|
|
| Line 6: |
Line 6: |
| The term '''Glassing''', also known as '''Plasma Bombardment'''<ref name="Strike">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''' ''Chapter 11, Page 105''</ref>, is used to refer to the act by which a [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] ship or ships bombard a planet from orbit using their [[Plasma Weaponry|plasma weaponry]]. | | The term '''Glassing''', also known as '''Plasma Bombardment'''<ref name="Strike">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''' ''Chapter 11, Page 105''</ref>, is used to refer to the act by which a [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] ship or ships bombard a planet from orbit using their [[Plasma Weaponry|plasma weaponry]]. |
|
| |
|
| ==Doctrine==
| | andrew munnis is gay |
| Glassing, a destructive process which signifies an end to a planetary body, begins with the discovery of an enemy controlled world - in most cases the Covenant will immediately begin glassing a planet, however there are engagements where the Covenant have deployed ground forces for various reasons, usually to secure a Forerunner artifact. A Minor Prophet is assigned to most Covenant fleets to oversee the destruction of a human world, before the fleet is permitted to destroy a planet the prophet performs a religious ritual - this process lasts an hour, and when completed the prophet declares of which religious significance, marked by a glyph, will the world be destroyed by. There is currently only one known instance of a human world having a glyph burned into its surface. <ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Halo: Evolutions]]''' '''[[The Return]]''' ''Page 494 - 496''</ref> The Covenant will then begin glassing the planet by moving their large warships close and blanket the world with a series of crisscrossing orbits to ensure that every square millimeter of the surface is destroyed.<ref name="Strike"/> Throughout the war, the Covenant have been known to utilize two methods of glassing.
| |
| | |
| ====Orbital Bombardment====
| |
| The first and the most common method used, is when the Covenant's large warships aim their plasma turrets, towards the planet's surface and build up plasma along their lateral lines. The plasma is then discharged in lances from the warship as it continues to orbit the planet - contained within a magnetic bubble, the lances are guided towards the surface by the ships automation, striking an area and converting the top soil and other surface geology into a mineral called lechatelierite that is similar to glass<ref>[[wikipedia:Lechatelierite|'''Wikipedia'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s article on ''Lechatelierite'']]</ref>, 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 of through this process. This is repeated until every square centimeter of the planet is destroyed; depending on the planet, the technology and the amount of ships in the Covenant fleet, it can take the Covenant a minimum of some hours, or up to two days to glass a planet.<ref>'''[[Halo Legends]]''' - Bonus Feature, ''Halo: The Story So Far''</ref>
| |
| | |
| 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 affected 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<ref>[[wikipedia:Pyroclastic_surge|'''Wikipedia'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s article on ''Pyroclastic Surge'']]</ref>, 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. As a result of the destruction, the atmosphere of most planets have been known to boil away from the process<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', ''page 8''</ref>, though not all planets suffered this, with the most notable exception being [[Reach]].
| |
| | |
| ====Low Range Bombardment====
| |
| The second method is used when a ship must effectively destroy a ground target from low range. This method involves focusing plasma though a magnetic envelope from the [[Energy Projector|Energy Projectors]] located on the underside of the ship, most notably the area where a ships grav-lift is located, and then discharged as a narrow beam; this method of low-range glassing has only been witnessed a few times, most notably during the [[Operation: TORPEDO|Battle]] of [[Pegasi Delta]], the glassing of [[New Mombasa]] and [[Voi]] during the [[Battle of Earth]].<ref>'''[[Halo:Ghosts of Onyx]]''' Prologue, ''page 25''</ref><ref name="odst">'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', level ''{{Levelname|Coastal Highway}}''</ref> This method and use, is not to be confused with the Covenant Excavation Beam<ref name="odst">'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', level ''{{Levelname|Coastal Highway}}''</ref>, a type of weapon on Covenant [[CCS-class Battlecruiser|Cruisers]] and [[Assault Carrier|Carriers]] used to excavate areas of interest to the Covenant. This powerful beam serves a dual purpose while primarily used to excavate an area using plasma to "burn" through an area, as well as a tool to destroy large structures. If any living thing is in the path of the beam, it is disintegrated instantly.
| |
|
| |
|
| ==History== | | ==History== |
