, a central question arises: what exactly defines "power" or "destructive potential" in this context? How do antimatter weapons theoretically achieve greater destructive potential, especially considering the challenges of producing and containing antimatter, and the speed of their energy release compared to nuclear reactions? What astonishing destructive power could be unleashed by relativistic velocity weapons, where the kinetic energy of an object approaching the speed of light could far exceed the energy contained in its rest mass? Are there also more immediately feasible, yet devastating, methods like kinetic bombardment, such as dropping tungsten rods from orbit or launching objects from the Moon, and what logistical and targeting challenges would such scenarios involve? Finally, what other highly theoretical concepts, such as black hole generators or the disruptive effects of warp drives, have been imagined to possess apocalyptic potential that might eclipse even the most powerful human-made explosions like the Tsar Bomba?
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