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What is the most energy-efficient way to crush the hardest bedrock on earth while assuming it is impossible to use the chain reaction energy from that bedrock?

How many energy is needed?

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Depends. How long do you want it to take? – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Jul 19 '12 at 23:38
@IgnacioVazquez-Abrams - For a terminator size robot punch his arm into the bedrock. – Victor Jul 20 '12 at 0:11
Can you clarify your question. When you say "crush" do you mean break up into gravel? Are you thinking about tunneling through bedrock? – John Rennie Jul 20 '12 at 8:34
@JohnRennie - yes – Victor Jul 20 '12 at 15:44

1 Answer

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TBM's are the acceptable methods for creating tunnels. I think they will not be able to work if you have bedrock made out of diamonds and it may be extremely slow if it were made out of corrundum. Personally I have never heard of any bedrock made entirely out of one mineral, hence the term bed"rock". As far as crushing rock any rock crusher will do the job. Most I have seen and used feed vertically into a pair of vice-like jaws with one jaw moving back and forth. Softer rocks like limestone will be crushed down as small as you want it. Other rocks are submitted to a test called an LA ware where the sample is beat with 8 steel balls in a rotating drum. After a certain number of cycles you measure the amount of material lost. Believe it or not Quartzite used as railroad ballast disintegrates in an La ware test.

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