Introducing the Quantum Bomb: A Scalable WMD

[Antiphon]

I propse a new scalable weapon of mass destruction with
potentially unlimited destructive power. I call it the Quantum Bomb.

It consists of a 1000 Kg Bose-Einstein condensate. Pick your
favorite atom. Hydrogen perhaps for a big fusion explosion?

To explode the bomb, you let it "warm up" and watch it go Boom.

 

[Hans de Vries]

I propse a new scalable weapon of mass destruction with
potentially unlimited destructive power. I call it the Quantum Bomb.

The power of Pauli's "Extermination" Principle ?

Regards, Hans

 

[motai]

Ack. That's a horrible proposal! Why would you want to propose such a thing?

Scientists should be fostering the good in humanity, helping it through innovative technology (which can be used to save lives), not blasting it to smithereens.

 

[PatPwnt]

Save lives? nooo. We don't want to over-populate the Earth even more with humans.

 

[Pengwuino]

I think we've reached a point where we're rather good at blowing things up on massive scales. I don't think we need any new innovations in that field.

 

[jackle]

An antimatter bomb must be near the theoretical limit for maximum explosive power per kg. Not only is the entire mass converted to energy but also an equal mass of it's surroundings!

Only an idiot would try and make one tho'.

 

[Crosson]

One of my physics proffessors went crazy this past semester. One of the ideas he ranted at us about (when he was still holding lectures) was the "quark bomb", which of course would release quite the amount of energy!

 

[Gokul43201]

I propse a new scalable weapon of mass destruction with
potentially unlimited destructive power. I call it the Quantum Bomb.

It consists of a 1000 Kg Bose-Einstein condensate. Pick your
favorite atom. Hydrogen perhaps for a big fusion explosion?

To explode the bomb, you let it "warm up" and watch it go Boom.

Since this is a "science" thread, would you please explain the science behind this ?

 

[z-component]

What problems could be solved by using a bomb with "potentially unlimited destructive power?" A means of mass-suicide?

 

[Pengwuino]

What problems could be solved by using a bomb with "potentially unlimited destructive power?" A means of mass-suicide?

Well, Venus is getting rather annoying as of late...

 

[Hans de Vries]

Since this is a "science" thread, would you please explain the science behind this ?

I presumed he was referring to some recent reports where fermions teamed
up in pairs at ultra-low temperatures to become a BEC. Such a condensate
is highly compressible. At slightly higher temperatures however the pairs would
become unstable and Pauli's Exclusion Principle would kick in...

Regards, Hans

 

[Gokul43201]

Hans, I get that part.

This, I don't :

Pick your favorite atom. Hydrogen perhaps for a big fusion explosion?

 

[Hans de Vries]

Hans, I get that part.

This, I don't :

He might see this as just as a side effect, (H-bombs need an ignition source)

One can wonder about the peaceful use of such an idea of bosonic compression
followed by fermionic expansion. So where would the energy come from?...

Regards, Hans

 

[quetzalcoatl9]

would such a thing be "charged" by absorption of photons?

 

[Antiphon]

(I've been away for the Holiday)

Yes, Hans has expressed what I was thinking.

Interestingly this thread has taken a political turn which I was not
intending but was half expecting.

People who will (or are) persuing a career in Physics have a responsibility
to advance science. There is no way to prevent the ill-intentioned from
using new ideas for weapons and (in my opinion) we should not censor
our ideas because they have weapons potential.

The ancient scientist who invented the club probably used it to survive
but he or she may have used to it dominate their fellow men. Inventing
it was not evil. Clubbing their fellow man over the head probably was
(unless it was a case of self defense.)

The important question for us is, who should get the first crack at your
weapons ideas? The good, or the evil? And then you have to decide how
best to identify who is who.

 

[ZapperZ]

I presumed he was referring to some recent reports where fermions teamed
up in pairs at ultra-low temperatures to become a BEC. Such a condensate
is highly compressible. At slightly higher temperatures however the pairs would
become unstable and Pauli's Exclusion Principle would kick in...

Regards, Hans

Still, this happens ALL THE TIME in a superconductor when you warm it up above Tc, yet you see zero explosion of any kind. And unless I missed it, Deborah Jin and her colleagues at JILA are still alive after doing the same thing with their fermionic condensates.

So what's the "explosion mechanism" here? It's obvious from experiments already that the "rapid expansion" isn't THAT rapid.

Zz.

 

[Antiphon]

This may be hopelessly naive, but couldn't a formidible nuclear fusion reaction
take place if you had a few thousand kilograms of alpha particles occupying
the space of only one?

 

[ZapperZ]

This may be hopelessly naive, but couldn't a formidible nuclear fusion reaction
take place if you had a few thousand kilograms of alpha particles occupying
the space of only one?

And how would you propose to do that?

Zz.

 

[Gokul43201]

This may be hopelessly naive, but couldn't a formidible nuclear fusion reaction take place if you had a few thousand kilograms of alpha particles occupying
the space of only one?

I don't know about the alkali atoms, but the highest BEC densities achieved in He⁴ are of the order of 10¹⁴/cc, I think. This is 8 or 9 orders of magnitude less dense than a piece of steel.

 

[ZapperZ]

I don't know about the alkali atoms, but the highest BEC densities achieved in He⁴ are of the order of 10¹⁴/cc, I think. This is 8 or 9 orders of magnitude less dense than a piece of steel.

Exactly!

I think people are confusing the BE scenario of condensation to the same "state" as meaning being in the SAME location. The latter isn't necessary for a BE condensate anymore than for fermions.

Zz.

 

[Antiphon]

I don't know about the alkali atoms, but the highest BEC densities achieved in He⁴ are of the order of 10¹⁴/cc, I think. This is 8 or 9 orders of magnitude less dense than a piece of steel.

I wasn't implying this could be done now. In fact, there is no upper
limit to the maximum density except maybe the Schwarzschield limit.

Edit: Although simultaneous position isn't required, it is a feature of the
condensate not shared by normal matter states.

 

[ZapperZ]

I wasn't implying this could be done now. In fact, there is no upper
limit to the maximum density except maybe the Schwarzschield limit.

Edit: Although simultaneous position isn't required, it is a feature of the
condensate not shared by normal matter states.

It certainly isn't a feature of the He4 condensates. So what you're speculating isn't possible for this particular example.

Zz.

 

[quetzalcoatl9]

i had thought that a rotating BE condensate can absorb photons of light. the light would be "frozen" in the condensate, and could not escape.

if the condesate were to breakdown, wouldn't the light be released suddenly? so that a condesate could "charged" with, say, 10^20 J worth of energy?

 

[ZapperZ]

i had thought that a rotating BE condensate can absorb photons of light. the light would be "frozen" in the condensate, and could not escape.

Where did you read that? This certainly isn't the mechanism that Lena Hau used when she did this.

http://www.aip.org/png/2001/107.htm

if the condesate were to breakdown, wouldn't the light be released suddenly? so that a condesate could "charged" with, say, 10^20 J worth of energy?

Really? What if I just sent in 3 photons?


Zz.

 

[Spin_Network]

I propse a new scalable weapon of mass destruction with
potentially unlimited destructive power. I call it the Quantum Bomb.

It consists of a 1000 Kg Bose-Einstein condensate. Pick your
favorite atom. Hydrogen perhaps for a big fusion explosion?

To explode the bomb, you let it "warm up" and watch it go Boom.

Is this the 'Quantum Efficiency Devise', that was proposed sometime ago?..as I recall there was a problem with the "Bose-Nova", as it would never reach the correct equilibrium state for dynamic (phase) decay transitional energies?

My own personal take is that there is a 'pauli-extraction' limit, that could never be attained in 2-D <> 3-Dimensional Volumes.

 

[pallidin]

Oh great. This thread involves a discussion on the theoretical principles of devising a novel nuclear weapon.
Perhaps some care should be taken in open forum.
Just a suggestion.

 

[ZapperZ]

Oh great. This thread involves a discussion on the theoretical principles of devising a novel nuclear weapon.
Perhaps some care should be taken in open forum.
Just a suggestion.

The only saving grace here is that there's nothing "novel" or possible about it. No fusion reactor or weapons are using BE condensates - it doesn't help. We also have no rapid expansion of any kind upon emerging out of a BE state.

Zz.

 

[quetzalcoatl9]

Where did you read that? This certainly isn't the mechanism that Lena Hau used when she did this.

http://www.aip.org/png/2001/107.htm



Really? What if I just sent in 3 photons?


Zz.

you don't have to get testy, I'm just trying to ask a question because of what i read on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose-Einstein_condensate

A rotating Bose-Einstein condensate could be used as a model black hole, allowing light to enter but not to escape. Condensates could also be used to "freeze" pulses of light, to be released again when the condensate breaks down. This is done by shutting off the pumping lasers with pulses still in transit and allowing the photons to be absorbed. Reapplying the pump lasers can then release the pulses of light, and due to the coherence of the Bose-Einstein condensate, there may be very little degradation. Research in this field is still young and ongoing.

 

[ZapperZ]

you don't have to get testy, I'm just trying to ask a question because of what i read on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose-Einstein_condensate

Er... "testy"?!

Secondly, a "rotating BE condensate" isn't what was used to "stop" light. Read the link I gave you or the Lena Hau paper. The condensate isn't rotating. Whether a rotating BE condensate can be used to "model" a black hole, that's a different matter. Who would be able to tell if this model is accurate, since we know very little of the physical property of an actual black hole?

Zz.

 

[quetzalcoatl9]

i didn't mean to make you upset, i guess i just thought that if a rotating condensate could absorb light, then if the condensate broke down that light would have to be released due to conservation of energy.

i don't know, that's why i was asking.