Physics and Star Wars
To estimate the effects of the second Death Star, Minton looks into its mass. According to estimated data from some students of Lehigh University, the steel mass needed for building one would be around 770 kilograms times the mass cubed in weight. This would give the Death Star of about ten to the power of nineteen kilograms in mass. Using this data, Minton produces equations that lead him to conclude the fragments would hit the moons surface so hard causing craters almost four times the size of the Chicxulub crater in Mexico. This impact would cause a planetary firestorm and vaporize all lifeforms on the moon.
International Ice Patrol
On her maiden voyage from Southampton, England bound for New York, "Titanic" collided with an iceberg just south of the tail of the Grand Banks and sank in less than three hours. The loss of life was enormous with more than 1,500 of the 2,224 passengers and crew perishing. "Titanic", the brand new ship of the White Star Line, was the largest passenger liner of her time displacing 45,000 tons and capable of sustained speed in excess of . The loss of "Titanic" gripped the world with a sobering awareness of an iceberg's potential for tragedy. The sheer dimensions of the "Titanic" disaster created sufficient public reaction on both sides of the Atlantic to prod reluctant governments into action, producing the first Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention in 1914.