Could someone check my maths, please? David Shaw 14 Jan 2015 18:47 UTC
I have never attempted relativistic calculations before and wondered if I have this right. I am currently reading John Ringo's 'Gust Front' in which a ground based anti-starship weapon is described as firing bars of depleted uranium, 100mm in diameter and two metres long at a muzzle velocity of 0.3c. I make this a KE of 1.302 exa-Joules, equivalent to a touch over 311MT of TNT. Is this right? And would such a weapon system really be feasible within an Earth-standard atmosphere? Many thanks, David Shaw