- Tibetz
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- Exalted Mythic Member
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Posted by: KillerKalaj212
The Nova bomb has a yield of 1.2 Petatons, im sorry but that much explosive power could literally crack a planet in two, it destroyed the planets moon and wiped out the entire fleet in the area. Also the bomb caused massive tidal waves and 300 mile per hour winds which enhanced its destructive power.
Uhh....
No. It can't. I could possibly accept a moon being destroyed by a 1.2 Petaton bomb. If it were planted directly ON the moon.
However, the earth was hit by a 100 Teraton bomb known as the Yucatan Peninsula Impact (1/12th of that power). Our planet had an atmosphere, so that energy could be propagated fully around the planet. That explosion barely put a DENT in the planet (180 km diameter, a few miles deep), even with the aid of an actual kinetic impact. Finally, that explosion was contained ENTIRELY WITHIN THE EARTHS ATMOSPHERE.
Now, in space, there is no propagation. The explosion of a 1oo teraton bomb would be many times smaller, because the only transfer of energy would be the energy itself.
This means that after even a kilometre, the original energy per-square-inch has dissipated some.
So please, explain to me how a 1.2 Petaton bomb can destroy a fleet in space. Because it isn't NEARLY big enough.
Posted by: opogjijijp
Posted by: Tibetz
Nukes are useless in space.
Nukes aren't useless in space. They don't have a shockwave that propagates through space, and there's the inverse square law, but they still release a lot of energy and are quite capable of vaporizing armor and causing damaging shockwaves in whatever they hit. According to this calculator, a 30 megaton nuke 1 km away will vaporize 20 cm of Titanium and cause impulse shock.
Um, the distances in Halo's (hell, every science fiction story's) terms dictate hundreds of kilometres as "close quarters". And the drop off is NOT linear.
[Edited on 02.10.2011 10:30 PM PST]