Editing Glassing

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{{Quote|You are...all of you...vermin. Cowering in the dirt thinking... what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. [[Human|Your]] [[Earth|world]] will burn until its surface is but glass!|[[Prophet of Truth]]}}
[[Image:Reach glassed.png|thumb|300px|right|[[Reach]], in process of being glassed by the Covenant.]]
[[File:Mombasa Glassing.jpg|300px|thumb|New Mombasa being glassed.]]
[[Image:Halo3 E3 TRAILER 2007 720p30 ST 6300Kbps 002 0001.jpg|thumb|300px|Two [[Covenant Separatist|Separatist]] {{Class|CCS|Battlecruiser}}s perform a low range glassing of the Voi district in [[Africa]] during the [[Battle of Earth]] to prevent the [[Flood]] from spreading further.]]

The term '''Glassing''', is also known as '''Plasma Bombardment''' or '''Orbital Bombardment''', is used to refer to the act by which a [[Covenant]] ship or ships bombard a planet from orbit using their [[Plasma#Weapons|Plasma Weaponry]]. The superheated plasma "bolts" discharge, striking the surface and converting the top soil and other surface geology into a mineral called lechatelierite that is similar to glass, 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<ref>[http://www.halowars.com Halowars.com]</ref>. The ecosystem of a planet is also disposed of through this process. The Covenant have been known to utilize two methods of glassing. The first and the most common method used is when a ship or ships build up plasma along their lateral lines and discharge lances of plasma from orbit, which are guided until they impact the surface. This is repeated until every square centimeter of the planet is destroyed; in most cases it only takes the Covenant twelve hours to glass a planet. The second method is used when a ship must effectively destroy a ground target from low range. This method involves building up plasma from the underside of the ship and then discharging it in a narrow, concentrated beam; this method of low-range glassing has only been witnessed a few times, most notably during the [[Operation: TORPEDO|Battle]] of [[Pegasi Delta]]<ref>''[[Halo:Ghosts of Onyx]]'' Prologue, page 25</ref>, the glassing of [[New Mombasa]] and Voi during the [[Battle of Earth]]. 

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 suffer this, the most notable example being Reach.

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>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic_surge Wikipedia'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.
[[Image:Harvest Plasma Glassed.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Harvest]], partially glassed by the Covenant.]]
Throughout the [[Human-Covenant War]], the Covenant aggressors glassed a significant majority of the [[UNSC]]'s colony worlds from orbit. And although ground forces were invariably deployed first, as UNSC forces were routed in space, the bombardment would commence.<ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''</ref> The first planet to suffer this fate was [[Harvest]], glassed from the [[Jiralhanae]]-operated [[Covenant Cruiser|cruiser]] ''[[Rapid Conversion]]''.<ref>''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''</ref> It has been noted that areas of interest to the Covenant are left intact for reasons of study or retrieval; however, this is not common, as only three planets have been partially glassed and only when a Forerunner Artifact was discovered.<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]''</ref> After the Covenant glasses a planet, a shard of glass is removed and placed in the ''[[Step of Silence]]'' within ''[[High Charity]]'', where it hangs with hundreds of other shards from worlds glassed by the Covenant.<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]] Epilogue, page 338''</ref>

The [[Battle of Earth]] culminated in the glassing of the city of [[Voi]] in [[Africa]] by [[Covenant Separatists]], in an effort to contain a [[Flood]] infestation which had come to [[Earth]] only hours earlier. <ref>''[[Halo 3]]'', ''[[Floodgate (Level)]]''</ref> Lord Hood accuses the Sangheili lead fleet of glassing half of the continent, but given his distaste for his former enemies, he might have exaggerated about the actual extent of the glassing. This is supported by the fact that the area around Kilimanjaro seems relatively intact during the ceremony at the end of the game. It is unknown what other areas of the Earth, if any, were glassed by the Covenant prior to their abandonment of the planet and the arrival of the Sangheili.

==''Halo Wars''==
[[Image:Glassinglaz0r.jpg|thumb|100px|right|The Prophet of Regret's Cleansing beam in ''[[Halo Wars]]''.]]

In ''[[Halo Wars]]'', the Prophet of Regret faction of the Covenant are able to use the Prophet to call down a [[Cleansing Beam]] from an orbiting Covenant ship. Rather than a leader power, this is treated as the unit's secondary ability, using the Y button to guide the beam at the cost of resources every second. It lacks the power of typical glassing maneuvers seen in past canon to balance gameplay. However, the power may be lowered to avoid Covenant casualties.

==Trivia==
*By the end of [[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]] and ''Halo 2'', the Covenant had glassed 76 planets which were represented by 19 shards in 4 rows in the ''[[Step of Silence]]''.<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', page 338</ref><ref>''[[Halo 2]]'': ''[[High Charity]]''</ref>

*It has been noted that the [[UNSC]] had over 800 planets under its control at the beginning of the Human-Covenant War, most of which presumably fell to the Covenant during the war. However, the Step of Silence, an area where a piece of glass from every glassed planet is placed, only has 76 shards of glass. Whether this was a technical limitation of the hardware, or meant to represent planets glassed in the time between ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' and ''[[Halo 2]]'' remains a mystery, this also conflicts with the fact that the games and books make it seem like mankind is on its last legs, in Halo 2 and more so in Halo 3 and if only 76 planets were glassed then humanity is nowhere near beaten unless, the 76 colonies that were glassed were major human colonies with most of the UNSC's infastructure and military support and the rest simply small outposts in comparison. A possible explanation would be that the number of UNSC colonies has simply been [[Wikipedia:Retroactive continuity|retconned]], as the only mention of 800 planets under its control is found in the manual of ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.

==Sources==
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[[Category:Military Terminology]]
[[Category:The Covenant]]
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