Can someone tell me why they can't use dynamite or some kind of bomb to stop the oil spill?

[trumad]

I know that's the method on dry land... Why can't it be done in the ocean?

Thanks

[LiberalLoner]

1. Dunno...my hubby is a Nuclear Weapons Officer in the Army and he keeps

saying they need to use a small nuke on the site and that would take care of things.

I'm guessing BP won't do it (yet) because they still have hopes of capping it and keeping the well functional enough that they will be able to extract what's left of the oil in time.

[Poiuyt]

12. That's what the Russians said to do also

Supposedly, they've done it several times.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Maybe because

they can't predict what would happen to the methane hydrates frozen into the sea bed.

[zeemike]

3. Just what would you blow up?

On land they use explosives to put out well fires and it works because it robs the fire of oxygen.
But that is not the problem with this one...the problem is that they have poked a hole in the earth's crust and the the methane gas is forcing the oil and gas out of that hole...adding heat to it would only increase the pressure as the methane ice is melted.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Maybe because there's a good chance it could make the hole bigger. And...

I thought you dynamited fires, not gushers.

[GreenStormCloud]

5. The water pressure down there is over one ton per square inch.

The deeper you get, the weaker explosions are, relative to the pressure that is one the explosive bubble. On dry land the explosion has to puss against air pressure of about 15lbs per sq/in. Water pressure increases at one pound for every two feet down one goes. At 5,000 ft the water pressure is about 2,500 lbs sq/in.

[B Calm]

6. That's the way I understood it too. It would take a nuclear bomb, and

they fear that could open up the bottom of the ocean and making it even worse than what it is. I'm not sure what to believe anymore, but I do believe the oil companies are trying to save this well only because of their greed. Their greed could destroy the planet Earth if this allowed to continue for much longer.

[Change Happens]

10. A missile fired from a submarine?

[DailyGrind51]

7. The Army Corps of Engineers uses scrap concrete as break-waters along Lake Michigan.

Why can't they just gather tons of old chunks of sidewalks and demolished buildings and dump them over the hole? Once the oil has slowed to a trickle, they could use those rubber tires and other flexible material to seal off any leaks.

[lonestarnot]

14. And if it worked it could buy time to drill the two additional holes that who knows whether or not

they will blow.

[MattBaggins]

18. What is the pressure coming up from that inderground oil deposit?

That's the ultimate question you have to have enough mass and downward pressure to stop that flow.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Because BP doesn't want to stop the flow, just redirect it into tankers.

[Change Happens]

9. I said few days ago, we need to fire a bomb from a sub, right into the pipe...

People said they are happy I am not in charge, but did not say why?

[adamuu]

11. Caldera eruption? n/t

[meow mix]

13. wouldnt the pressure of the releasing volcano blow any debris

straight out of the hole... and just expand it further?

[ljm2002]

15. You have to consider the worst-case scenario...

...which is that an explosion makes the hole bigger and the spill becomes truly impossible to contain.

I don't think it's worth the risk.

[TwilightGardener]

16. Unpredictable and possibly worse results than what's happening now?

[carlyhippy]

17. It may knock some rock loose that we dont want knocked loose

creating an even bigger hole then oil will be spewing from more places, along with a methane chaser.