The Quest to Build a Death Star

It was an ordinary day on the planet Alderaan when, out of nowhere, a moon-like blob materialized in the sky. The object was so small that only a few fortunate individuals who happened to be looking in the right direction could have possibly noticed it. For those lucky few, witnessing the sudden appearance of a new mini moon in the heavens must have been an exhilarating and awe-inspiring event. However, the excitement was short-lived. Within moments, the object began to glow, and Alderaan was consumed by a blinding green light. In a matter of seconds, the entire sky turned into a furnace of pure heat, obliterating the air and boiling the oceans. The beautiful mountain planet of Alderaan vanished, and all its unfortunate inhabitants perished.

Now, for all you non-Star Wars geeks out there, let me clarify what I just described. It was the iconic scene of the planet Alderaan's destruction by the Empire's infamous superweapon, the Death Star. This particular scene is etched into the annals of cinematic history and is widely regarded as one of the most famous moments in film. This got me thinking: is it actually possible to create a planet-killing weapon like the Death Star? And if it were possible, could we, as humans, build one? Sorry, but I couldn't resist mentioning my childhood dream of being a super villain.

Speaking of which, let me share my enthusiasm for Stellaris, a grand strategy space exploration game that allows you to fulfill your dreams of becoming an evil intergalactic dictator. Alternatively, you can opt for a more peaceful route and lead a nature-loving species of anthropoids. And here's the best part - you can even destroy planets in Stellaris!

The game offers various ways to accomplish this feat, such as building colossal ships like the Colossus, Juggernaut, or Star Eater, each equipped with a devastating weapon capable of obliterating celestial bodies. Whether you prefer the Global Pacifier or the World Cracker, Stellaris provides an opportunity to unleash your destructive desires. If this piques your interest, you can try Stellaris for free this weekend using the link in the description. Don't miss out! A big thanks to Stellaris for sponsoring this video.

Now, let's get back to the topic at hand. The first point I want to emphasize is that destroying a planet, especially one similar in size and composition to Earth, is an incredibly challenging task. You might have heard rumors that detonating all the nuclear weapons on Earth simultaneously would cause the planet to explode. However, that couldn't be further from the truth.

In the grand scheme of things, our human endeavors pale in comparison to the immense scale of a planet. While we may be impacting the livability of our planet through climate change and deforestation, Earth itself remains resilient. It's a colossal wrecking ball, weighing six septillion kilograms, composed of rock and iron. In the past 600 million years alone, Earth has endured the impact of at least 60 asteroids with a diameter of five or more kilometers. One of the largest impacts occurred 66 million years ago, wiping out 75% of life on Earth, including the non-avian dinosaurs, and leaving behind a massive crater spanning 180 kilometers. This catastrophic event was unimaginably devastating on a human scale, but for the planet, it was merely a blip.

What I'm trying to convey here is that, from a technical perspective, planet Earth or a similar planet would require a weapon trillions of times more powerful than anything currently in existence to be destroyed. Interestingly enough, a construct like the Death Star might serve as a plausible starting point. When we hear the word "laser," we might envision those small laser pointers or fancy pens used in presentations.

However, military-grade laser technology already possesses formidable capabilities, capable of targeting and destroying aircraft and satellites in mid-flight. To achieve planet-destroying proportions, we would need to scale up laser technology significantly. To completely annihilate a planet the size of Earth, we would require a laser with approximately a billion trillion times more power than the lasers we possess today. Even if we could achieve such power, the economic responsibilities and engineering challenges would be immense.

Back in 2012, a petition was set up to the US government, advocating for the construction of an actual Death Star. The petition argued for the benefits of national security and job creation. Surprisingly, it garnered almost 35,000 signatures, prompting an official response from the White House. The response, however, was a resounding no. The estimated cost of building a Death Star was around 850 quadrillion dollars, equivalent to 13,000 times the combined GDP of every country on Earth at the time. Additionally, there would be numerous engineering hurdles to overcome.

No known material could withstand the intense heat of such a device, and anything used to construct a human-made Death Star would melt instantaneously when activated. Perhaps, in the future, building such a weapon will become possible, and we'll witness the spectacle of world-cracking lasers, akin to what we see in Stellaris. However, realistically speaking, that future is likely hundreds or even thousands of years away.

Fortunately, there are alternative methods to consider when it comes to planet destruction, one of which involves a technology that we have been producing for over 70 years: antimatter. Think of antimatter as the malevolent twin of regular matter. It is composed of antiparticles with properties that are the exact opposite of conventional matter.

Antimatter is a fascinating subject that warrants its own in-depth exploration. For the purpose of this discussion, let's focus on the fact that when antimatter and regular matter collide, they annihilate each other, releasing vast amounts of energy. A mere gram of antimatter could generate an explosion comparable in size to a nuclear bomb.

However, handling antimatter is an enormous challenge due to its immediate detonation upon contact with regular matter, which is ubiquitous in our surroundings. Antimatter cannot be stored conventionally and must be suspended within powerful magnetic fields. Yet, this is not the most significant hurdle we would face in constructing a viable antimatter bomb. To destroy a planet the size of Earth, we would still require trillions of tons of antimatter.

Unfortunately, producing antimatter is an incredibly difficult and resource-intensive task. Even if we were to operate the Large Hadron Collider at CERN non-stop as a dedicated antimatter factory, it would only produce about a billionth of a gram per year. In essence, the lifespan of the universe might not be sufficient for us to amass the necessary amount of antimatter for a planet-destroying doomsday device.

Moreover, the cost of producing a gram of antimatter currently stands at approximately 63 trillion dollars, making the construction of a Death Star seem like a bargain in comparison.

The problem we face here, as with lasers, is one of scale. Pushing our existing destructive technologies to unimaginable limits is necessary to achieve the goal of planet destruction. However, it is possible that we have been approaching this problem from the wrong perspective.

Instead of focusing on building one colossal weapon, what if we explored alternative methods or combinations of technologies? The quest to conquer such a monumental task requires innovative thinking and a willingness to push the boundaries of scientific understanding.

In conclusion, the concept of building a planet-killing weapon like the Death Star is a fascinating one. However, the challenges we currently face in terms of scale, engineering, and resource limitations make it an impractical endeavor. Destroying a planet as resilient as Earth would necessitate technologies trillions of times more powerful than anything we possess today.

While lasers and antimatter offer intriguing possibilities, we are still far from achieving the level of destruction seen in science fiction. Perhaps, in the distant future, humanity will unlock the secrets to such capabilities. Until then, let's appreciate the imagination and creativity found in movies like Star Wars and games like Stellaris, where we can explore these concepts in the realm of fantasy and virtual worlds.