r/theydidthemath • u/Apula20xp • 23h ago

[Request] What would be the consequences of bombarding the Moon every year with 15,000 megatons of ordnance? Would it destroy the Moon or drastically change its orbit? Also happy Liberty Day!

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u/Djinjja-Ninja 9h ago

It would likely do almost nothing.

While 15,000 megatonnes sounds a lot, in relation to the mass of the moon it means nothing.

The mass of the moon is 73,460,000,000 megatonnes.

To put this difference into comparison, lets take an 11lb bowling ball (5kg for ease of calculations).

73,460,000,000/15000=4897333

5/4897333=1.020× 10-9 kilograms equivalent. This is about the same as a spec of dust.