The nova blasts are too big I think, it should be a ten meter diameter AT MOST.
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Dang, Bionicle is ridiculous and you just proved it.
This was a fun read, cool to see elements of bionicle explored in a realistic manner.
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I never really understood how a Nova blast was really practical considering the main thing in the toa code is “Do not kill.” How is that not going to kill people?
Elemental powers never did make sense physically. Something like a nova blast for most toa, would create a huge shockwave. Think of how much air displacement there would be, and how quickly it would happen.
I do wonder how toa energy is measured. Is it by the weight of what they’re creating, or the volume? Depending on the answer, toa of air, are either very weak, or very strong. Also how does any of this really work for toa of sonics, or psionics?
So many questions, I’ll just have to suspend disbelief, and say Bionicle is built different.
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This was a super cool read. The only assumption I disagree with is the use of iron in the calculations (since Toa of Iron are really Toa of Metal), but the specifics of the exact properties aren’t going to change the fact that this is an inconveivable amount of energy.
That’s not much of a last-resort emergency measure.
It absolutely would; that’s why it’s a last-resort emergency measure.
I’d assume it’s by mass, since mass and energy are related by E=mc^2.
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“Why doesn’t Marendar go after Makuta?”
THIS This is why!
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Another amazing piece of content @RahiWatching 
This is exactly the type of analysis I enjoy.
Here are a few things to consider in addition to your calculations. The effects of the Nova Blast can vary even within the element and the Toa can control these effects even after the blast is already set off, albeit it is very difficult for them to do. You assumed a two dimensional plane with a third dimension of 1 cm, but we could also consider a spherical blast area using the same radius.
To add to the reserves of elemental energy, Toa can also draw upon the existing element in the environment to boost the Nova blast further.
The only Nova Blast we see fully performed in story had several special things about it: Gali Nuva first “silently” released the Nova equivalent of elemental energy into its blast radius and used it to extend her elemental reach and condense all of the moisture in that area. She then materialized all of this water which she drew toward her in a form of a gigantic circular tidal wave which leveled all of Karzahni. While keeping herself and her allies from drowning using her KauKau Nuva, she was manipulating the currents in her immediate location to try and wrench the Staff of Artakha from Icarax’s hands. However as you can imagine her control under such extreme conditions was hampered and she failed to do so before Icarax escaped.
What we can gather from this is that a Nova blast can have various forms, can be boosted further using environmental resources and can at least crudely be controled during the actual blast.
Nova Balsts become even more extreme when we take into acount the predicted gravity and material density of the MU/Spherus Magna.
To finish my commentary on the extremity of the energies involved in a Nova Blast, there is a quote implying that the Nova Blasts have even greater planet-wiping extinction event potential than we were led to believe and the domes of the MU are actually designed to restrict and isolate the power of the Nova Blasts to a smaller area.
Happy nightamers Agori, I hope Marendar comes to save you.
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At least it’s an emergency measure instead of an emergency.
Also once you do the math, that still has more energy than the Tsar Bomba.
If toa are supposed to be peace keepers why do they have these? I see no practical use for nova blasts
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Perhaps it was meant to be something along the lines of the Ignika killing the entire universe if something went wrong, just on a smaller scale.
It’s also possible that Nova Blasts are an unintentional ability that the Great Beings didn’t mean to give to the Toa, and is just something that the Toa can do as a result of the way that their power work.
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I think the later is probably what it would be, what was the first time a character used a nova blast in story?
The first ever appearance of the Nova Blast was in Bionicle: The Game, though this is non-canon (and it was known as a “Nuva Blast”).
The first and only Nova Blast confirmed to have been performed in the canon story is when Gali Nuva unleashed one in Karzahni while battling Icarax. However, it is not known if one was ever performed before this, or since.
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Very nice theorizing, now im wondering what levels of nightmarefuel Tuyet with her two hundred times the power of a toa or empress Tuyet with her god knows how many hundred toa worth of power could accomplish if a regular toa is already that terrifying.
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Greg wasn’t kidding when he said real-world physics don’t apply to the Bionicle world, we wouldn’t be able to comprehend the sheer magnitude of how powerful this is!
Just wish we got a full breakdown on the physical and chemical properties, atomic structure, molar mass, etc, on the different types of protodermis so we could better power-scale Bionicle characters.
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This is insane! Mad respect for doing all the calculations!
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Jaller started to perform one on the Barraki’s armies to stop them from getting to Matoro. He speculated that such a thing would have destroyed Metru Nui.
I want that AU now: Matoro sends the Mahri back seconds before Jaller goes Nova and he isn’t able to stop it and just destroys Metru Nui and the other Mahri. Yay, Mata Nui is alive again! Also his brain was just destroyed and everyone in it is dead except for Jaller, so he will inevitably die again unless Matoran from some other land come to the city to work.
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I’m pretty sure that Toa Power and Elemental Energy are different things; Tuyet’s increase in Toa Power doesn’t correspond to an increase in the amount of water that she can generate.
Yeah, I’ve always wondered what would have happened in that scenario. Or even just what happened in the prime universe when Jaller (safely) released all of the heat that was teleported with him from Mahri Nui.
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They are different things, but despite that, there is a correlation. I describe it in my “Many flavors of energy in the Matoran Universe” topic:
…
The earliest Nova Blast we know was actually used in story, was by some unspecified Toa, and was witnessed (and survived) by Pridak.
Given what we know about timeline, this probably happened 80 000 years ago when League of Six Kingdoms was still active. It must have happened during one of their many conquest campaigns.
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That makes sense, but do you have a specific source for it?
I figured that there was a reference to a Nova Blast before Gali’s, but I couldn’t find anything. Where is it said that Pridak once saw one?
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In Downfall, after Jaller starts to summon his power for the Nova blast, it’s implied:
Pridak saw the glow around Jaller and knew instantly what was about to happen. “The Toa of Fire!” he shouted to the other Barraki and their assembled armies. “Destroy him - now!”
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Ah, I knew about that, I just wasn’t sure if there was a more explicit source. Even if it doesn’t state it outright, though, I would still personally agree that this is proof of Pridak having seen a Nova Blast before.
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