🌌 In the world of Digimon, there exists an immense variety of powerful beings, capable of performing legendary feats that echo through time, becoming myths within the Digital World.
While most of these incredible achievements are usually carried out by Mega-level Digimon (Ultimate in Japanese), Perfect-level Digimon (also known as Ultimate in English) also have their share of dazzling accomplishments. One clear example is MegaKabuterimon. In his debut episode "No questions, please, (break through! AlturKabuterimon), he destroyed a perfectly spherical asteroid with a single shot of his signature attack, the Mega Blaster—a stunning demonstration of strength and raw power that showcases just how formidable a Perfect-level Digimon can be.
But this raises the question: just how much power did MegaKabuterimon unleash? And if we compare it with modern weaponry, where would it stand? Let’s dive into the analysis and try to answer these questions.
Asteroid Size
The first thing we need to determine is the asteroid’s size. There are no official data about the asteroid’s dimensions, but by using scaled proportions and comparisons with characters in the scene, we can estimate approximate measurements.
By analyzing the image and comparing the asteroid fragment to known reference points (for example, a character’s height or other objects whose size is known), we can build a proportional scale and derive a reasonable estimate for the asteroid’s diameter.
Using our reliable reference source, Digimon Real Size Comparison, we know that MegaKabuterimon’s approximate height is 15 meters. With this in mind, we can compare his size to the asteroid fragment shown in the episode and make an informed estimate of the asteroid’s overall diameter.
With the previous image, we can clearly see how small MegaKabuterimon looks in front of the asteroid. By comparing their relative scales, a minimum size can be determined, which gives the asteroid an approximate spherical diameter of 130 meters.
Composition and Mass of the Asteroid
A spherical asteroid (which makes the calculation easier) would have a volume of approximately 1.15 million cubic meters. For comparison, the Empire State Building has a volume of about 1.04 million cubic meters. It’s also worth noting that the skyscraper has hollow spaces, while the asteroid would be completely solid.
When considering its composition and mass, we can turn to data provided by NASA. According to their research, there are three main types of asteroids:
- C-type (Carbonaceous):
Composition: Consist of clay and silicate rocks.
Appearance: Dark in appearance.
Significance: The most common type, representing ancient remnants of the early solar system that may have delivered volatile substances to Earth. - S-type (Stony/Silicate):
Composition: Made of silicate materials and nickel-iron.
Appearance: These have a more "stony" appearance compared to other types. - M-type (Metallic):
Composition: Composed primarily of metallic nickel-iron.
Significance: Believed to be the result of high-temperature processing and partial melting, where iron sank to the core.
Based on what we see in the episode — MegaKabuterimon passing through many large asteroids with relative ease, and the 130-meter spherical asteroid resisting surface denting even after a direct hit — the evidence suggests a metallic composition. That best matches an M-type (metallic) asteroid, which would be solid and very dense.
NASA lists M-type asteroids as primarily composed of nickel-iron. For our estimate we use a representative density for M-type asteroids of 7,850 kg/m³.
Mass calculation (step-by-step)
We previously estimated the asteroid’s volume as 1,150,000 m³ (a 130 m diameter sphere). Using the density:
Mass (kg) = Volume × Density
Do the multiplication digit-by-digit as follows:
- Volume = 1,150,000 m³
- Density = 7,850 kg/m³
Rounded for readability, the asteroid’s mass is approximately 9.03 million tonnes (≈ 9.03 × 10⁶ tonnes) or 9.03 billions Kilograms (≈ 9.03 × 10⁹ kg).
Energy estimation
To determine the required energy we use the concept of catastrophic disruption for large nickel-iron bodies. Large nickel-iron objects (asteroid cores or planetesimals) can undergo catastrophic disruption when a high-energy event breaks them into many fragments — an important process in solar system formation. For nickel-iron material we will use an estimated specific disruption energy of Q* ≈ 3 × 106 J/kg. We will present a range using two conventions: energy applied to 50% of the mass (the common “≤50% largest fragment” criterion) and energy applied to the entire mass.
Given
- Asteroid mass ≈ 9.03 × 109 kg
- Specific disruption energy Q* ≈ 3 × 106 J/kg
- 1 ton TNT = 4.184 × 109 J
1) Convention: full mass × Q*
Formula: E = mass × Q*
- Mass = 9,030,000,000 kg
- Q* = 3,000,000 J/kg
Digit-by-digit multiplication:
- 9,030,000,000 × 3,000,000 = 27,090,000,000,000,000 J
E = 2.70×1016 J or 6.48 megatons of TNT
Full-mass disruption ≈ 2.7×1016 J ≈ 6.48 megatons (Mt) of TNT
2) Half-mass interpretation (50% of the mass)
Using the “50% mass” variant:
- Mass (50%) = 0.5 × 9.03 × 109 = 4.515 × 109 kg
- E = 4,515,000,000 × 3,000,000 = 13,545,000,000,000,000 Joules
E = 1.3545 × 1016 J ≈ 3.24 megatons of TNT.
Summary
Fragmenting a 130 m metallic asteroid would require between 3 and 6.5 megatons of TNT, depending on whether we base the calculation on 50% or 100% of its mass. In both cases, this represents 216 to 433 times the energy of the Hiroshima bomb (15 kilotons of TNT), placing MegaKabuterimon’s Mega Blaster on a truly colossal scale.
Note: These are order-of-magnitude estimates based on the assumed Q* for nickel-iron material and the previously estimated asteroid mass. Results vary with the actual internal structure, porosity, and how efficiently an attack couples energy into the body.
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