# What volume of neutronium do I need to destroy the earth ? (need answer fast) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299 "2015-08-08T07:37:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/1 "2015-08-08T07:37:50Z")
I stole one of Skald’s teleportation devices and I’m planning to scoop up a bucket of Neutronium and teleport it to the centre of the earth. What volume do I need to make sure that the earth is completely destroyed and won’t just re-coalesce into a earth shaped ball of matter again? Handily we know the earths gravitational binding energy is 2.487 · 10^32 Joules. How much neutronium do I need to release that much energy when it expands into gas? Not sure the device I stole is big enough or not. Might have to settle for a moon or two instead. Need answer fast, Skald’s time police are after me… ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/2 "2015-08-08T11:35:09Z")
I think one atom. One atom will _definitely_ do the trick. Psst. Bees. Over here. OVER HERE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/3 "2015-08-08T13:38:19Z")
Well, as a rough order of magnitude, let’s say that the evaporation of neutronium releases a comparable amount of energy per mass as nuclear fission, or about 0.1% . So take that binding energy, divide by c^2, and multiply by 1000 to account for the inefficiency, [and voila](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=1000*2.487e32+Joules+%2F+c%5E2), about 3e18 kg. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/4 "2015-08-08T14:11:04Z")
While not directly answering the question, I think [this article](http://qntm.org/destroy) might be of great interest to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/5 "2015-08-08T15:31:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, as a rough order of magnitude, let’s say that the evaporation of neutronium releases a comparable amount of energy per mass as nuclear fission, or about 0.1% . So take that binding energy, divide by c^2, and multiply by 1000 to account for the inefficiency, [and voila](https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=1000*2.487e32+Joules+%2F+c%5E2), about 3e18 kg. And to get the volume, the density is 4e17 kg/m3, so that is about 7.5 cubic metres. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/6 "2015-08-08T21:07:06Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > While not directly answering the question, I think [this article](http://qntm.org/destroy) might be of great interest to the OP. I came in here to post from the same site; specifically:[ > [@](#): > > Urgent update, September 10, 2008 > > It is our duty to inform you that as of 7:35:05am UTC on September 10, 2008, the Earth has been destroyed. > [@](#): > > Current Earth-Destruction Status (CEDS) > > EARTH-DESTRUCTION ALERT LEVEL: RED > > Current Earth-Destruction Status > > A “Red” Earth-Destruction Alert Level (EDA Level) indicates that the Earth has been destroyed. If the Earth had not been destroyed, the EDA Level would be set at “Green”. > > CURRENT GEOCIDE COUNT: 1 ]([International Earth-Destruction Advisory Board @ Things Of Interest](http://qntm.org/board)) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/7 "2015-08-08T21:53:22Z")
Sure, don’t you remember that? The Earth blew up and was completely destroyed? And we escaped to this planet on the giant space ark? And the government decided not to tell the stupider people because they thought that it might affect – ohh, never mind. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/8 "2015-08-08T21:57:15Z")
That’s new. I’ve never seen this before on the SDMB - the quote boxes above are links! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/9 "2015-08-08T23:56:35Z")
I am genius! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/10 "2015-08-17T12:43:15Z")
I know this is not exactly your question, but [here](http://www.forbes.com/sites/ethansiegel/2015/08/15/the-science-of-the-death-star-the-physics-of-destroying-an-earth-sized-planet/) they use an anti-matter asteroid. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/11 "2015-08-17T13:22:27Z")
Wouldn’t neutronium, you know, instantly stop being neutronium even if it were possible to “scoop” a piece of it out of a neutron star? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/12 "2015-08-17T13:27:07Z")
Yes, but the process of stopping being neutronium is quite energetic. That’s what we’re counting on for the destruction. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/13 "2015-08-17T13:58:07Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > And to get the volume, the density is 4e17 kg/m3, so that is about 7.5 cubic metres. None of my buckets are big enough. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/14 "2015-08-17T14:18:52Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > What volume do I need to make sure that the earth is completely destroyed and won’t just re-coalesce into a earth shaped ball of matter again? Won’t it still be earth-shaped once the neutronium’s done with it? Not necessarily earth-_sized_, mind you, but still… round ball o’ neutronium? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/15 "2015-08-17T21:04:26Z")
The idea of exceeding the Earth’s gravitational binding energy is that the resulting explosion causes the matter of the Earth to expand perpetually. So it will be a sphere, which is admittedly the same shape as the Earth, but it will be a continually expanding one. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/16 "2015-08-17T22:07:26Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > The idea of exceeding the Earth’s gravitational binding energy is that the resulting explosion causes the matter of the Earth to expand perpetually. So it will be a sphere, which is admittedly the same shape as the Earth, but it will be a continually expanding one. If it was out in interstellar space, yes. In a solar system, it would actually be pretty complicated what happens. In the simplest way of thinking about it, the expanding sphere eventually hits the sun and outer planets, which suck up a bunch of it. However, that’s not really right either because of orbital mechanics. It’s more like each resulting chunk of the Earth would take up new orbits with varying degrees of eccentricity depending on which direction the explosion shot them out. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/17 "2015-08-18T10:47:11Z")
Indeed. This image of the Tycho supernova remnant shows a strange crescent-shaped scar down in the lower-left-hand segment. That is probably the shock wave that hit the companion star and stripped some material off the surface. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Tycho-supernova-xray.jpg/768px-Tycho-supernova-xray.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Tycho-supernova-xray.jpg/768px-Tycho-supernova-xray.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/18 "2015-08-19T02:23:25Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > While not directly answering the question, I think [this article](http://qntm.org/destroy) might be of great interest to the OP. Also related. They look at large chunks of antimatter. > **[The Science Of The Death Star: The Physics Of Destroying An Earth-Sized Planet](https://www.forbes.com/sites/ethansiegel/2015/08/15/the-science-of-the-death-star-the-physics-of-destroying-an-earth-sized-planet/)** > > The Death Star couldn't destroy a planet with a laser alone. But here's what it might do... They say we’ll need 2.24E32 J. Some small discrepancy there. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/19 "2015-08-19T06:19:18Z")
I understand that even asking that question on the internet will result in people from Homeland Security paying a visit to the asker’s mother. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299/20 "2015-08-19T09:37:10Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I understand that even asking that question on the internet will result in people from Homeland Security paying a visit to the asker’s mother. I’m tired of that meme. Yes, Homeland Security must investigate some people. But, there’s just no way they can actually go after every person that looks at anything suspicious on wikipedia. Or even a significant fraction. Even if they have intercepts. “I looked up how simple ANFO is. Turns out, any moron could do it.” - I bet homeland security is after your ass “In chemistry class, they had us nitrating stuff. Say, is this how you make nitroglycerin by just using nitrating solution + glycerin?” - Government will be knocking on your door any day now “If you had several kilograms of 100% pure U-235, anybody could make a crude fission bomb from it” And so on. There’s 350 million Americans. How many government snoops do they got? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-volume-of-neutronium-do-i-need-to-destroy-the-earth-need-answer-fast/727299.md?page=2)