While it might not be a scenario you’ve ever considered, it turns out a simple needle could cause catastrophic damage.
Have you ever stopped to think about what might happen if a tiny needle came hurtling toward Earth at the speed of light?
Honestly, neither had I, but apparently, this bizarre idea intrigued someone enough to create a simulation to illustrate the potential chaos.
The video, made by YouTuber Ridddle, has grabbed attention from millions of subscribers.
Ridddle is well-known for crafting videos that explore educational topics and dive into wild hypothetical questions, much like this one.
Ridddle’s videos offer insights to the past and future of the Earth
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Ridddle’s content often includes thought-provoking concepts, like imagining the world before dinosaurs or predicting how catastrophic humanity’s final war could be.
In this case, the question posed is: “What If a Needle Hits the Earth at the Speed of Light?”
Now, this isn’t exactly a scenario that keeps most of us up at night. After all, it would require someone to launch a needle from the edge of space and accelerate it to an unimaginable speed. But hey, stranger things have been speculated before.
The video explores the hypothetical idea of a small sewing needle traveling at light speed and crashing into our planet.
Of course, since this situation is pure speculation, no one can say with absolute certainty what would happen.
Ridddle presents a few possible outcomes, each with wildly different levels of devastation.
Among the scenarios, the most likely one Ridddle outlines is anything but comforting.
Who knew a needle could do so much damage?
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Even something as small as a 35mm sewing needle could cause an extraordinary amount of destruction if it were traveling at an insanely high speed.
The damage could mirror the devastation caused by the ‘Fat Man’ atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki during World War II.
The area surrounding the point of impact would face complete and utter destruction. But, as bad as that sounds, there’s an even more catastrophic possibility.
One grim outcome suggests the needle wouldn’t explode upon impact but instead burrow deep into Earth’s crust.
This would create a pathway for plasma to enter, overheating the planet to an unimaginable degree.
The end result? Every living organism on Earth would perish long before the planet itself is shredded apart and completely annihilated.
Thankfully, there’s a third possibility—one that wouldn’t be quite as disastrous.
If a needle were to hit Earth at the speed of light, it’s theoretically possible that it could slice straight through the planet and emerge out the other side with barely any noticeable impact.
Here’s hoping that if a needle ever does manage to achieve such an incredible speed, we end up with this outcome instead of the others.