# I'm gonig to destroy the Earth. Which method should I choose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693 "2006-12-18T21:30:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/1 "2006-12-18T21:30:18Z")
It needs to be done with some pizazz, you know, some impressive showboatery, but it can’t be tacky, and it needs to be something that won’t take too long lest people get bored waiting for the payoff. There are some great ideas in this list of [top 10 ways to destroy the Earth](http://www.livescience.com/technology/10ways_destroyearth.html) but I can’t decide which one would, you know, have that real _wow_ factor. Something to impress the ladies – at least, while ladies still exist. What say you? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/2 "2006-12-18T21:51:54Z")
Can you please define “Destroy the Earth”. Scaled from low to high: \*\*Ruin habitability for humans: \*\* Accelerate the trends for Global Warming and resource depletion. Put into power crazed individuals that will cause wars over faith and accelerate the development of lagging countries faster than alternate resources can be found. **Ruin habitability for all current land mammals, birds and reptiles:** Devise method of Crashing Moon into planet, this might take us up to next stage. Set off an all out nuclear war, irradiating the entire surface of the planet. \*\*Blow up the planet leaving debris: \*\* Invent a huge matter/anti-matter bomb and a giant interstellar generation ship. On the way past Mars, blow up the planet. \*\*Vaporize the planet: \*\* I recommend creating a large Black Hole or having the Sun go Nova. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/3 "2006-12-18T21:57:43Z")
As happened in a Champions campaign once, just put an extra-large sized hyperdrive motor on the far side of the moon. If you fire that sucker up, it’ll drive the moon into the earth. Probably won’t destroy the planet, but it’ll make a good show, and render it pretty darn uninhabitable. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/4 "2006-12-18T22:27:39Z")
I prefer the Death Star method. Nothing says “I can crush you like I crushed Alderaan” like, well, the device used to crush Alderaan. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, [Exit Mundi](http://www.exitmundi.nl/) has plenty of other world ending scenarios to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/5 "2006-12-18T22:31:56Z")
Illudiom Pew36 Explosive Space Modulator, it’s the only way to be sure. But only after you’ve eliminated all the rabbits! ---
**Author:** ![Jelymag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jelymag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jelymag)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/6 "2006-12-18T22:37:53Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] …snip \*\*Vaporize the planet: \*\* I recommend creating a large Black Hole or having the Sun go Nova. [/QUOTE] The sun can’t go Nova. It’s not heavy enough. And it’s on course to go Red Giant next. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/7 "2006-12-18T23:04:29Z")
My favorite site on [How to Destroy the Earth.](http://qntm.org/destroy) I’d say the best and most plausible method that fit the OPs request would be this : > [@](#): > > **Pulverized by impact with blunt instrument** > **You will need:** a big heavy rock, something with a bit of a swing to it… perhaps Mars. > > **Method:** Essentially, anything can be destroyed if you hit it hard enough. ANYTHING. The concept is simple: find a really, really big asteroid or planet, accelerate it up to some dazzling speed, and smash it into Earth, preferably head-on but whatever you can manage. The result: an absolutely spectacular collision, resulting hopefully in Earth (and, most likely, our “cue ball” too) being pulverized out of existence - smashed into any number of large pieces which if the collision is hard enough should have enough energy to overcome their mutual gravity and drift away forever, never to coagulate back into a planet again. > > A brief analysis of the size of the object required can be found here. Falling at the minimal impact velocity of 11 kilometres per second and assuming zero energy loss to heat and other energy forms, the cue ball would have to have roughly 60% of the mass of the Earth. Mars, the next planet out, “weighs” in at about 11% of Earth’s mass, while Venus, the next planet in and also the nearest to Earth, has about 81%. Assuming that we would fire our cue ball into Earth at much greater than 11km/s (I’m thinking more like 50km/s), either of these would make great possibilities. > > Obviously a smaller rock would do the job, you just need to fire it faster. Taking mass dilation into account, a 5,000,000,000,000-tonne asteroid at 90% of light speed would do just as well. See the Guide to moving Earth for useful information on manoeuvring big hunks of rock across interplanetary distances. For smaller chunks, there are more options - a Bussard Ramjet (scoop up interstellar hydrogen at the front and fire it out the back as propellant) is one of the most technically feasible as of right now. Of course, a run-up would be needed… > > **Earth’s final resting place:** a variety of roughly Moon-sized chunks of rock, scattered haphazardly across the greater Solar System. > > **Feasibility rating:** 7/10. Pretty plausible. Straightforward, effective, not too tedious and nicely dramatic. Unlike the antimatter bomb scenario, you can see it coming, and get nice, dramatic video for CNN of the impactor getting bigger and bigger in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2006, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/8 "2006-12-18T23:57:45Z")
I’m ambitious, but lazy. I’m going to try the Total Existence Failure method. Steps: 1. Do nothing. Wait for all existence to spontaneously disappear. Advantages: I can enjoy the fleshpots and sybaritic delights of Doomed Earth while waiting for the Great Blink-Out. I’m doing it right now! I just had dinner (that’s the fleshpot–well, pot of Chef Boyardee ravioli, actually, which is only partly fleshy), and now I’m about to experience the sybaritic deli- ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/9 "2006-12-19T00:01:26Z")
There’s the old a-bomb in the active volcano idea. Krakatoa on steroids. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/10 "2006-12-19T00:03:49Z")
You could always just schedule an intergalactic bypass to be built. You’ve got to build bypasses you know. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/11 "2006-12-19T00:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=Ethilrist] As happened in a Champions campaign once, just put an extra-large sized hyperdrive motor on the far side of the moon. If you fire that sucker up, it’ll drive the moon into the earth. Probably won’t destroy the planet, but it’ll make a good show, and render it pretty darn uninhabitable. [/QUOTE] You’d be better off installing the motor on the side of the moon and just slowing it down and letting it drop out of orbit - pushing it _towards_ the Earth is harder than you might imagine. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/12 "2006-12-19T00:39:04Z")
a couple drops of universal solvent ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/13 "2006-12-19T01:05:54Z")
ALT+Shift+0111 is the Windows keystroke combination to destroy the Earth. It’s not flashy, but it’s convenient. And if there’s one thing that’s important when destroying the Earth, it’s convenience. Believe me. I know what I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/14 "2006-12-19T01:12:23Z")
One limitlessly self-replicating nano-robot. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/15 "2006-12-19T01:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] My favorite site on [How to Destroy the Earth.](http://qntm.org/destroy) [/QUOTE] My favorite one that gave me a chuckle was method #3 \* #3 Sucked into a microscopic black hole [for destroying the Earth] You will need: a microscopic black hole.\* ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/16 "2006-12-19T02:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=Winston Smith] ALT+Shift+0111 [/QUOTE] - Hm \* Nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/17 "2006-12-19T02:22:24Z")
see if you can rent a planet killer from the vorlons. oughta do the trick, dontcha think? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/18 "2006-12-19T02:36:41Z")
[QUOTE=Jelymag] The sun can’t go Nova. It’s not heavy enough. And it’s on course to go Red Giant next. 😃 [/QUOTE] You may be a Novacant, but I’m a Novacan! Smash 2 or 3 more suns into ours, and MAKE it go nova. Um… I suppose bringing a couple more suns into the systen would already have destroyed the earth, but if you want Flash, you gotta go nova. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/19 "2006-12-19T02:57:44Z")
[QUOTE=Inigo Montoya] - Hm \* Nothing. [/QUOTE] Meh. What do you expect from Microsoft? ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693/20 "2006-12-19T03:02:22Z")
what is a gonig? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gonig-to-destroy-the-earth-which-method-should-i-choose/384693.md?page=2)