On 12/05/2015 09:46, Martin Brown wrote:
On 11/05/2015 08:15, Brian-Gaff wrote:

Myself, I'd trust the nukes, after all, better to have a load of small
radioactive rocks than one bloody great one that could destroy
everything.
brian

Actually it isn't. One really big one will cause a lot of damage where
it lands - think Tunguska but will leave everywhere else untouched
(unless it is incredibly rare and in the large extinction event class).

This particular one is probably just large enough to cause global
effects, if it did hit.

A large number of objects which is what you end up with if you fragment
a 1km object will have the same effect as cluster bombing with kT yield
devices over a very wide area. Most meteors are little more than a grain
of sand. A few kg on entry will be a ground impactor.

Much better to deflect its path slightly so it skims off the upper
atmosphere like a pebble off the surface of a pond.

Even better to get it to miss entirely, although that would depend upon
how early it was detected.

--
Colin Bignell