How Much Would It Cost to Build a Real-Life ‘Death Star’?
- Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:31am by
Liz Klimas
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As Star Wars lovers are rejoicing over Episode 1 making it to theaters again in 3D, economics students at Lehigh University are bringing another interesting concept to the Galactic Empire scene. They set out to estimate how long — and how much — it would take to create the ultimate planet-destroying weapon: the Death Star.
The students report in Centives that the first Death Star — you may remember that in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope the original was destroyed — was reported to be 140 km (86.8 miles) in diameter and made of steel. They decided to make the star the density of a modern warship since “they’re both essentially floating weapons platforms”.
Here’s what they reasoned:
Scaling up to the Death Star, this is about 1.08×1015 tonnes of steel. 1 with fifteen zeros.
Which seems like a colossal mass but we’ve calculated that from the iron in the earth, you could make just over 2 billion Death Stars. You see the Earth’s crust may have a limited amount of iron, but the core is mostly our favourite metal and is both very big and very dense, and it’s from here that most of our death-star iron would come.
But, before you go off to start building your apocalyptic weapon, do bear in mind two things. Firstly, the two billion death stars is mostly from the Earth‘s core which we would all really rather you didn’t remove. And secondly, at today’s rate of steel production (1.3 billion tonnes annually), it would take 833,315 years to produce enough steel to begin work. So once someone notices what you’re up to, you have to fend them off for 800 millennia before you have a chance to fight back.
In addition to the more than 800,000 years of steel making plus man-power to construct the weaponized space station after that, how about the cost (at 2012 prices)? It would rack up a price tag of $852,000,000,000,000,000, which Centives says is 13,000 times the world’s GDP.
[H/T CNET]
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Comments (111)
To the Point
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 9:28am$852,000,000,000,000,000
That’s all?
Just tack it on to our budget.
Oh, I forgot, it’s for military use.
Report Post »atechgeek
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 10:21amUmmm .. don’t we live on a “Death Star” .. why reinvent the wheel. All we need is the super powered laser. Come on scientists .. we need the laser they had in the Movie “Real Genius” and then some. :-)
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 10:33amthis is definitely the BEST thing to come out of a college environment in the last ten years…money well spent on your education guys.. LOL…
and heck..why not build the Hoth Ion Cannon first…the Death Star has to move around to other planets but the Ion Cannon can be put in the Antarctic and another on the Arctic ice sheet and bamm-O… blow all those alien jerks that are coming down here and making crop circles all the time or building the pyramids or stealing and mutilating our livestock….not to mention those anal probes of drunk/high hikers and farmers… LOL…..
Report Post »TROONORTH
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 11:06amMaybe we should aim a little lower for the first project: Enterprise D.
Report Post »I’ll supply the ears. Hell, for a chance to stand on that bridge, I‘ll wear ’em!
Gold Coin & Economic News
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 12:30pmWhy should we spend that much on a death star when we can just give it to people not working in the form of food stamps so they will vote for Obama?
Report Post »Lotus503
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 12:34pmGreat way of getting our steel industry back on track…
Report Post »Hollywood
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 2:20pmBarry can add it to his WH discretionary spending budget!!
Report Post »MYHEROISRON
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 3:48pmWell what the hell! Let’s get started on it right away!
Report Post »proantisocialist
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:14pm$852,000,000,000,000,000 REALY? damm unions…lol
Report Post »zoose
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:49pmI thought they built it out of transparent aluminum and painted it.
Report Post »Protoham
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:09pmFirst Question you have to ask: Is this an Intergalactic Union Job? If so take a real estimate double it and go to the next unit.
Report Post »MelSalvo
Posted on February 23, 2012 at 12:27amJust build it and bill it to the 1%, Mr Spooky Dude.
Report Post »Hey!, Anonymous, You can pull that one off with ease.
Macman1138
Posted on February 25, 2012 at 8:39amI can’t see the point of wasting time considering such a thing.
Report Post »I mean, really….
bloomytoad
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 9:12amOkay, need to get all Star Wars geeky, the Empire mostly used slave labor and it did take almost 30 years to complete, the plans were first scene in Attack of the Clones, and complete just before A New Hope.
Report Post »Texas Chris
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 12:02pmThere was more than one planet contributing to the project, as well. And more advanced technology.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 1:57pmWhy build it? It’s “easier than shooting womp-rats In Beggars’ Canyon back home” to take the whole thing down.
Report Post »yeah I got an itch
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:22amWe have already built the Death Star.
Report Post »It cost about 17 trillion and counting. But we all know it is more like 70 trillion when you add in all the unfunded entitlements of the storm troopers. And how many people does it take to push bottons on the main deck? I mean, how much pushing can be done? seems like a lot “supervisors” watching those buttons getting pushed. then you’ve got barry running around choking people and rockefeller shooting lighting out of his bony little fingers……what? Star wars? never saw it.
aBritishTenther
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:18amWell it does not really matter, because if you have a Fed & a Treasury you can print however much it costs for free !!!
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:16amI know what I want for Christmas.
Report Post »PimpleJuice
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:08amI would still do the princess. She reminds me of my cousin.
Report Post »atechgeek
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 1:57pmEww.
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:55amOk so we build it.
Report Post ».
What do we do with it?
Itsjusttim
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:11amYou mean, what do they do with it? I‘m sure you won’t be invited.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:55am.
Report Post »IDK how much did Obama Cost?………….
Baddoggy
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:42amMan the BLAZE has some hard hitting journalism going on here.
Let’s see if they fixed their automatic censor…I type in…
***** (ch ink)
whitey (wh it ey)
******* (cr acker)
Yea Glenn, talk about free speech again on the radio today please…Hypocrite!
Report Post »paperpushermj
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:54amEver here of Responsible Speech …..it goes hand in hand with Free Speech.
Report Post »BarCalliyon
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:58amThere’s a difference between free public speech and speech written on a privately owned site. Especially when the site is associated with that person. Oh and quit your complaining about it being a slow day since you must have liked the story enough to comment on a few other comments as well…Hypocrite!
Report Post »Rickfromillinois
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 8:14amFree speech does not mean that The Blaze or any other medium has to provide a platform for you to spout your idiocy.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:37amThere’s that number “13,000″ again showing up a lot lately in estimations whereby they could have used another number. How far do they think they need to drill under Antarctica? 13,000 ft. How many people did Newt Gingrich say they would put in a colony on the moon? 13,000 people. And many more examples.
Report Post »Ran60
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:36ammmmkay….I’ll take two.
Do you take Discover?
Report Post »brickmoon
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:34am“And with the destruction of Alderaan, Lord Vader has created or saved nearly 2 billion jobs.”
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:37amSaved or created….get your facts right…
Report Post »designbyinspiration
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:51amI don’t care who you are, that there is funny.
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 10:37amBrickmoon…that has to be the best d@mn thing I have read on the Blaze since it first went online… that is just too fraking funny… LMAO… =)
Report Post »khadijahbintmuhammad
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:24amWell, heck.
Lessee, what was the SECOND choice on my birthday gift list…….
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:22amWhat a coincidence, $852,000,000,000,000,000, is the exact amount obama wants to spend over the next 4 years!
Could a death star be what he has planned?
I think we would have to TRIPLE that figure. They forgot UNION LABOR and GASOLINE PRICES!
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:18amHey Blaze, get the picture of the guy with half a head off of here, it freaks me out every time I see it.
Report Post »bpodlesnik
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:38amYeah seriously. Anytime I scroll down to comment I can’t help but to catch a glimpse, and it is really weird.
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:38amYea that picture of Republicorp really freaks ne out too…
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 9:55amHere here! I get the chills with just a glimpse! EEEWWW!
P.S. – I hope I didn’t offend any of the large population of half-headed people. Yes, that was sarcasm!
Report Post »Texas Chris
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 12:05pmI have half a mind to report you.
Report Post »piper60
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:09amI applaud the people who took the time to figure this out. It is a lot more entertaining than building tunnels for turtles to cross the road in.
Report Post »VRW Conspirator
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 10:50amI say we write up a bill and get a brave Congressman to propose it as an amendment to something that Obama and the Demoncrats really want…get all the GOP to vote for it…and then make Obama have to veto the bill just for kicks… LOL….
THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!!!
Report Post »BSdetector
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:08amGreat, lets give Obama MORE ideas on how to burn our money.
Report Post »Hmm I think I just gave him an idea… He’ll now commission the creation of a death star built insulated with $100 bills sandwiched between all the steel.
Itsjusttim
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:08amOr how much does it cost for a Death Star like say the U.S? 20 trillion in debt? Besides, asteroids are made mostly of solid iron, probably because they used to be at the core of a planet. It seems to me it would be far easier to just rip the core from the planet.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:15amBecause lets face it. The crust of the planet is broken like an egg shell, and the center is very dense not to mention the earth‘s orbit will hold it’s shell in place, while just a little more gravity from the sun will suck that core right out.
Report Post »Itsjusttim
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:23amThat’s why I think people should just forgive people their debts.
Report Post »grannyrecipe
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:03amBut if you had it made in China it would only cost $15.00…quite a savings
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:31amAre you kidding, Granny?
obama and the marxist democrats only want corporate jobs to go to third world countries.
These would, of course, be UNION JOBS, here in America.
I know, because that price tag is big enough for them to get TONS of kickbacks – er, I meant campaign donations.
I also know that the price tag will triple before it is completed, because of “cost overruns” (translated – “we are addicted to the government teat, and we aint gonna stop suckling on it that easily – MORE MORE MORE!!!”) Then there are the union contracts that will also crank up the costs. Then there is OBAMA’S GASOLINE PRICES !
Hmmm… How many vacations could the obama’s take in 833,315 years?? At this rate, they would have taken 4,444,347 vacations ((16vacays/3yrs)*833,315yrs)
Report Post »JesusFreak95
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:57amJust think of all the jobs that would create. ;-)
Report Post »piper60
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:07amWhich is why the current occupier of the white house would not allow it to happen.
Report Post »I Aint PC
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:57am“It would rack up a price tag of $852,000,000,000,000,000″. Let me see here: One Death Star or Four more years of Obama….
Report Post »Todd P
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:20amThe article made it sound like the calculations were for the total number of Death Stars that could be made – 2,000,000,000. So, what would it cost for just one? Of course, their numbers were just for the cost of raw materials alone. Then you have to add transportation costs into orbit, and payroll which (if were done by Union workers) would be 3x the cost of labor for similar work. I can’t even imagine what insurance costs would be!
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:27amI hate you!
You took my joke. lol
Report Post »gooeylewie
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:57am$852 Quadrillion?
– that‘s Obama’s budget deficit over the next four years!
no we know what he is really doing….
Report Post »Chet Hempstead
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:50amDon’t be silly. What you want to do is set up steel mills in the asteroid belt and get your raw materials from the asteroids. If you use earth steel, then after you mine it and refine it you still have to pay for the energy to lift it out of the atmosphere, since you can’t build a death star on the surface of a planet and then launch the whole thing into space.
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:45amMining the asteroid belt might be a cheaper way of getting the iron. Then we could issue a lot of 800,000 year bonds to spread the cost to our descendants. Of course, if the Sun shows signs of going nova in the meantime, it will make a nice lifeboat for the ruling elites.
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 6:42amThat’s just material, they forgot to factor in union wages and retirement funds.
Report Post »khadijahbintmuhammad
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 7:24amYea. If you’re using union labor, forget it.
Report Post »Texas Chris
Posted on February 22, 2012 at 12:06pmRetirement funds? For 11 year old clones? Methinks no, just pitch them out the airlocks and grow new ones.
Report Post »