You Cannot Live Without The Hydrogen Bomb Poem by Paul Hartal

'You cannot live without the hydrogen bomb', said the Monkey.

The Zebra was shocked. 'I am a pacifist', she said, 'and all weapons
should be banned.'

The Monkey smiled. 'I know that. But I am not talking about warheads.
I am talking about the Sun. You need the Sun because without it life on Earth cannot exist.'

'Yes, yes, we need the Sun', agreed the Zebra. 'But come on, our dear Sun is not a hydrogen bomb.'

'Yes, it is', insisted the monkey. 'Like every other star, the Sun is powered by fusing in each second trillions and trillions of hydrogen atoms to form helium atoms. In the principal process four hydrogen atoms are fused, under tremendous pressure, to form one helium atom. The fusion occurs at the core of the Sun releasing enormous quantities of thermonuclear energy, as predicted by Einstein's famous equation of E= mc^2.'

'Fascinating', said the Zebra. 'And how do you know all this? '

'Well, I have a PhD in physics, ' said the Monkey with a wink.

The Zebra smiled. 'So, there is no difference between the Sun and the bomb? '

'Actually, there is a huge difference. In the hydrogen bomb the fusion is boosted by a fission device that splits a uranium-238 atom, which in turn detonates the fusion materials, which explode in a colossal fireball. Also, the massive explosion of the hydrogen bomb is a singular event, whereas the Sun is a perpetual thermonuclear blast occurring at its core. It takes perhaps 100.000 years, or so, for the light produced by the recurrent explosions in the core of the Sun to reach the surface. '

'And how long does the light travel from the Sun to our planet? ' inquired the Zebra.

'About eight and half minutes.'

'Really? '

'Yes', said the Monkey. 'The Sun, our closest star, is about 15o million kilometers away from Earth and light travels 300,000 kilometers in a second.'

'And how long will the Sun last? ' asked the Zebra.

'Who knows', said the Monkey. 'Stars have a limited lifespan, too. According to estimates, in the next 5 billion years the sun might burn all its hydrogen and swell up as a red giant. Unless the Earth finds a way to escape, all life on our planet will end. '