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  • Subject: Where the books are wrong: the effects of glassing a planet
Subject: Where the books are wrong: the effects of glassing a planet

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Not sure which forum this fits in, but here goes...

According to the books, when a planet is glassed, the oceans are hit as well and boil away. The planet's surface is bombarded with plasma until there is absolutely nothing left. After a few days, the atmosphere boils away and leaves the planet truly barren. This is scientifically impossible.

If such a thing were to happen and the oceans were to boil away, we can assume that plasma was hot enough to crack a lot of that water into its component atoms, hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would be light enough to escape the planet's gravitational pull. The oxygen would not. The atmosphere wouldn't boil away. It would actually be many times denser.

Basically, the conditions on the surface of a glassed planet would be like the surface of Venus on a bad day. The ground temperature would be several hundred degrees celsius, with the crust partially molten. The atmosphere would be a greenhouse oven, meaning it would stay that way indefinitely. Finally, there would be increased seismic and volcanic activity, and the atmosphere would be mainly composed of a very flammable, very toxic, and very corrosive gas: oxygen.

Just a thought.

  • 06.27.2006 10:18 AM PDT
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Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.

  • 06.27.2006 10:19 AM PDT

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Posted by: an REG Omega
This is scientifically impossible.

So is faster than light travel.

  • 06.27.2006 10:19 AM PDT

Posted by: Kilwan
Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.


no it is a game based on a book.

  • 06.27.2006 10:21 AM PDT
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Omega is right.

The oceans would boil away if, say, the glassing process were slightly cooler. But yes, Omega is correct--the water would be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen would drift off, much like gas does in a supernova, and the oxygen would remain.

If there is enough oxygen afterwards, it would create one hell of a big ozone layer that is toxic enough to kil anything left over.

I agree with REG Omega.

  • 06.27.2006 10:24 AM PDT
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Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.


no it is a game based on a book.


Nope. Other way round. If the game was made off the book, the other Spartans would have been in it from the beginning. But they aren't, proving the game was made first.

  • 06.27.2006 10:24 AM PDT
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I dont know exactly. But I would think that Bungie would think it through. But really I'm not sure.

  • 06.27.2006 10:25 AM PDT

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Posted by: halo is ok
You should of made up your own instrument. You could have named it the PolarLighting -a-phone. People would buy it and they would all be like "Awh, He's so cool for inventing the PolarLighting-a-phone."

Does it honestly matter if the game is factually correct?

  • 06.27.2006 10:28 AM PDT
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Posted by: Kilwan
Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.


no it is a game based on a book.


Nope. Other way round. If the game was made off the book, the other Spartans would have been in it from the beginning. But they aren't, proving the game was made first.


BUT the game wasnt necesarilly the first halo thing made. The Cortana Letters were first posted in 1999. HALO:CE came out in 2001.

  • 06.27.2006 10:30 AM PDT

Posted by: Kilwan
Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.


no it is a game based on a book.


Nope. Other way round. If the game was made off the book, the other Spartans would have been in it from the beginning. But they aren't, proving the game was made first.


well considering 2 books were out b4 a game was out, i do think u r wrong. and also considering these 2 books are named HALO also. the game is based on the books, but are not precise to the books. they get ideas fromt he books.

thank you..

  • 06.27.2006 10:35 AM PDT
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People, Ozone is O3 which would mean stray oxygen wouldn't make a thicker ozone layer unless 3 molecules of oxygen were bonded together. Therefore, your wrong. If the Ozone was burned away, all the extra gasses would be drifting off in space, not creating a "Super Atmosphere"

  • 06.27.2006 10:46 AM PDT
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Ozone is too dense to be burned away. Hydrogen would drift off first.

  • 06.27.2006 10:46 AM PDT
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Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.


no it is a game based on a book.


Nope. Other way round. If the game was made off the book, the other Spartans would have been in it from the beginning. But they aren't, proving the game was made first.


well considering 2 books were out b4 a game was out, i do think u r wrong. and also considering these 2 books are named HALO also. the game is based on the books, but are not precise to the books. they get ideas fromt he books.

thank you..


I have a copy of "The Fall of Reach" sitting here. On the front cover it says "The official prequel to the award-winning Xbox game!"

It also has an Xbox logo on the front.

On the back is says "This novel is based on a Mature rated video game"

Also in the acnowledgments, Bungie is mentioned for making such a superb game... that's not a direct quote, but even so... The books are most definitely based on the game, not the other way around. It's what you call fan-fiction, it happens with most good video games, movies, TV series, etc.

  • 06.27.2006 10:53 AM PDT
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Regardless of what happens to the atmosphere after glassing a planet, the surface is still uninhabitable. It doesn't really matter much.

  • 06.27.2006 10:56 AM PDT
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Posted by: an REG Omega
Not sure which forum this fits in, but here goes...

According to the books, when a planet is glassed, the oceans are hit as well and boil away. The planet's surface is bombarded with plasma until there is absolutely nothing left. After a few days, the atmosphere boils away and leaves the planet truly barren. This is scientifically impossible.

If such a thing were to happen and the oceans were to boil away, we can assume that plasma was hot enough to crack a lot of that water into its component atoms, hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would be light enough to escape the planet's gravitational pull. The oxygen would not. The atmosphere wouldn't boil away. It would actually be many times denser.

Basically, the conditions on the surface of a glassed planet would be like the surface of Venus on a bad day. The ground temperature would be several hundred degrees celsius, with the crust partially molten. The atmosphere would be a greenhouse oven, meaning it would stay that way indefinitely. Finally, there would be increased seismic and volcanic activity, and the atmosphere would be mainly composed of a very flammable, very toxic, and very corrosive gas: oxygen.

Just a thought.


You missed one thing. The ozone & the earth magnetic field is what keeps the atmosphere. The magnetic field would be greatly disruped by extremely high yeild plasma, having it's own magnetic hodgepodge, and a magnetic casing strong enuff to contain it. Once our ozone is gone... nothing will live, and the atmosphere is reduced to almost nothing.

[Edited on 6/27/2006]

  • 06.27.2006 10:58 AM PDT

Posted by: Chobo 66
So here's some advice. Hookers. You give them your money. they give you a few moments of happiness. Then you go home. The way it was meant to be. Posted by: Blackbird42
Actually I listened to the audio and he said something about the body rewarding social interaction because is was necessary to survive... well so was the appendix, and now all the appendix does is explode and kill you.

this is 500 years from now, god knows what the earth is like then

  • 06.27.2006 10:58 AM PDT
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It doesn't matter if its 500 years from now, it's not like the laws of physics could change.

  • 06.27.2006 11:00 AM PDT
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It's a book, and the plasma could also cool down while on it's way to the surface, and it could look like it was glassed from space, however, one thing you miss here, one very important thing, this has nothing to do with Halo 3

  • 06.27.2006 11:00 AM PDT
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Posted by: Vitamin Zawaz
It doesn't matter if its 500 years from now, it's not like the laws of physics could change.


Slip space obeys the currently know laws of physics?

  • 06.27.2006 11:05 AM PDT

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an R.E.G. Omega is partially correct, yes the atmosphere would become denser, but the plasma, being contained in a magnetic envelope would disrupt the magnetic feild stopping the core of the planet from spinning causing there to be no pull on the atmosphere letting it drift away after a long period of time

  • 06.27.2006 11:05 AM PDT
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Posted by: an REG Omega
Not sure which forum this fits in, but here goes...

According to the books, when a planet is glassed, the oceans are hit as well and boil away. The planet's surface is bombarded with plasma until there is absolutely nothing left. After a few days, the atmosphere boils away and leaves the planet truly barren. This is scientifically impossible.

If such a thing were to happen and the oceans were to boil away, we can assume that plasma was hot enough to crack a lot of that water into its component atoms, hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen would be light enough to escape the planet's gravitational pull. The oxygen would not. The atmosphere wouldn't boil away. It would actually be many times denser.

Basically, the conditions on the surface of a glassed planet would be like the surface of Venus on a bad day. The ground temperature would be several hundred degrees celsius, with the crust partially molten. The atmosphere would be a greenhouse oven, meaning it would stay that way indefinitely. Finally, there would be increased seismic and volcanic activity, and the atmosphere would be mainly composed of a very flammable, very toxic, and very corrosive gas: oxygen.

Just a thought.


well de books say its going to turn into a barren wasteland and you say it would actually look like Venus on a NICE day...so that do you want explosions equal to 1 million Hiroshimas

  • 06.27.2006 11:12 AM PDT
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The Marty Army

Ah, look at the lonely people...

Yeah, that's my question, if the planet's magnetic field disrupts the plasma's magnetic envelope, then how do they fire plasma into a planet's atmosphere from space? Unless they did it from the upper atmosphere, of course, but wouldn't that risk them being swallowed in the now very dense atmopshere?

  • 06.27.2006 11:13 AM PDT

READ CLOSLEY. Frist of all they do it within the atmosphere. Second, it is possible to be done. Please thinkg before you post guys.

  • 06.27.2006 11:15 AM PDT

Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Posted by: Ditto649
Posted by: Kilwan
Plasmaaa....is pretty damn hot? But on other news, it IS just a book written on a game.


no it is a game based on a book.


Nope. Other way round. If the game was made off the book, the other Spartans would have been in it from the beginning. But they aren't, proving the game was made first.


well considering 2 books were out b4 a game was out, i do think u r wrong. and also considering these 2 books are named HALO also. the game is based on the books, but are not precise to the books. they get ideas fromt he books.

thank you..


It says at the end of "The Fall of Reach" that the books are based off the "Award-winning Xbox Game"

The books came out after CE, not before. Actually, over a year after the game came out.

The Cortana Letters were published in 1999, but they were working on Halo as an RTS game prior to 1998.

The game was under developement before the letters were published.

  • 06.27.2006 11:17 AM PDT