[Quote] For all we know, a Covenant energy projector will do squat to ST ships and a photon torpedo will punch out a Covenant battlecruiser in one shot. You can't do a meaningful comparison that way. [Unquote]
Will I well do some math here on Covenant plasma torpedos at full power (aka, no Forerunner relics etc. forcing them to hold back) at Jericho VII.
Glassing of Jericho VII, Prologue of Halo: The Fall of Reach, P. 8.
What we know about the scene:
The Master Cheif "watched the planet for an hour" from the UNSC Resolute's bridge. During that time: "Three dozen Covenant ships--big ones, destroyers and cruisers--winked into view in the system. They were sleek, looking more like sharks than star craft. Their lateral lines brightened with plasma--then discharged and rained fire down upon Jericho VII."
"The planet's lakes, rivers, and oceans vaporized."
"Fields and forests were glassy smooth and glowing red-hot in patches."
We also know that "By tomorrow, the atmosphere would boil away, too." But we don't know the exact timeframe other then being around 12 hours given what we know from the other pages before this one.
Calc: We know the water in the oceans were vapourised in an hour by three dozen ships to ferive a firepower output value for these ships.
General assumptions: Jericho is similar to Earth (likely given that it is refer to as a "paradise") and so has around the same mass of oceans as Earth: 1.35 x 10^21kg. Average ocean temperature is 20 degrees celcius.
Low end assumptions: we well only take into account the effects of the attack on the oceans. Any effect on the lakes, rivers, fields, and forest mentioned are not included (so the actual value should be higher than this). The glassing took the full hour (so we ignore the time taken for the Covenant ships to reach the planet).
Data: latent heat vaporisation of water: 2260 J g^-1 =2260000 J kg^-1
Specific heat capacity of water: 4.1813 J g^-1 K^-1 = 4181.3 J kg ^-1
Calculations: total energy required to elevate 1kg of water from 20 degrees C to 100 degrees C, and then vapourise: 2260000 + 4181.3 * 80 = 2.5945 x 10^6 J kg^-1
Total mass of water in the oceans is 1.35 x 10^21kg
Total energy expended to vapourise oceans: 1.35 x 10^21 * 2.5945 x 10^6 = 3.50 x 10^27 J per hour per 36 ships. So power output = 2.70 x 10^22 W per ship.
This is equal to 6.45 x 10^12 tons of TNT per second, or 6,45 Teratons of TNT per second, LOW END, for large Covenant ships.
If a Covenant cruiser has 5 Plasma turrets and it takes a minute to charge that should be around 77 Teratons per torp. Yeah, I don't think the Feds have anything on the Covenant high end.
[Quote] Covie energy projectors *will* kill a borg cube... and only one borg cube. After that, they adapt.[Unquote]
They may be able to withstand several more shots after adapting but their still not going to last long.
[Quote] PS: That stuff on point defense applies to ships too. You can't hit a ship that's faster and more maneouvrable than what you're trying to hit it with, except at VERY short ranges. A SMAC projectile travels both slower than ships in ST and is totally non-maneouvrable; thus it has no chance of hitting a target at any respectable range that has the slightest randomness in acceleration, or is trying to avoid it.[Unquote]
Agreed on the SMAC, still going to be a major problem though when you have dozens of the things attacking.
[Quote] PPS: Some numbers to think about: The energy required to accelerate a single SMAC projectile to 0.4c is equivalent to buring 137 000 kg of antimatter at 100% efficiency, with 100% energy capture, and 100% energy conversion into accelerating the projectile. Or converting 39 million kg of hydrogen to helium through fusion. I find it hard to believe that a planet could supply those energy requirements. Of course, if it *is* true, then a single SMAC projectile could smash a ST ship to bits... if only it could hit one.[Unquote]
Yeah, I know, but then you see dozens of other Sci-fi universe that are also mismatched for the amount of power.
And some new data on the UNSC NOVA bomb that just brought the boom level up to...good bye everything.
A 2km moon, and the bomb is only 5000 km away for this low end calc.
Apply the inverse squared law: Source Enrgy / (4 * Pi * R^2) where the radius is the distance from the source to the range we want to look at,
x/ (4 * 3.14195... * 5,000^2) = 4 MT (or 0.000004 TT) per square kilometer to fragment said 2km moon which needs 8 MT to be fragmented.
x = 1,256 TT... still in teh Petaton range.
High end assumptions have it at half the distance to our moon from the planet and at 1 Exaton which is roughly enough to fragment a 2.5km moon. It is most likely still more than this. A LOT MORE.
Covenant Plasma Torpedos also have a 9+ light second range at a velocity of half of c.
