Hobbit rockets never leave the ground. They use pipe-weed as fuel and, by T plus 60 of any launch, the engineers are all giggling on the launch pad eating funions as a quick post-elevenses snack.
this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2026
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That would explain why Gandalf likes visiting the Shire so much
when Gandalf said "Fly! You Fools!" This is what he meant
Silly me! I thought he miscasted a levitation spell.
"I mean it's not rocket science, guys." - Boromir on using a catapult to launch the ring into Mt. Doom
one does not simply ICBM into Mordor.
Also. we can easily create temperatures far exiding mount Doom's lava.
Maybe even ye olde thermite could do something
since the ring posesses magical powers, maybe you can trigger it to release a "magical explosion" some how. but MAGIC is very nebelous in lotr, very little spellcasting, or magical attacks, or effects magic.
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Really it was a time issue. Even if you assume the hobbits of the Shire had both the technological capacity to create a functional guided rocket and the industrial capacity to manufacture it ready to go, it takes around about a decade to bring a rocket development program from conception through to completion, even optimistically. Factor in the fact that there's a single unique and irreplaceable payload and if you fail to hit the target you've basically delivered the ring to Sauron, given it's apparent indestructibility, the reliability requirements would push the development time back a lot. It might take 20 or 30 years for the rocket to truly be ready for that mission. They were only able to confirm that what they've found actually is the one ring less than a couple years from when Sauron would have invaded everyone, so even with the most optimistic possible appraisal of the military industrial complex of the free peoples of Middle Earth there simply wasn't time. It's one of those projects where throwing more bodies at it just slows things down.
Yeah, but what if you're working with dwarves? And using elvish technology for a guidance system?
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This is more of an orbital nuclear defense question since Mordor has a pretty in depth strategy against this sort of threat. Frodo probably didn’t consider this option because of the Pan-Middle Earth nuclear deescalation agreement of the second age, sub section 2, page five, which if violated could have big international downstream effects.
Legit question. Can the ring influence targeting computers over long distances? Or modern LLMs?
No but I'm sure it lt would literally (read: narratively) affect any mortal programming the computer, or setting the LLM out with such a purpose.
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Because Elrond cut the the budget of Revendell NASA to spend more money on some project to make elves self-deport.
Counterpoint.
What if they buried it, like real deep, like 50m+ deep.
It was at the bottom of a river for 2500 years, it’s honestly more effective than taking the ring right into enemy land.
If you read the books, a lot of people thought Sauron wasn't ever getting the One back because they were convinced it must've been swept out to sea.
I wouldn't put it past the ring to manipulate some octopus to carry it back to land.
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Question, if I have an unbreakable ring, what cool things could an engineer do with that?
Well it's interesting that it makes regular ringing/metallic sounds when it's dropped(at least in the movies), so it is not inelastic. Which means it could be deformed if placed under extreme force but it would always spring back into shape. So I think it might be the world's most powerful spring.
is there something useful that can be done with just ONE unbreakable spring?
It probably produce/absorb heat somehow when being deformed. Then, we use it to boil water, turn a turbine, and generate power!
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It really depends on the other material properties. Like if it's as slippery as nylon vs as slippery as rubber is really gonna change things. Plus how does it react to outside forces trying to destroy it? Absorption? Diffusion? Conversion (like heat into sound or something).
All that would drastically change what you could do with it
the question is, with only ONE of those rings, is there something useful to be done?
Sure. For me (computer scientist but went to engineering based school) I'd be most excited about the experimental possibilities.
I mean if nothing else the potential to have the world's most stable mass and dimensional object could revolutionize measurements, which might not sound the most practical until you realize just how much we rely on dimensional accuracy for so many things.
There's some experiments where we fire a laser at things, and we're approaching powers (zetawatts) where things basically instantly melt. Having a material that can withstand that could allow experiments that could push our understanding of light, nuclear reactions, quantum mechanics, and more.
From a practical aspect. If it, say, absorbs heat. Having a limitless heat sink could potentially let us explore deeper into the Earth's core than ever before (where the heat and pressure really caused issues for the drills).
And all that is just off a few seconds thought from a non engineer.
If it absorbs infinite heat, it would be great as a you heatsink - think of the possibilities? Or maybe it just has zero heat capacity.
Not sure if it is useful for measurement standards, as it is seen changing size based on the wielder.
which could be use for stuff. big finger person puts something inside, hand it to someone with smaller fingers, and it has unlimited crushing force.
Well, it doesn't change size based on the wielder. It changes size based on its will and what it percieves will bring it the result it desires. Which is admittedly way more complex and abstract. This is why I said knowing more about it's properties would be extremely important to figuring out how to use it.
If it only changes size in one direction, like growing bigger to slip off a finger, but the band width never changes, then it would still be extremely useful for some measurements. We also don't know if there's a maximum or minimum to it's size changes which would greatly matter.
It works well as a paperweight.
A drill bit, maybe?
Give it to someone like Styropyro, they'll figure out how to break it.
I mean, it all looks so simple.
And my Δv!
This is what I was waiting for. You know the theory of the eagles and Tom bombadil having the power to save everyone and not using it? What if the reason they didn't is because they can't. As in when they enter mordor they lose their power. Whereas the hobbits were removed from the magical doings of the world and therefore somewhat immune. Even galaxriel was temtpted by the ring. Bobmbadil probably only has power in his forest and the eagles only showed up after sauron's defeat but the eagles were on the spot right quick. Meaning they had to be close by. Which means they probably intended to be there and were waiting for wards to drop so they could help. Maybe.
My theory about Bombadil is that he was Tolkien's avatar in Middle Earth. Like, "I'm the one writing this story, I created this world, I'm more powerful than the gods of this realm, but if I solve all your problems right now then there wouldn't be a story so I'm not going to do that."
There's also the issue of anti-air defense in general. You can see those eagles from miles away.
Yeah, and the AA capabilities of Saruman would mean that even a highly manoeuvrable hypersonic cruise missile would have pretty low chances to get past, while the Sauron's eye seems like it could mess with onboard electronics.
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B'cause XOR!!!!
What's your equation to enter the cave?
Oops, you missed the cave and now you've just invented Middle Earth's fastest possible way to return the Ring to Sauron.
If you increase ∆v enough it cancels out the equation for entering the cave.
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There was a gif or a video montage of Boromir trying to catapult the ring to Mordor. Im on the move and cant search properly. But would be ideal for this discussion.
Edit: as per rule of the universe, found it after posting.
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it's gravity's rainbow not gravity's bilbo
Sauron the deceiver applauds your drone delivery.
Well for one, if they missed then they would basically be express shipping the ring back to Sauron...
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