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I propose that we carpet-bomb minefields with radioactive waste from our nuclear reactors. This will detonate most OED, and will discourage treasure-hunters from entering the area until long after any remaining mines are inert. Moreover, our nuclear waste issues will be solved, because war-torn contries
are definitely a renewable resource, whereas nuclear fuel, although abundant, is definitely a non-renewable resource.
Carpet-bombing an area is one of the cheapest ways to perform mine clearance, and since nobody wants it, nuclear waste is surely one of the cheapest materials around, making it easy to obtain, and undesirable for treasure seekers. Nuclear waste is heavier than almost any other imaginable material due to the high content of uranium and plutonium, making it ideal for mine clearance. In addition, most nuclear waste contains some ammount of ferrous material, so that it should even detonate magnetically activated mines, something which water drops can never do.
Once an area has been mineswept using depleted uranium, and other nuclear waste, the area will remain unsafe for centuries to come, so even if you do not get all the ordinance, nobody will find out for centuries, and by then, most any mine in the area will have probably degraded into an inert condition anyway.
As an incidental bonus, the background radiation from the materials used to detonate the mines should increase the rate of mutation in the area. This will allow for a more rapid evolution of landmine resistant humans and livestock, should anyone decide to continue living in the area.
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The problem with depleted uranium and other waste is that it does not explode, and so delivers only the kinetic energy imparted to it by taking it up in a plane. Thus one would have to strike the mine directly with the waste. Mines are small and fields are big. |
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Now,perhaps this waste can be incorporated into bombs which explode above the surface. I still suspect that surface features (crops, domestic animals, rocks) will make it hard to hit the mines from the air. |
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No, semiautonomous robots are the only solution. I mean froglets solar powered mine mule. |
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//more rapid evolution of landmine resistant humans// |
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Errrr ... the physics and chemistry of this is so completely wrong that it's hard to know where to start .......... |
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//more rapid evolution of landmine resistant humans// |
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This comment alone, saved you from getting boned. |
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{resigned sigh} It's so hard for me to remain neutral. |
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<envisions roving bands of mutated treasure-hunting, landmine-resistant, human-livestock hybrids selling their wares at the local flea market, shudders> |
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Oh, you've been to London, then ? |
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//Oh, you've been to London, then//
sp "Camden Market" |
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This plan does not involve exploding nuclear waste, Bungs. The simple fact is that radioactive materials, such as uranium, and plutonium have a heavier atomic mass than iron, because Iron is at the "bottom" of the atomic energy scale. Iron cannot be fused or fissioned to release energy. |
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Dropping metal from a height has already been proposed as one way to take care of mines, but since the metal in question is considered valuable, and safe to gather, the plan was rejected, as the "scrap metal" might attract visitors. |
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// the "scrap metal" might attract visitors // |
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... and so, one way or the other, the mines get cleared. |
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