Energy barrier

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An energy barrier in the hangar bay of a Covenant corvette.

Energy barriers, sometimes referred to as energy fields, are a type of visible energy field used to separate a pressurized environment from the vacuum of space. Energy barriers are useful because they allow solid matter through, but not gases, such as oxygen and neon. However, before matter passes through, the pressure on both sides must be equalized, to minimize the risk of explosive decompression.

The Covenant use energy barriers as hangar doors, in airlocks and for boarding parties to board enemy ships. Energy barriers are present on Covenant boarding craft, on the end of the craft's penetration tip. Energy barriers are also used as exterior doors in hangar bays on Covenant starships. The barriers can also be configured to block all vehicles or personnel or allow them to pass through when required. It is interesting to note that Covenant signal units work through Covenant energy barriers, while human COM units do not.

Before the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC had begun to experiment with energy barriers. After reverse-engineering Covenant technology, the UNSC was able to easily produce and deploy energy barriers. By 2546, the UNSC had begun to employ energy barrier technology in their space installations and ships in a fashion similar to the Covenant. Examples of human energy barriers include: hangar bay doors on the Argent Moon, the hangar bay doors on the Sabre engineering facility on the orbital dockyard Anchor 9, and the windows of the Charon-class light frigate UNSC Forward Unto Dawn. As the most advanced warship in the Fleet, the hangar bays of the UNSC Infinity are also equipped with energy barriers.

Other energy barriers are used for security purposes. Covenant prison cells, such as those found in the Truth and Reconciliation's brig, utilized energy barriers that stopped all solid matter from passing through.

During the Installation 07 conflict, the Banished used energy barriers for a variety of purposes, often in lieu of physical windows.

Gameplay

In the Halo games, energy barriers are typically encountered in levels featuring a Covenant ship.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, it is possible to operate the shuttle bay doors of the Truth and Reconciliation. On the level The Truth and Reconciliation, the player is able to access the doors by heading to the third floor of the shuttle bay and pressing X on the control panel. This is required to complete the mission, so the player can escape in a Spirit with Keyes.

In Halo: Reach, on the Covenant corvette Ardent Prayer in the level Long Night of Solace, the shields operate differently: after Noble Six presses a button, the shields still remain in place over the bay, but ships can now go in and out of them. Presumably they are simply lowered to a point things could travel through them while remaining in place to hold the atmosphere in the bay as the ship is in space.

Gallery

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  An open human energy barrier on Argent Moon.

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  The same energy barrier closed.

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  Another type of energy barrier used by the Covenant to contain prisoners in holding cells.

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  John-117 gets thrown through the Infinity's energy barrier.

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  An energy barrier covering one of the Ghost of Gbraakon's hangar bays.

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  An energy barrier next to the controls for the Banished mining laser at Site Novem.

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  Tremonius standing in front of an energy barrier while facing off against John-117 underneath Outpost Tremonius.

List of appearances

• Halo: Combat Evolved (First appearance)
• Halo: First Strike
• Halo 2
• Halo 3
• Halo: Contact Harvest
• Halo Legends
  • The Package
• Halo: Reach
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
• Halo 4
  • Spartan Ops
• Halo 2: Anniversary
• Hunt the Truth
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo: Tales from Slipspace
  • Hunting Party
• Halo: Envoy
• Halo: Retribution
• Halo Infinite