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Finally, a cost estimate for building a real Death Star

The Empire's crown jewel would take more than 800,000 years and many thousand times the world's GDP to build.

Eric Mack Contributing Editor
Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about energy, renewables, science and climate to bring educational content to life on topics around the solar panel and deregulated energy industries. Eric helps consumers by demystifying solar, battery, renewable energy, energy choice concepts, and also reviews solar installers. Previously, Eric covered space, science, climate change and all things futuristic. His encrypted email for tips is ericcmack@protonmail.com.
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Eric Mack
The real Death Star must have really been murder on the Empire's wallet. This model hanging in the Los Angeles Convention Center for Celebration IV was probably cheaper. Daniel Terdiman / CNET

Sometimes it seems the world is so screwed up we should just build a new one from scratch--and now we finally know how much such a project would cost.

In gloriously geeky fashion, economics students at Lehigh University tried to estimate how long it would take and how much it would cost to build the Empire's ginormous man-made planetship if we were to get started today.

The students started by assuming the Death Star could be made from steel, and that the ship would be about as steel-dense as a modern warship, in particular the HMS Illustrious. Applying that steel density to the Death Star's size--the moon-size weapon was reportedly 140 km in diameter--they determined that just over a quadrillion tons of steel (quadrillion comes after trillion) would be required for construction.

That much steel would take more than 800,000 years to produce at current rates, however, so someone might want to see if the boys at the smelter are willing to work some overtime, along with the next few thousand generations.

On the bright side for Death Star fans, that will give us plenty of time to save the quadrillions of dollars needed to pay for the steel alone, not to mention contractors. I don't suppose we'll have to worry about paying very generous benefits given the Empire's track record, though...

(Via Geek.com)