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This topic has moved here: Subject: The defiinition of "Glassing", for those of you who are a...
  • Subject: The defiinition of "Glassing", for those of you who are a...
Subject: The defiinition of "Glassing", for those of you who are a...

J-H

The term Glassing, is also known as Plasma Bombardment or Orbital Bombardment, is used to refer to the act by which a Covenant ship or ships bombard a planet from orbit using their Plasma Weaponry. The superheated plasma "bolts" discharge, striking the surface and converting the top soil and other surface geology into a mineral called lechatelierite that is similar to glass, hence its name. The process also vaporizes any bodies of water the planet may possess, or at least reduces the remaining water to pools choked with ash. The ecosystem of a planet is also disposed off through this process. The Covenant have been known to utilize two methods of glassing. The first and the most common method used is when a ship or ships build up plasma along their lateral lines and discharge lances of plasma from orbit, which are guided until they impact the surface. This is repeated until every square centimeter of the planet is destroyed; in most cases it only takes the Covenant twelve hours to glass a planet. The second method is used when a ship must effectively destroy a ground target from low range. This method involves building up plasma from the underside of the ship and then discharging it in a laser beam form; this method of low-range glassing has only been witnessed a few times, most notably during the Battle of Pegasi Delta and the glassing of Voi during the Second Battle of Earth. As a result of the destruction, the atmosphere of most planets have been known to boil away from the process, though not all planets suffer this, the most notable example being Reach.

The impact of the plasma bolt is similar to that of a nuclear detonation on a much different scale. When the plasma bolt impacts the surface, the magnetic field sustaining and guiding the plasma collapses, and, depending on how powerful the release of energy is, the initial zone of impact is obliterated instantly. The areas outside of the initial impact zone are effected by the heat wave generated by the blast; depending on the range, those closest outside of the blast zone are instantly killed by the intense heat. As thermal expansion takes over, the resulting flames fan out and create a pyroclastic surge, which will continue to burn the areas it comes into contact with until it has cooled enough that it cannot harm the surface. Subsequently, the atmosphere is covered with soot and ash thrown up from the initial impact, subjecting the planet to a nuclear winter. As the initial impact area cools, the surface is covered by extensive areas of molten soil, and is comparable to active volcanic sites in some parts of the world, on a larger scale depending on the extent. The destructive process leaves the planet unable to recover to its former state.


Harvest, partially glassed by the Coveant.Throughout the Human-Covenant War, the Covenant aggressors glassed a significant majority of the UNSC's colony worlds from orbit. And although ground forces were invariably deployed first, as UNSC forces were routed in space, the bombardment would commence. The first planet to suffer this fate was Harvest, glassed from the Jiralhanae-operated cruiser Rapid Conversion. It has been noted that areas of interest to the Covenant are left intact for reasons of study or retrieval; however, this is not common, as only three planets have been partially glassed and only when a Forerunner Artifact was discovered. After the Covenant glasses a planet, a shard of glass is removed and placed in the Step of Silence within High Charity, where it hangs with hundreds of other shards from worlds glassed by the Covenant.



You're welcome :)

[Edited on 06.19.2009 4:03 AM PDT]

  • 06.19.2009 4:02 AM PDT

wow.. thanks for the massive in-depth thing on glassing, i never knew :(

i should really read the books, lol

  • 06.19.2009 4:08 AM PDT

J-H

It IS a pretty specific thing to know so don't worry about not reading the books :)

  • 06.19.2009 4:10 AM PDT

how did you know all that?

  • 06.19.2009 4:11 AM PDT

J-H

Well, i knew most of it but i DID copy and paste that from www.halo.wikia.com :P

Another few nuggets of trivia i do know about glassing is that:
1. There was a room in High Charity, inside of the Prophets sanctum, where there were 76 glass shards (19 shards in 4 rows). The room was called the Step of Silence and each glass shard was a piece of a planet the Covenant had glassed.
2. I also know that in Halo 3, Shipmaster Rtas 'Vadum (The white Elite with only two lips) wanted to glass ALL of Earth instead of just Voi, when the Flood infected Voi. The Shipmaster only stopped because of The Arbiter's "counsel".

  • 06.19.2009 4:17 AM PDT
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One thing that always bothered me about the idea of glassing a planet is the method. I understand how it works and all but seriously to blast the entire surface of a planet would take millions of shots and a heck of a lot of ships and or one ship lots of time to do it.

Even small planets have vast surface areas. Even a full on plasma blast would only be a pinprick over an entire planet.

Yes I know how it is supposed to work but logic tells me that in reality it would actually be a bit harder than in the Haloverse.

  • 06.19.2009 5:10 AM PDT

Loyalty is all I have.

Thanks for that, most people think that it is literally turned into bright and shiny glass, but it really looks more like volcanic glass, full of soot and the plane would be blackened to a crisp, not shiny at all

  • 06.19.2009 6:12 AM PDT
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You know what's funny? In the Halo Wars website, which is not made by Bungie, they mention how the humans were cowards and rammed their enemies safe in their Warthog.....

Now what the hell is unsafe with glassing a planet from space with no stopping in you?? And how can't you be called a coward after that?

  • 06.19.2009 6:14 AM PDT

J-H

Posted by: V101
One thing that always bothered me about the idea of glassing a planet is the method. I understand how it works and all but seriously to blast the entire surface of a planet would take millions of shots and a heck of a lot of ships and or one ship lots of time to do it.

Even small planets have vast surface areas. Even a full on plasma blast would only be a pinprick over an entire planet.

Yes I know how it is supposed to work but logic tells me that in reality it would actually be a bit harder than in the Haloverse.

Exactly, it's not reality :P But on a serious note: The Covenant have weapons that can "snipe" out the largest UNSC ships from MASSIVE distances, in one shot so if they have the power to take out a ship with meter thick titanium (i think) armor then surely they could muster enough power to overcharge their normal plasma weaponary and create a "super" shot?

[Edited on 06.19.2009 6:25 AM PDT]

  • 06.19.2009 6:24 AM PDT
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Umm the Energy Beams or Plasma Beams or w/e the covenant use are not hair thin. These things are like nukes, stronger then nukes, it would be like getting hit by 10000+ nukes every few minutes. The beams are big, and not only that everybeam takes a huge area with it. I mean one ship could probably destroy New York City within a few minutes.

SO with the # of ships, the power, banshees and overall power YES Glassing is Possible. What's more unlikely is destroying a planet. Burning a surface is a lot more likely then somehow destroying something that is 5,973,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 Tons, and yet now destroying every ship around it.

Oddly enough I always wanted to know that, how can somethnf destroy a planet or star yet NOT destroy everything around it. The amount of force to destroy something that heavy and think would have to have the power to reach space.

  • 06.19.2009 8:52 AM PDT

J-H

another thing i don't get about it is that surely they would eventually ignite the atmosphere which would burn their ship up and kill them and everything on the planet and within it's immediate vicinity. I mean in my OP it says the atmosphere bioled away on a few planets but i thought it would have ignited (i follow canon over what i think any day :P )

[Edited on 06.19.2009 9:00 AM PDT]

  • 06.19.2009 8:59 AM PDT
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Posted by: MasterJh
another thing i don't get about it is that surely they would eventually ignite the atmosphere which would burn their ship up and kill them and everything on the planet and within it's immediate vicinity. I mean in my OP it says the atmosphere bioled away on a few planets but i thought it would have ignited (i follow canon over what i think any day :P )


Yes that is possible. Except it didn't happen on Reach and 90% of that planet was glassed with just a small portion of it left intact and perfectly able to sustain life for at least some time after the rest of the planet was glassed.

Seriously a planet has a huge surface area when you work it out. Even if the beams were as wide as a city it would take ages to cover an entire planet. The beams are nowhere near that wide. Look at the cinematics after the level when the Flood is on Earth in Halo 3. Several Elite ships are glassing a single city using rather narrow beams. Sure the beams are not all that wide.


Glassing is possible yes but practical hmmm. Oh and I agree with not destroying a planet, that would be harder than glassing by a factor of at least 100%.

[Edited on 06.19.2009 9:07 AM PDT]

  • 06.19.2009 9:04 AM PDT

does the unsc send ships to space to stop glassing. wow i just thought of a good level that can be used in halo reach

  • 06.19.2009 9:45 AM PDT
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Thanks for the post :D Very helpful!

  • 06.19.2009 9:58 AM PDT