Part of me gets that you can't "kill" an asteroid, and that a giant rock moving towards the earth would just be turned into many smaller rocks moving towards the earth... but that said, I think this sort of thing still might be useful, and I'd love someone to explain to me otherwise.
First, small rocks more easily burn up on their way down. So smashing a big rock to pieces increases the surface area enough that maybe that can make it safer for humans.
Secondly, perhaps the energy hitting the big rock would 'deflect' it ever so slightly. Fire it early enough, and you can make it completely miss the earth.
First, small rocks more easily burn up on their way down. So smashing a big rock to pieces increases the surface area enough that maybe that can make it safer for humans.
Secondly, perhaps the energy hitting the big rock would 'deflect' it ever so slightly. Fire it early enough, and you can make it completely miss the earth.
Thoughts?