Alicorns vs US military?

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

Geez! People are terrified of pastel colored horses! WMD! NOOOOOOOW! 

Kill them all and let God sort them out! 

 

Someone made a nice thread about supernovas and the capacity for the alicorn sisters to shield Equestria from the immense amount of energy. It made me think. If the Sisters move around celestial bodies with precision and ease, could they generate a shield strong enough to repel sustained fire from weaponry available to humans, preferably without destroying the planet in the process?

[Adorkable 2,737]

Geez! People are terrified of pastel colored horses! WMD! NOOOOOOOW! 

Kill them all and let God sort them out! 

 

 

Not really. If they shield themselves to try and survive a nuke, or even a high-yield conventional bomb, then the convective and radiative heat will still vaporize them.

 

The people or the ponies?

 

Couldn't they just catch the nuke with their magic?

[Chuckles4lyfe 441]

But I do also think that the military would get a cuteness overload, not pull the trigger, and join the ponies in one of Pinkie Pie's parties. 

 

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree with you. You can always count on Pinkie to throw an extravagant party that the world has never seen before  . Afterwards, they can all go to Rarity's boutique so that she can spruce up their uniforms to make them all look sharp, intimidating, and fabulous all at the same time  !  

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

 

 

Couldn't they just catch the nuke with their magic?

These weapons have all sorts of triggers. Then don't detonate on impact, but at a certain height and can even be detonated remotely. So catching it doesn't really help.

 

 

Not really. If they shield themselves to try and survive a nuke, or even a high-yield conventional bomb, then the convective and radiative heat will still vaporize them

Could their shields protect them from all that? So often we see in cartoons and the sort a big area destroyed around the perimeter of a shield.

[GXPBlast 597]

 

Someone made a nice thread about supernovas and the capacity for the alicorn sisters to shield Equestria from the immense amount of energy.

 

 

That would be me lol.

 

Most of the people in that thread concluded that there is no way Alicorns or even the planet for that matter would survive. They would be turned into dust if they were lucky, The heat itself would probably vaporize them.

[FractalMoon 378]

These weapons have all sorts of triggers. Then don't detonate on impact, but at a certain height and can even be detonated remotely. So catching it doesn't really help.

 

 

Could their shields protect them from all that? So often we see in cartoons and the sort a big area destroyed around the perimeter of a shield.

No actually, their shields could not protect them from that. Cartoons are not written for scientific accuracy, and as such do not factor in things such as convection, thermal radiation, and the conservation of momentum. In order for an alicorn shield to protect from all of these factors it must be:

1. Perfectly insular, meaning no heat enters or leaves it, which would lead to the ponies inside quickly cooking themselves in body heat.

2. Perfectly opaque, which is already impossible due to the fact that in multiple episodes we have seen through the shields alicorns put up.

3. A perfect absorber of vibration energy, these don't exist, but it can at least slide a bit.

4. Completely, 100% impermeable, which they obviously are not if ponies can breathe inside them.

 

Geez! People are terrified of pastel colored horses! WMD! NOOOOOOOW! 

Kill them all and let God sort them out!  

Someone made a nice thread about supernovas and the capacity for the alicorn sisters to shield Equestria from the immense amount of energy. It made me think. If the Sisters move around celestial bodies with precision and ease, could they generate a shield strong enough to repel sustained fire from weaponry available to humans, preferably without destroying the planet in the process?

RE: your question about supernovae.

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer: Assuming the shield is the size of the one created in the Season 2 Finale (A circular 1km dome with an apex of 1km) then the approximate yield of a Peacekeeper MIRV device detonated .5 kilometers above the apex of the shield (I.E. Directly above the castle) would be approximately 5777777777.777778 Kilojoules, give or take. For reference, it only requires approximately 393.5 kilojoules to burn an entire mole (12kg) of charcoal. This amount of energy, mind you, is from a single nuclear weapon, of which the united states have thousands. There is no way that even a seemingly immortal creature such as an alicorn would resist being reduced to a carbon shadow by this comparatively pitiful show of force, let alone the various other factors in a supernova.

[Adorkable 2,737]

These weapons have all sorts of triggers. Then don't detonate on impact, but at a certain height and can even be detonated remotely. So catching it doesn't really help.

 

...Instant transportation spell? ^^"

No actually, their shields could not protect them from that. Cartoons are not written for scientific accuracy, and as such do not factor in things such as convection, thermal radiation, and the conservation of momentum.

 

Agreed! ^^

 

With that said, it means the shields could possibly be extremely OP'd.

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

...Instant transportation spell? ^^"

Well, that should work. They would just have to clear the blast radius.

[Adorkable 2,737]

Well, that should work. They would just have to clear the blast radius.

 

Or warp it before the army knew to hit the button. ^^

[FractalMoon 378]

Or warp it before the army knew to hit the button. ^^

This assumes that Equestria, a peaceful nation, has created atomic bombs that look and behave exactly like ours despite obviously having vastly different priorities than us, and also managed to get the locations of every nuclear installation in the world. 

[GXPBlast 597]

No actually, their shields could not protect them from that. Cartoons are not written for scientific accuracy, and as such do not factor in things such as convection, thermal radiation, and the conservation of momentum. In order for an alicorn shield to protect from all of these factors it must be:

1. Perfectly insular, meaning no heat enters or leaves it, which would lead to the ponies inside quickly cooking themselves in body heat.

2. Perfectly opaque, which is already impossible due to the fact that in multiple episodes we have seen through the shields alicorns put up.

3. A perfect absorber of vibration energy, these don't exist, but it can at least slide a bit.

4. Completely, 100% impermeable, which they obviously are not if ponies can breathe inside them.

 

RE: your question about supernovae.

Short Answer: No.

Long Answer: Assuming the shield is the size of the one created in the Season 2 Finale (A circular 1km dome with an apex of 1km) then the approximate yield of a Peacekeeper MIRV device detonated .5 kilometers above the apex of the shield (I.E. Directly above the castle) would be approximately 5777777777.777778 Kilojoules, give or take. For reference, it only requires approximately 393.5 kilojoules to burn an entire mole (12kg) of charcoal. This amount of energy, mind you, is from a single nuclear weapon, of which the united states have thousands. There is no way that even a seemingly immortal creature such as an alicorn would resist being reduced to a carbon shadow by this comparatively pitiful show of force, let alone the various other factors in a supernova.

 This guy has it spot on. I agree with this, but like I said before the Alicorns themselves must not be aware what is going to happen or they can either transport the warheads somewhere else or turn them into fruit or something. Or they can just overwhelm them with thousands of warheads and dummy ones to confuse them so there is little to no chance of survival.

Edited March 23, 2014 by FurzVette

[Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb 167]

Just ONE alicorn could bring down the entire United States Military. Who needs guns when you have flight and magic?

just remember anyone attacking anyone could create an cross dimension war so our worlds and their worlds armyswould clash and no one would live because we would probobly resort to nuclear weapons and they would use hmm what weapons of mass destruction does equestria have....

[Adorkable 2,737]

This assumes that Equestria, a peaceful nation, has created atomic bombs that look and behave exactly like ours despite obviously having vastly different priorities than us, and also managed to get the locations of every nuclear installation in the world. 

 

That most certainly did not assume that. ^^"

 

I was just saying that the Alicorns could warp the nuke before the army knew to hit the "BOOM" button.

 

Do you ever just look at what you just typed and laugh?

[GXPBlast 597]

just remember anyone attacking anyone could create an cross dimension war so our worlds and their worlds armyswould clash and no one would live because we would probobly resort to nuclear weapons and they would use hmm what weapons of mass destruction does equestria have....

 

 

Elements of Harmony is all I can think of, but they are gone now.

 

The elements are meant to banish evil really, have yet to see it wipe out an entire military capable of destroying the world multiple times over.

[FractalMoon 378]

 This guy has it spot on. I agree with this, but like I said before the Alicorns themselves must not be aware what is going to happen or they can either transport the warheads somewhere else or turn them into fruit or something. Or they can just overwhelm them with thousands of warheads and dummy ones to confuse them so there is little to no chance of survival.

Just a moment of more mathematics as to their chances of stopping every nuclear weapon. Based on numbers released in 2005, the united states on its own has over 1100 missiles and bombs of various types, not counting conventional weapons of similar yield such as thermobaric warheads. Thus, assuming an average of 9 warheads per missile leads us to approximately 9900 individual warheads that four alicorns would have to pluck out of the sky. Assuming an average yield of 420 TerraJoules (420 MILLION kilojoules) per missile, we come to a delightful number of approximately 4158000000000 kilojoules in an alpha strike from a single country. This amount is vastly overkill for killing a single city, and neglects to count everything else that the other countries would throw out at them.

[Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb 167]

Dammit people stop talking about planetary war we are a level 5 planet (epic refrence is epic)

Edited March 23, 2014 by Anto677

[FractalMoon 378]

Dammit people stop talking about planetary war we are a level 5 planet (epic refrence is epic)

Actually, we're a Class 0 planet. As such, against a Class 2 (Stellar manipulation) civilization we should fight as hard as we can.

[SomariFeyWright 776]

... Personally, I think the alicorns would just attempt to befriend the military.

 

If/when that fails, there would be no casualties, as the alicorns would be busy attempting to simply deplete the U.S. army of it's resources, since I imagine that would be easy.

 

And then ask once again for peace.

 

When THAT fails, they kick the army out of Equestria and wonder what the hell was in those drinks last night.

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

No actually, their shields could not protect them from that. Cartoons are not written for scientific accuracy, and as such do not factor in things such as convection, thermal radiation, and the conservation of momentum.

I think it's questionable. For starters you are right cartoons are not about logic. But neither is magic.Our weaponry is limited to our universe's functionality i.e. physics. Magic, by definition, works with the supernatural. It has an effect and that is it. No other explanation required. Say that the caster thinks "I need protection" instinctively. And that is what the spell does. It protects. Sounds unfair, but it's magic.

 

I don't see a problem with it completely sealing the space around the caster. Extreme heat, pressure and radiation of any form would be be aggressive factors from which to protect the caster. The only problem I can see with this is that, indeed, their shields tend to be translucid. Yet, light is a form of radiation anyway. If it's going to harm the caster, the shield should somehow protected him/her. It's magic. It's cheating on the the laws of physics, like I said by definition.

 

That said, the problem is the residual radiation that remains after the blast. I'll cheat again. "Cleansing spell".

 

About the required amount of energy... Celestia outputs enough energy to, in the least, safely and and seemingly easily enough, move a star around while making a show of it. I think it's a lot of energy. Unless you think that Equestria's sun is not like ours and wouldn't required that much energy. Well, then we really have no parameters.

 

EDIT: By the way... nuclear physics could be so different in Equestria if their sun is different that a nuke could amount to a cute clarinet sounding in the night.

Edited March 23, 2014 by moonlightavenger

[FractalMoon 378]

I think it's questionable. For starters you are right cartoons are not about logic. But neither is magic.Our weaponry is limited to our universe's functionality i.e. physics. Magic, by definition, works with the supernatural. It has an effect and that is it. No other explanation required. Say that the caster thinks "I need protection" instinctively. And that is what the spell does. It protects. Sounds unfair, but it's magic.

 

I don't see a problem with it completely sealing the space around the caster. Extreme heat, pressure and radiation of any form would be be aggressive factors from which to protect the caster. The only problem I can see with this is that, indeed, their shields tend to be translucid. Yet, light is a form of radiation anyway. If it's going to harm the caster, the shield should somehow protected him/her. It's magic. It's cheating on the the laws of physics, like I said by definition.

 

That said, the problem is the residual radiation that remains after the blast. I'll cheat again. "Cleansing spell".

 

About the required amount of energy... Celestia outputs enough energy to, in the least, safely and and seemingly easily enough, move a star around while making a show of it. I think it's a lot of energy. Unless you think that Equestria's sun is not like ours and wouldn't required that much energy. Well, then we really have no parameters.

 

EDIT: By the way... nuclear physics could be so different in Equestria if their sun is different that a nuke could amount to a cute clarinet sounding in the night.

Again, if the fight occurred in Equestria the alicorns might have a chance, but here on earth they'd be hilariously stomped. I had a longer post in reply to this, but it was deleted by a browser crash, so I'm not going to re-write it.

[Metemponychosis 1,236]

Again, if the fight occurred in Equestria the alicorns might have a chance, but here on earth they'd be hilariously stomped. I had a longer post in reply to this, but it was deleted by a browser crash, so I'm not going to re-write it.

Not a problem. I'd say that the defining factor for a fight on Earth would be if their magic works here.

But I don't mind if you want to drop the subject.

[FractalMoon 378]

Not a problem. I'd say that the defining factor for a fight on Earth would be if their magic works here.

But I don't mind if you want to drop the subject.

It's not that, I just had a decently in-depth post and it annoys me too much to re-write it. Assuming that alicorns can somehow make thermodynamics their bitch (Which shouldn't be possible, at least in this universe) then they may be able to survive the nuclear bombardment for as long as their bodies hold out without food/oxygen, but the moment they want supplies they'll have to drop the shield and face the glow (assuming the magic shield is somehow smart enough to allow some light/heat in and not the vast majority of it)

[XxConfusedUnicornxX 832]

Magic man. Magic. Magic can do everything so yeah, alicorns.

[FractalMoon 378]

Magic man. Magic. Magic can do everything so yeah, alicorns.

Except it can't. To them, the simple act of turning a thriving forest into a burning hellscape with little more than the flick of a switch is magic, but to us it isn't. Your magic still follows real-world physics in the real world (Or else the universe gets uppity and has a habit of explosively describing its displeasure at you), and as such a nice alicorn will think its safe behind its shield until the bright flash occurs, turning them into a nice black shadow on the ground/wall.

[XxConfusedUnicornxX 832]

Except it can't. To them, the simple act of turning a thriving forest into a burning hellscape with little more than the flick of a switch is magic, but to us it isn't. Your magic still follows real-world physics in the real world (Or else the universe gets uppity and has a habit of explosively describing its displeasure at you), and as such a nice alicorn will think its safe behind its shield until the bright flash occurs, turning them into a nice black shadow on the ground/wall.

I have NO idea what you just said but okay. xD