I am become Death

November 21, 2005 2:33 AM

The Lucifer Project. "This is a documentation and study of the feasibility of creating a sustainable fusion reaction from an initial fission reaction on Saturn caused by a significant quantity of Plutonium-238 being inserted deep into the atmosphere." [via: del.icio.us/blackbeltjones]
posted by gsb (33 comments total)

from the site: Why is creating a star from one of our gaseous giants commonly known as the “Lucifer Project”?  The potential star's name was first dubbed “Lucifer” by A.C. Clarke in his novel “2010”.  Lucifer is less of an actual deity and more of a concept representative of several ideas here. Lucifer, literally “light-bearer”, represents rebellion, claiming god-ship, bringing enlightenment, and mastering knowledge.  Lucifer is a symbol of casting off the overlord and trusting the light from within, the concept of breaking out of the subservient shell of “God's dominion” and claiming the universe as one's own to conquer.
posted by gsb at 2:34 AM on November 21, 2005

HI YES I WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT YOU'RE PROJECT! PLEASE SIGN ME UP, GOD BLESS!
posted by Basalisk at 2:41 AM on November 21, 2005

I support the idea of this project, but I do not support the involvement of the Freemasons and the Ancient Egyptians. Especially not the mummies, who would only use this development for their unfathomable undead goals.

Actually, I don't know if humanity should go off lighting stars when we don't have the ringworlds and Dyson spheres ready to properly utilize them.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 3:08 AM on November 21, 2005

I, for one, welcome our Titanian overlords.


I also just lost the game.


Wow, that was generic on so many levels....
posted by trinarian at 3:40 AM on November 21, 2005

As tinfoilhat as this sounds (as the above posters note), the authors of this webpage are actual academics.
posted by mek at 3:41 AM on November 21, 2005

Curse you, trinarian! I also lost the game.

On another note, Lucifer isn't a bad name. Lucifer means the "Bearer of Light."

What's the whole deal with all the Christians and Lucifer anyway? So he was outsourced underground. It happens all the time in Taiwan.
posted by malusmoriendumest at 4:25 AM on November 21, 2005

What could go wrong?
posted by Thorzdad at 4:43 AM on November 21, 2005

I like this because it takes blowing stuff up to the next level. Blowing up big stuff.
posted by veedubya at 5:01 AM on November 21, 2005

I think we should ask how the aliens living on Saturn feel about this first.
posted by Deathalicious at 5:08 AM on November 21, 2005

veedubya, yes! Blowing up big BIG stuff. In space. It's cool squared.
posted by dabitch at 5:22 AM on November 21, 2005

DR. SATAN!!!
posted by nola at 5:26 AM on November 21, 2005

"We're spending all this money, millions of dollars, to blow up the moon Jupiter, when there are so many things here on Earth to blow up ... Mount Everest, the North Pole, et cetera. We're earthlings, let's blow up Earth things!"
/All hail Menocu
posted by cmfletcher at 6:03 AM on November 21, 2005

"We're gonna hit houses, dude"
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:31 AM on November 21, 2005

Assuming (it's a large assumption) that such a thing were possible, how long would the little star made out of Saturn last?
posted by aeschenkarnos at 6:56 AM on November 21, 2005

Also, what's up with all the sub-funny attempts at zingers instead of comments? Shouldn't you kiddies be playing in the middle of Fark?
posted by aeschenkarnos at 6:58 AM on November 21, 2005

I wonder where the giant chunks that explode off the planet will land?
posted by PaulWilliams at 7:05 AM on November 21, 2005

Do not attempt a landing in Europa!
posted by PenDevil at 7:15 AM on November 21, 2005

what's up with all the sub-funny attempts at zingers

.. because conspiracy theories are amusing.

Really, if we can have naturally occurring fission reactions on earth isn't there the slightest chance, in the last few billion years, that a chunk of debris with a healthy vein of heavy metals could have fallen into a gas giant?

The notion that this could be accomplished artificially is almost as silly as the notion that a sub-secret group is about to actually do so. Even if all suspicions come to pass, I think Titan might turn out to be a wee bit too hot, making the whole project a collossal cock-up.

Mind you, if someone had told me December 31st, 1999 about the dubious adventures of the next 5 years I would have laughed so hard Guiness would have spewed out my nose.
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:24 AM on November 21, 2005

Er, so what's interesting here is speculative physics, speculation about secretive NASA machinations, or confused mythology? Or put 'em all together and the whole is greater than the sum?
posted by scheptech at 7:27 AM on November 21, 2005

Do they mention anywhere what to do if it all goes horribly, horribly wrong? Is there a backup plan?
posted by blue_beetle at 7:55 AM on November 21, 2005

If spontaneous fusion wasn't triggered on Earth or in an Earth ocean by setting off nukes there, why would such a process have different results in/on Saturn?
posted by alumshubby at 7:58 AM on November 21, 2005

If spontaneous fusion wasn't triggered on Earth or in an Earth ocean by setting off nukes there, why would such a process have different results in/on Saturn?

Different atmospheric composition, ie it's mostly hydrogen.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 8:09 AM on November 21, 2005

Do they mention anywhere what to do if it all goes horribly, horribly wrong?

Well, there's this:

2008 (Jul/Aug/Sept) – After a few weeks of 24/7 talk of the implications, causes, effects, etc. of the new star, Earth begins to get showered with the ejecta from Saturn. The shower lasts 2 to 3 weeks and includes some heavier elements towards the end. This directly or indirectly kills millions of people and animals on Earth - a great boost for population control. Those “in the know” hide out in underground cities and bunkers for several weeks to several months until Earth's ozone shell has recovered. 2009 – The new world reality sets in. After coping with the effects of the event, the survivors find that having a second sun is novel. Earth is completely changed, all infrastructures, political structures, and religions are thrust into chaos. The strongest surviving military force soon takes control of the Earth.

But I think that's if everything goes according to plan.
posted by weston at 8:20 AM on November 21, 2005

Okay, in all seriousness, the (physical) problem with this proposal is Saturn's mass. If you were to somehow trigger a fusion reaction in Saturn, it would quickly burn out. For a star to form, its gravity must overcome the electrical repulsion between atoms. This requires a mass a hundred times greater than Jupiter's.
posted by justkevin at 8:37 AM on November 21, 2005

"I could not be so confident in my assertions if it were not for the additional key research of Jacco van der Worp, a Netherlands physicist, and former NASA Consultant, Richard C. Hoagland."

oh dear. an actual academic.



more hoagland actual academics debunked here.
posted by rodney stewart at 9:19 AM on November 21, 2005

oh dear. an actual academic.

Excellent catch on the name, RD.
posted by CynicalKnight at 9:41 AM on November 21, 2005

If you were to somehow trigger a fusion reaction in Saturn, it would quickly burn out.

Could someone define "quickly" in astronomical terms?
posted by longbaugh at 9:44 AM on November 21, 2005

They're meddling in things that Man was never meant to touch.
posted by QuietDesperation at 9:57 AM on November 21, 2005

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a star's life inversely proportional to its mass? If stars with mass less than our sun end up lasting longer than the sun, wouldn't Saturn last a very long time given this ridiculous event occurs?
posted by plexiwatt at 10:01 AM on November 21, 2005

Longbaugh:

Very quickly. Assuming no external forces were sustaining the reaction, about as long as the fusion reaction continues inside a hydrogen bomb. I.e., microseconds.
posted by justkevin at 10:10 AM on November 21, 2005

Honey, I nuked the Solar System.

I wonder if there's an interstellar equivalent for the Darwin Awards?
posted by CynicalKnight at 10:35 AM on November 21, 2005

From westons quoted section above: This directly or indirectly kills millions of people and animals on Earth - a great boost for population control... After coping with the effects of the event, the survivors find that having a second sun is novel.

We're doing this for the novelty value now? I thought the whole point was to warm up Titan and make it habitable so we can move there when Earth get too full. If killing people is acceptable population control why not just drop some neutron bombs on the third world and spare Saturn. That's gotta be easier than turning a planet into a star.

By the way, 'Spare Saturn' shirts would sell like hotcakes if this whole thing catches on. So much so that I'm going to start mentioning the Lucifer project and Saturns impending starification to everyone I see.
posted by Jawn at 5:58 PM on November 21, 2005

what justkevin said. Wish I knew less about physics so I could find this entertaining. Interesting sci-fi idea though. I suppose you could mine Saturn for fuel if you lived on Titan.
posted by Smedleyman at 6:19 PM on November 21, 2005