Lifeless Planets Society is a podcast that takes outlandish concepts about tips on how to tinker with the cosmos – from snapping the moon in half to inflicting a gravitational wave apocalypse – and topics them to the legal guidelines of physics to see how they fare. Pay attention on Apple, Spotify or on our podcast page.

Emotions about Mars run sturdy within the planetary science neighborhood – many like it due to how a lot we learn about it, whereas others resent the overwhelming consideration it has obtained on the expense of different worlds in our photo voltaic system. However on this episode of Lifeless Planets Society, sentiment doesn’t get in the best way of the central objective: completely wrecking the Crimson Planet.

On this episode, Mars’s very redness could show its demise. The pink hue of Martian soil comes from iron oxide, and iron’s magnetic properties impressed our hosts, Chelsea Whyte and Leah Crane, to discover the potential for destroying Mars with big orbiting magnets.

Iron oxide itself isn’t magnetic, however Mars does have a core of liquid iron. Our hosts are joined this episode by volcanologist Robin George Andrews to contemplate how a large magnet would have an effect on this core.

Relying on the orbit of the massive magnet, the core might be merely disturbed a lot that it might slosh round, inflicting fissures and volcanism and possibly ultimately the whole disintegration of the planet. Or it might be pulled from deep underground by way of pre-existing vents, like these on the prime of the massive Martian volcano Olympus Mons.

When it reaches house, the liquid iron would freeze right into a glittering metallic statue. A lot of it would accumulate on the magnet itself, turning it right into a form of huge iron-shielded bullet hurtling by way of the photo voltaic system.

Within the course of, Mars can be left hole. This alone can be a significant issue for the planet, resulting in the outer layers crunching and grinding collectively to fill the empty house. Or the house might be full of one thing else – the probabilities are infinite and doubtlessly really disturbing.