• Question: what force do you think is more powerful? implosion or explosion?

    Asked by FaZe Kabowse to Connor, Jillian, Lidunka, Sarah, Steven on 15 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Lidunka Vocadlo

      Lidunka Vocadlo answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      I think for a given amount of energy they are both the same

    • Photo: Steven Thomson

      Steven Thomson answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Yes, as Lidunka says, implosions and explosions aren’t inherently more or less powerful than each other, they just direct the energy in different directions.

      For example, a nuclear bomb actually uses both. First, an implosion crushes the radioactive material in the centre of the bomb, causing the atoms in it to fragment and split apart. Then, the energy released by the atoms splitting reverses the process triggering a huge explosion that’s directed outward. Both the implosion and the explosion are incredibly powerful. The only difference with the implosion, I guess, is that since it’s directed inwards, it uses its energy over a smaller area, which make make it appear more powerful sometimes.

      But in reality, the processes of both implosion and explosion are basically the same, just with the force pointing in different directions.

    • Photo: Jillian Scudder

      Jillian Scudder answered on 18 Jun 2015:

      They’re equal and opposite! It’s just a change in direction. If you’re at the middle of an implosion, or outside an explosion, you’ll be equally unhappy with your lot in life.

      Explosions can also ricochet off of material and reflect their force inwards, becoming an implosion of sorts – this is how supernovae work, and how we get black holes out of these explosions!

Comments