Hitting a tiny model asteroid on Earth with a powerful laser pointer is obviously different from hitting a small asteroid of the same size with a laser in space. But only when these two situations are put together can there be a reasonable degree of comparison. Researchers took cautious steps to ensure that the model was built from the same material and had a structure similar to chondrites (common stony asteroids).
Scientists use laser pulses to simulate the shock wave from a nuclear bomb explosion. In using the laser to destroy the meteorite model, the researchers measured the asteroid’s heat and pressure distribution and changes. Their experimental results are similar to those predicted by computer simulations. Happily, computer simulations also show that radioactive rock fragments produced after the asteroid explosion will be safe for our planet.
But researchers have found that the force per unit mass required to completely destroy the asteroid model is almost twice the force required to destroy the Chelyabinsk meteorite. This experiment also confirmed that when destroying the laser pointer asteroid model, a series of small explosions is more effective than a single large explosion. Data show that destroying a 600-foot (about 182-meter) non-metallic asteroid requires a 3 million-ton bomb.