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  • Subject: A Dumb Question I must ask:
Subject: A Dumb Question I must ask:

What actually transpires beneath the veil of an event horizon? Decent people shouldn't think too much about that.

Academician Prokhor Zakharov
"For I Have Tasted The Fruit"

What happens if someone walks off the edge of the Halo Ring? Do they fall into space or go onto the other side of the ring?

  • 09.29.2012 11:55 AM PDT
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  • Fabled Legendary Member

I understand nothing because my life is a conspiracy.

You'd probably already be in space if you walked off the edge.

  • 09.29.2012 11:57 AM PDT

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If one were to stand on the edge and drop an object off of it, the object would be lunged in the same direction as the ring is spinning. Just like water off of a cycles spinning wheel.

[Edited on 09.29.2012 12:10 PM PDT]

  • 09.29.2012 12:09 PM PDT

You'd get the "Return to the Battlefield" popup.

  • 09.29.2012 12:17 PM PDT

If you're passionate about the thing you're talking about, I'll always lend an ear.

There's an invisible wall and a invisible height limit too.

  • 09.29.2012 12:38 PM PDT
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Don't do anything you wouldn't want to have to explain to paramedics. Trust me, I'm a pilot.

You can't walk off the edge, as there are walls on the outside of the ring. Combined with the spinning of the ring, these walls serve to keep the ring's atmosphere on the surface instead of flowing off the sides and into space. I don't recall how high these walls are, though I would imagine they would be several kilometers high in order to retain an atmosphere of suitable density for humans. In any case, you can't simply walk off the edge.

[Edited on 09.29.2012 1:00 PM PDT]

  • 09.29.2012 1:00 PM PDT

Haters are going to hate.
Praisers are going to praise.

The Bungie Forums are what keeps my mind sharp and my fingers active, between writing my own movie scripts, drawing, and studying industrial design. At the moment I'm working on miniatures for a short movie that I'll hopefully be able to film once I've saved up for a camera... That's me, with the mug, trying to have a conversation with Konoko.

Posted by: UphillMercuryDoesn't matter how high the wall is (it's not very high, replay Delta Halo and you'll see it in the distance), one would still be able to walk off the edge. This Paint infographic says it all. If the figure drops the red object, it will either fall into or from the screen, depending on which direction the ring spins.

Furthermore: that wall would not be enough to keep the rings atmosphere. The Forerunners probably used some kind of force field (hard light), but that is only speculation.

[Edited on 09.29.2012 1:33 PM PDT]

  • 09.29.2012 1:31 PM PDT
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Don't do anything you wouldn't want to have to explain to paramedics. Trust me, I'm a pilot.


Posted by: the real Janaka

Taken from Primordium:

"Shielding my eyes, I finally located the horizon - rising up like a distant wall. Turning slowly, swiveling my neck despite the pain, I tracked that far wall until it began to curve upward, ever so gently" (pg 27).

"'The wall keeps all the air and dirt from slopping into space'" (pg 40).

These quotes attest to the walls' function and size. The fact that these walls are clearly visible from a significant distance away for a significant distance clearly demonstrates that these walls are of some significant height. Next, consider the fact that the ring has to simulate gravity via centrifugal force. The earth's atmosphere is quite sizable. The thermosphere starts at an altitude of 100km. While the air is very thin, that means that there is 100km worth of atmosphere below that point. Now consider that the troposphere, where almost all weather occurs, starts at sea level and ends at a point 28,000-54,000ft ASL, depending where you are on the planet. In order to maintain a sufficient atmosphere for humans to breathe while spinning at a rate of 1g, the walls would have to be of sizable height.

Furthermore, Primordium mentions nothing of any extra means of retaining the atmosphere and terrain; it is only through centrifugal force and thick, high walls. While you could jump off if you wanted to, you would have to find some sort of transport up to the wall, and even then, you would simply fly off into space, as you would be free of the ring's centrifugal force.

[Edited on 09.30.2012 1:53 PM PDT]

  • 09.30.2012 9:02 AM PDT