I’m watching this weeks episode of The Flash and a nuclear explosion has been initiated and the various Flashes are trying to stop it, being able to access the speed force the explosion to them is moving very slowly and they are trying to stop it.
They mentioned to two theoretical ways of stopping it, one is applying extreme cold to it and the other counteracting it with fusion of the equivalent energy all done at the instant the chain reaction has occurred.
Whilst they just make up science and gadgets to solve everything is it all possible to stop a nuclear explosion from expanding into the explosive stage.

I’m guessing that it would be possible but it would require more energy than the initial explosion.

Cymek said:

I’m watching this weeks episode of The Flash and a nuclear explosion has been initiated and the various Flashes are trying to stop it, being able to access the speed force the explosion to them is moving very slowly and they are trying to stop it.
They mentioned to two theoretical ways of stopping it, one is applying extreme cold to it and the other counteracting it with fusion of the equivalent energy all done at the instant the chain reaction has occurred.
Whilst they just make up science and gadgets to solve everything is it all possible to stop a nuclear explosion from expanding into the explosive stage.

A runaway nuclear fission reaction takes a tiny fraction of a second to complete. In the real world, no, once it is started there is no opportunity to stop it.

Cymek said:

I’m watching this weeks episode of The Flash and a nuclear explosion has been initiated and the various Flashes are trying to stop it, being able to access the speed force the explosion to them is moving very slowly and they are trying to stop it.
They mentioned to two theoretical ways of stopping it, one is applying extreme cold to it and the other counteracting it with fusion of the equivalent energy all done at the instant the chain reaction has occurred.
Whilst they just make up science and gadgets to solve everything is it all possible to stop a nuclear explosion from expanding into the explosive stage.

I can’t let this thread go without at least trying to answer it. The answer I came up with earlier (Good Scientist Cartoon) is to smother it in beer or similar bubbly liquid / wet foam. The thousand to one density difference between gas and liquid scatters the shock wave, turbulence in the liquid and gas turns the kinetic energy into heat, and evaporation of the liquid absorbes the heat.

A rough back of envelope calculation suggested that a 12 metre diameter sphere of beer may stop a 1 kiloton nuclear explosion and a 120 metre diameter sphere of beer may stop a 1 megaton nuclear explosion.

Remember “Don’t fight fire with fire, fight fire with foam”.

For more accurate calculations – I accept money.

Now let’s suppose Flash is earlier on the scene than that. Then simply snip one of the wires leading to the chemical explosive, the resulting asymmetrical chemical explosion will not provide sufficient compression to set off the nuclear explosion.

> Extreme cold.

Doesn’t work because it actually makes the nuclear explosion more powerful by confining the fuel more which makes more fuel available to participate in the explosion, and by cooling the neutrons which enhances their reaction cross section by a factor of a million.

> Counteracting with fusion of equivalent energy.

Doubles the explosion.

mollwollfumble said:

Now let’s suppose Flash is earlier on the scene than that. Then simply snip one of the wires leading to the chemical explosive, the resulting asymmetrical chemical explosion will not provide sufficient compression to set off the nuclear explosion.

> Extreme cold.

Doesn’t work because it actually makes the nuclear explosion more powerful by confining the fuel more which makes more fuel available to participate in the explosion, and by cooling the neutrons which enhances their reaction cross section by a factor of a million.

> Counteracting with fusion of equivalent energy.

Doubles the explosion.

Could a powerful magnetic field stop it?

mollwollfumble said:

Now let’s suppose Flash is earlier on the scene than that. Then simply snip one of the wires leading to the chemical explosive, the resulting asymmetrical chemical explosion will not provide sufficient compression to set off the nuclear explosion.

> Extreme cold.

Doesn’t work because it actually makes the nuclear explosion more powerful by confining the fuel more which makes more fuel available to participate in the explosion, and by cooling the neutrons which enhances their reaction cross section by a factor of a million.

> Counteracting with fusion of equivalent energy.

Doubles the explosion.

Yeah I thought it was all made up science

Tau.Neutrino said:

mollwollfumble said:

Now let’s suppose Flash is earlier on the scene than that. Then simply snip one of the wires leading to the chemical explosive, the resulting asymmetrical chemical explosion will not provide sufficient compression to set off the nuclear explosion.

> Extreme cold.

Doesn’t work because it actually makes the nuclear explosion more powerful by confining the fuel more which makes more fuel available to participate in the explosion, and by cooling the neutrons which enhances their reaction cross section by a factor of a million.

> Counteracting with fusion of equivalent energy.

Doubles the explosion.

Could a powerful magnetic field stop it?

no

Tau.Neutrino said:

mollwollfumble said:

Now let’s suppose Flash is earlier on the scene than that. Then simply snip one of the wires leading to the chemical explosive, the resulting asymmetrical chemical explosion will not provide sufficient compression to set off the nuclear explosion.

> Extreme cold.

Doesn’t work because it actually makes the nuclear explosion more powerful by confining the fuel more which makes more fuel available to participate in the explosion, and by cooling the neutrons which enhances their reaction cross section by a factor of a million.

> Counteracting with fusion of equivalent energy.

Doubles the explosion.

Could a powerful magnetic field stop it?

Neutrons are nonmagnetic. But applied early enough, a massive magnetic pulse would warp the metal enough to reduce the power of the explosion.

If they were the Flash, then why not ‘disassemble’ the fissionable material? There would be an explosiion but it would be far, far less than the predicted yield.

Obviousman said:

If they were the Flash, then why not ‘disassemble’ the fissionable material? There would be an explosiion but it would be far, far less than the predicted yield.

If Flash was that early, as I said before, just disconnect any one of the electrical wires. Much easier.

fire a directional EMP generator as the missile/ bomb falls to the target

you fry the electronics of the weapon before it can detonate

this can be a land based device acting as missile umbrella