We can often fall down rabbit holes when we’re scrolling online, and it can’t be helped.
An easy one to fall down is to do with science and the ‘what ifs?’ that surround the subject – it’s one of social media – and specifically, YouTube’s – most popular niches.
The clips probably sit in a lot of people’s ‘videos that put me to sleep’ category, given the fascinating subject to keep you interested at the start, but the often long-form structure of the video causing you to tail off as someone lectures you on the environment, for example.
But what about the unknown – space, the universe, or general things – that may never happen but mathematically could.
Simulations in the past have depicted what would happen to the human body in space without a spacesuit, the simulation of a nuclear explosion, but this one is something that has been going around on social media and has caught the attention of content creator Astro Kobi, who has explained what would happen if it were to occur.
He did the math and explained exactly what would happen to us if a needle were to hit the Earth at that speed. (Youtube/Astro Kobi)
He starts the video by saying that you’ve probably seen the viral simulation of a needle travelling towards Earth at the speed of light, depicting exactly what would happen if it were to make impact.
Curious, he said that he wanted to find out how realistic it was, and did the math behind it to back up his claims.
Assuming that the needle is made of iron, weighs just one gram and is travelling at 99.9999% of the speed of light, Kobi explains that when this needle strikes the Earth, it will have the kinetic energy of three tsar bombs, the biggest nuclear weapon ever detonated – 201 million billion joules of energy.
“It would definitely create an impact crater,” he continued.
“Significantly smaller than if it were to be an asteroid, because the needle is just much smaller, but definitely big enough to cause some damage.”
Kobi claims that the explosion will be about this big. (Youtube/Astro Kobi)
He claims that it would make a fire ball, smaller than the graphic he shows on screen, but it would be bigger than any existing nukes lying around.
Of course, Kobi says this is highly theoretical, and nothing (apart from light) can actually travel at the speed of light, so there is no need to worry about this ever really happening.
But it’s fun to imagine.
Featured Image Credit: Youtube/Astro Kobi
Topics: Science, Social Media, Space, Viral, YouTube
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
