Apocalyptic video shows what would happen if Earth was hit by an object from space.
But that object is not quite what you think. It’s not an asteroid several kilometers wide, or a comet or a meteor.
No, this is a very plain needle, like the one you would use to sew on buttons. It may sound funny at first, but what if I told you that in this theoretical scenario the needle would be moving at the speed of light?
Now things are getting a little more serious.
Is the Earth still safe? It might do something, but something as small as a tiny needle wouldn’t do that much damage, right?
Well, there are several ways this could happen, but let’s just say that one option is clearly preferable to the other. His Riddle video on YouTube explains the options.
In the tradition of good news and bad news, let’s start with the worst-case scenario if the needle were to hit Earth at this speed.
In the worst-case scenario, the energy dissipated by the needle would cause an apocalyptic event on Earth. It would create a large hole in the Earth’s crust and cause a huge eruption of the Earth’s mantle to be hurled into space.
This means that life as we know it was wiped out by the enormous heat released by the impact.
But wait, things get even worse.
The energy released by the collision is so great that the Earth could literally collapse under the force of energy. Yes, that’s right. The entire Earth was simply blinked out by the needle and disappeared.
Or maybe it’s faster if you don’t blink.
So that’s the worst case scenario. At least it will happen so quickly that no one will even notice about it.
But what about good options?
Now, in this case, the needle is sharp and moving so fast that the energy may not be released long enough to actually have a significant impact on Earth.
In this scenario, the needle simply enters the Earth and comes out the other side. Not only that, but it will happen so quickly that no one will notice.
If you don’t happen to be standing where it comes from, then you’re out of luck.
Of course, this is a completely theoretical scenario, but it illustrates the enormous amount of energy an object moving at the speed of light can have, even if it’s a relatively small object like a needle.