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ck4829

(35,078 posts) Thu Dec 13, 2012, 04:39 PM Dec 2012

Move over secessionists, Death Star petition clears threshold for Obama response

It is a period of civil war. Rebel pranksters, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the forces of Taking White House Petitions Too Seriously. Specifically: They have secured the 25,000 signatures necessary to get a formal response from the White House to their call for America to build a DEATH STAR.

"Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016," the petition reads.

"By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense."

Some estimates put the cost of doing so at around $852 quadrillion, roughly 13,000 times the gross domestic product of the entire Earth—even when factoring in the savings of not putting any guardrails around any of the facility's seemingly endless number of bridges, spans, shafts and pits. And history cautions against being too proud of the technological terror thus constructed, because the ability to destroy a planet, or even a whole system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/build-death-star-petition-clears-threshold-obama-response-185314096--politics.html

4 replies

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Highlight:

Move over secessionists, Death Star petition clears threshold for Obama response (Original Post) ck4829 Dec 2012 OP

It is straightforward to build a more than gigaton orbital hydrogen bomb FarCenter Dec 2012 #1

Now I am beginning to be afraid. jonthebru Dec 2012 #4

This message was self-deleted by its author Ter Dec 2012 #2

Haaaahahaha. progressoid Dec 2012 #3

FarCenter

(19,429 posts)

1. It is straightforward to build a more than gigaton orbital hydrogen bomb

Reply to ck4829 (Original post)

Thu Dec 13, 2012, 04:50 PM

Dec 2012

Although it would not destroy the planet, the radiant heat from such an explosion in orbit would set fire to all combustible material over a continent. The smoke released would cause a nuclear winter that would pretty much finish the job elsewhere.

In fact, it would probably not cost too much -- Tsar Bomba was designed for 100 megatons, but was limited to 50 in order to reduce fallout. So all you have to do is haul enough fissionable material and lithium deuteride into orbit to increase the yield another one to two orders of magnitude. There is no scaling problem with fusion weapons.