Space 01
Could a Mars Dust Storm Knock Over a Rocket? The Physics
A 100 km/h Martian storm pushes like a 12 km/h breeze on Earth. We run the tipping math for a 50 m rocket and find what Mars dust really threatens.
movie physics
Physics 02
Project Hail Mary Astrophage Science: The Real Math
We run the numbers on Astrophage: E=mc² energy, the 1.5 g trip to Tau Ceti, the 25.984 µm Petrova line, and why the Hail Mary's fuel load falls short.
Space 03
How Much Energy to Destroy a Planet? Death Star Math
Blowing Earth apart takes 2.49×10³² J, 11% more than the textbook figure, or 7.5 days of the Sun's whole output. The Death Star math, layer by layer.
Physics 04
How Much Power Is in a Lightning Bolt? 1.21 GW Checked
Lightning peaks at tens of gigawatts to terawatts but lasts microseconds, so a flash holds about 1 GJ. Doc Brown's 1.21 GW, checked.
Space 05
Could a Nuke Stop an Asteroid? Armageddon vs DART Math
Splitting Armageddon's asteroid needs 10⁸ Tsar Bombas just to beat its own gravity. DART shows what works instead: millimetres per second, years ahead.