reply to post by ablue07
This could be a delayed reaction from crashing the Space Probe Galileo into gaseous Jupiter back in 2003 as a previous person in this thread relayed.
No one has all the facts concerning the atmospheric structure of Jupiter. It is still being analyized. No one could truthfully predict what the
outcome would be once the Plutonium 238 pellets aboard the Galileo, along with the stow away microbes and man made material from earth, entered
Jupiter's atmosphere causing an implosion-induced nuclear detonation as it crashed on into the planet. Man made radiation crashing into and mixing
with nature's radiation I think would be disasterous.
Here is part of an article I found on the web compiled by Dee Finney :
"NUCLEAR REACTION WHEN GALILEO SPACECRAFT IMPACTS INTO JUPITER IN SEPTEMBER 2003 UNLIKELY, BUT POSSIBLE
J.C. Goliathan, July 30, 2003
The author believes the nuclear events reported here to be very unlikely and only remotely possible, but just as an asteroid impact with earth is
remotely possible (and widely researched and reported on), the Jupiter impact issue deserves exposure also, because there is compelling evidence to
suggest the feasibility of at least a temporary Jupiter ignition. Given the potential consequences of this, serious research is warranted. The author
is a Geographer and Engineer, not a physicist. Further research is needed by more qualified individuals.
While Goliathan’s might be a bit technical for those outside of his field of study, as a physisict, I found it to be a brilliant piece of work and
so will endevor to explain the critical aspects presented in his article in layman’s terms.
The Concerns Described in Goliathan’s Article
Theoretically the avalanche reaction described for the Pu-238 pellets aboard Galileo can take place setting off an implosion-induced nuclear
detonation. Literally no one on Earth knows for certain what will happen when Galileo plunges into Jupiter. It may even trigger an on-going fusion
reaction in the abundant hydrogen supply of Jupiter, creating a mini-star. We lack the in-depth knowledge on the atmospheric structure of the planet
to accurately predict the outcome, yet we push ahead on the chosen path.
Physicists at NASA will undoubtedly tell you the danger is negligible and try and push this question into the realm of conspiracy-thinking. As a
physicist, I’ve been trained in the safe application of radiation and I think we need to pay attention here, as we may be overplaying our hand by
ignoring this possibility.
In my work I do risk analysis regularly. In such an analysis I divide potentially hazardous risks into a matrix. This type of matrix sorts risks by
chance of occurring (on a 1 to 6 scale for likeliness) on one scale against the severity (on a 1 to 5 scale) on the other. The product of these two is
known as the hazard of the event. Anything with a product of chance and severity above 12 requires ‘mitigating action’, but special attention is
due also for the highest severity category, regardless of its chance.
This particular risk falls in that category of highest severity, it has to be looked at. Its chance is minute, but no matter how small the risk, its
consequences are so severe and all-encompassing that we must not ignore it! I will tell a little more about why they are so great below."
Source:
www.greatdreams.com...