Stay Curious

SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AND UNLOCK ONE MORE ARTICLE FOR FREE.

Sign Up

VIEW OUR Privacy Policy


Discover Magazine Logo

WANT MORE? KEEP READING FOR AS LOW AS $1.99!

Subscribe

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

FIND MY SUBSCRIPTION
Advertisement

Pacific Rim Physics (Part 2): In a Nuclear Explosion Bubble at the Bottom of the Ocean

Explore the physics behind the Pacific Rim nuclear explosion that turned ocean floor to dry land. How deep was the jaeger bomb's impact?

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news

Sign Up

Pacific Rim probably had a checklist. Giant robots with giant swords, guns, and rocket arms? Check. Giant monsters with giant claws, teeth, and acid spit? Check. And if all that rock ‘em, sock ‘em goodness wasn’t enough, the movie concluded with two massive nuclear explosions. One was so big that it literally turned a part of the ocean bottom into dry land before caving in on itself. Having a robot with future-strength muscles is something we can forgive to keep the movie rolling (it would take something like 1,000 Bugatti Veyron motors just to lift a jaeger arm), but nuclear blasts are something we know a lot about. Since the 1950s we have gone atomic with the equivalent of 500 million tons of TNT to figure out just what happens.

It begs the nerdy question: How big would a jaeger bomb have to be to create dry land on the ...

Stay Curious

JoinOur List

Sign up for our weekly science updates

View our Privacy Policy

SubscribeTo The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Subscribe
Advertisement

0 Free Articles