nuke the ice cap

[nanhunters56]

i thinki it would be a good idea to put a nuclear war head into theice cap

[jake-the-peg]

Do you now?

Despite the knuckle dragger nature of the question (?) it's interesting to see how much ice a nuclear warhead could melt.

The latent heat of fusion is the energy required to melt a gram for water it's 334J/g

An average nuclear device today is probably about a megaton or about 4,000 TJ.

So that's enough energy to melt about 12,000,000 tonnes of ice or an area roughly 3.5 Km by 3.5 Km 1 meter thick.

Without considering the energy needed to warm it up to the point where it could melt.

Thats a not inconsiderable 4,200,000 J for each Kg for each degree (best do it in Summer eh?)

In short if you pit human technology, even nuclear technology against the power of the planet you're going to look pretty weedy.

Maybe you could melt a large lake

[wildwood]

Why would you think it is a good idea?

There is not much of an ice cap at the Arctic, but if you mean to melt the ice at the Antarctic your house would almost certainly be under water.

[wendilla]

nans hunters it is people like you that help to destroy the earth.

[jake-the-peg]

Really Wedilla?

I didn't realise we were so much at risk from attention seeking 14 year olds!

[wendilla]

lol some 14 year olds nowadays have really nasty and vicious minds.Just look at the pictures on the tv with very young kids in some countries with guns .It seems they are born to kill.

[nightmare]

If you read the initial "question", it makes no mention of detonating a nuclear warhead, merely putting it there,
in cold storage.................sorry