Toa Of Virtues

Not necessarily true. There are many different kinds of ice, some that have a higher density than water. Of course, these don't really occur in nature, but under that much pressure I think you would get some weird effects.

This is true- we really don't know much about Aqua Magna. However, in all types of media we see what looks like an Earth-like environment. For instance, the existence of clouds imply an atmosphere similar to ours. We also don't see any strange gravitational effects on any of the characters, assuming that the surface gravity is Earth-like. Really, the Earth is the best approximation we have for this, otherwise it would be anyone's guess what the gravity/atmosphere is. Also, in the last topic we did some calculations to see just how big these planets are, their gravity, etc. based on official artwork (see this and this). These showed that both Aqua Magna and Bara Magna are GIANT. However, they are still able to have Earth-like gravity if they were composed of a very light aerogel-like substance. They would never exist in nature, but still possible.

I suppose he could make it if he used pressurized air in addition to the vacuum, but that would be a very complicated and precise set of actions that Lehvak-Kal would unwillingly have to do. It makes sense that Lehvak-Kal would open up a giant region of vacuum above his head, and let physics do the rest. Of course, this wouldn't entirely work, but it would get him going pretty fast. The point is, NASA doesn't use giant vacuum tubes and pressurized air as a propellant for a good reason.

I made this topic a while back here, and I thought it would be fun to start up again. Greg has often said that real-life physics don't apply in Bionicle, but what if they did? Basically, ask a question about a power or event in Bionicle, and I (or anyone else who would like to join in) will explain why it would or wouldn't be possible in real life. Think of this as the Mythbusters for Bionicle. Be warned, though, there will be a LOT of heavy science here. To start off, let's talk about the demise of our favorite Bohrak-Kal, Lehvak-Kal. In the story, Lehvak-Kal looses control over his element of vacuum. This makes him rocket into the air, and fly into orbit. At first, this seems semi-reasonable. After all, air pressure is a force to be reckoned with. To model this, let's put a metal ball (Lehvak-Kal) at the bottom of a straight pipe going out of the atmosphere. We then remove all the air from the pipe, making probably the largest vacuum chamber ever created. The atmospheric pressure would then push Lehvak-Kal through the pipe, and out the other end. With this method, would he escape the atmosphere at escape velocity? For our calculations, let's use Earth's gravity and atmosphere, putting the length of the pipe to be around 17,000 meters tall. At first, Lehvak-Kal would experience a pressure of 101,325 Pascals. If we assume that Lehvak-Kal is 1 meter in diameter, the affected surface area would be roughly equivalent to .785 m2, meaning he would feel a force of 79,580 Newtons. If we assume that Lehvak-Kal has about the same mass as a ball of aluminum his size, his mass would be about 1,413 kg. This puts his initial acceleration at (79,580-9.8*1,413)/1,413 m/s2 which is 46 m/s2. If we make the same mistake I made in the last topic, to assume the force is constant, it seems that Lehvak-Kal would go above and beyond the necessary escape velocity by the time he flings himself out of the atmosphere. However, this is not the case. As you get higher up in the atmosphere, the air becomes less dense. This means that the force Lehvak-Kal feels will go down as he goes up. Specifically, the pressure drops by the equation p = 101325 (1 - 2.25577 10-5 h)5.25588 which obviously complicates things. So, how do we calculate the speed of something being pushed by a changing force? Integrals! The formula needed to calculate his speed, we need to solve fnInt(101,325 (1 - 2.25577 10-5 h)5.25588)dh from 0 to 17,000 and divide that by 17,000 to get the average pressure Lehvak-Kal feels over his trip. This gives us an average of 40,186.8 Pascals, which we can now pretend to be constant through the atmosphere. This all adds up to a whopping 12 m/s2, but is it enough? To get the time, we set 17000=.5*12*t2, giving us t = 58.31 seconds. To get velocity, we simply multiply the acceleration by time and get 699.714 m/s. 700 m/s might be fast, but it is nowhere near the 11,186 m/s needed to make it into orbit. The fact of the matter is that you can't get to space by launching yourself straight up using a giant vacuum tube. One could argue that Lehvak-Kal did not shoot straight up, but zig-zagged around in the lower atmosphere to build up speed and then launched himself, but considering the fact that Lehvak-Kal did not want to go to space, I find this unlikely.

Has anyone found the Creature of Earth in Toys R Us anywhere? I've searched quite a few of them, and that is the only one that I haven't seen. I'm starting to think they didn't stock that set anywhere, because their website says that set is the only set not available for store pickup. EDIT I can't seem to find it at any Targets either. Is this the same for everyone else?

I just got a good majority of the sets at a local Toys R Us (Illinois), I'm only missing Tahu, Kopaka, and the creature of earth.

Where did you find the DCPI number? Here you go.

Someone found the DPCI numbers for a lot of the sets, you can use them to help you find if they are in stock in Targets in your area. So far, I couldn't find any. Topic Also, I found Onua at the Legoland in Shaumburg, IL. I'll be going back there to see if they got any more.

The Legoland in [REDACTED] has Onua. I'll go back there in a few days to see if they stock any more.

Thanks a lot for the in-depth review! I can understand how the Nuclear Empire arc seemed a bit rushed, Master Inika and I were getting busier and busier, so we started rushing the story along. I believe we planned on taking the story a bit further with Turaga Piercur and the other Matoran exploring the empire, but after abandoning it for almost a year, I decided to finish it off.

Chapter 21 Ralis cowered into a corner. It seemed like only yesterday he was working in the Plant alongside his fellow workers. Since then, the world changed. His world. He saw everything through new eyes, as if he had lived in the dark his whole life. He did not see himself as a tyrannical dictator; he simply did what he thought as right. He had convinced himself that he was leading the world towards a brighter future, but the reality of the true world was beginning to crumble around him. The floor beneath him shook. He thought back to his old friend in the Plant. Aruden gave his dying breath to tell Ralis what to do, but did he succeed? Did the surfacers really remember the workers of the Plant, or has nothing actually changed? Right now, Ralis could not decide. The oncoming wall of Vahki was drawing closer. Ralis could hear hundreds of mechanical, high-pitched chirps and whirs grow louder and louder. It was a matter of minutes. He thought back to his Turaga, Piercur. After the Archives Massacre, he scolded Ralis for wrongfully leading innocent people to their deaths. Is that really what happened? Was there any chance that it could have worked peacefully? A large chunk of the ceiling caved in. Ralis hurriedly activated his mask power, and repaired the damaged building. Although it was a futile effort, it slightly prolonged his inevitable fate. Even if, by some miracle, they managed to defeat the horde of Vahki, they would still have to face a more invisible opponent. Lately, a sickness had started to spread through the Great Nuclear Empire. It was taking more and more each day, every time in greater numbers. As soon as Ralis saw the boils on the first victim, he knew where it was from. When he was traveling to Karda Nui years ago, he had come across a desolate island with a bloody past, and only one survivor. The beings of the island fought with viruses, and one went out of control. The sickness had spread to everyone on the island until only one remained. Somehow, he thought, he had contracted the virus and spread it to Karda Nui. He was undoubtedly to blame. The world was burning because of him. In his quest, he singlehandedly killed the Great Spirit, and plunged the world into darkness. This fact was slowly becoming clear to him, although he did his best to resist it. Ralis did everything in his power to do the right thing, but it only made matters worse. What was he supposed to do? He was just another Toa following his destiny. Ralis thought back on his travels, specifically his visit to the demented island of Karzahni. He remembered the strange Matoran that helped him escape, and what he said moments before his death. “The one who can see the unseen light will see the suffering, and end it,” Ralis had thought that this referred to the Nu-Matoran in Karda Nui, but they weren’t suffering. Even Ralis could see that life became worse when he took control. It was because of him that there was suffering. There is no going back on the terror he has caused. Even if he surrendered the war now, the disease would quickly consume the entire population ensuring a slow and merciless death for the entire world. It was his destiny to end the suffering in the world. He knew it was too late to redeem himself, but perhaps he could be merciful. Perhaps he could save everyone from the pain he inflicted on them. Slowly, Ralis began to summon the ambient radiation from hundreds of kios away. His body seemed to overflow with elemental energy as he pulled more and more radiation into his body. The surrounding air heated up and the floor began to melt away as Ralis prepared for the moment. Ralis had learned of this ability on Zakaz; the Nova Blast. Not only would the blast obliterate Karda Nui, but it would set off a chain reaction with the numerous nuclear missiles contained within the city. The explosion would be so massive; nothing in the known universe would be able to survive it. Finally, the world would be at peace. The Vahki finally arrived at the doors of his bunker, but it was too late. Before any of the Vahki could react, the bunker was flooded with intense light and radiation. The Vahki were vaporized in the blink of an eye, and the entire city followed close after. Just as Ralis predicted, the explosion triggered all of the other missiles to detonate, sending a shockwave of lethal radiation across the entire Matoran Universe. At the eye of the storm, Ralis knew he had completed his destiny. He had seen the suffering in the world, and he had brought it to an end. Giving up his Toa Power, he collapsed into the smoldering remains of the universe. Mata Nui, once a prosperous world of his own, was now reduced to nothing more than an empty shell sprawled out on a dry, barren landscape. The eyes that used to shine green have long ago been burrowed out, leaving his empty sockets staring off into the horizon. The very foundation that held his body together for so many decades was now rusting and withering away. Relics of a lost civilization littered the corpse, and the smell of death lingered in every corner of the once Great Spirit. Smoke still bellowed from the large cavity in his chest ripped open by an apocalyptic disaster. A sole survivor, a Turaga, pushed aside burning rubble to see what he has done to his own world, before collapsing to the ground as his heartstone faded to black. THE END

Wait, if Velika was the name of the Great Being, then what was the name of the Matoran he took over? That doesn't make sense though, because "real Velika" in the Kingdom is actually named "Velika." Are they both named Velika?

I see lots of physics stuffs here, and it's my time to shine. OK, let's talk Hawking radiation. Black holes are not really black, they slightly shine. I don't want to get too technical, but black holes radiate energy away constantly. Whatever goes into a black hole is most likely destroyed by the singularity, but an equal amount of energy will radiate away. This radiation makes the black hole shrink until it no longer exists. But frankly, I think we are looking way to far into this. We are simply given too many unknowns in a universe with different physics to make a meaningful conclusion of what would happen. I had a topic where I discussed if real physics applied to Bionicle (which I may start a similar one this summer), but this simply isn't the place. So, could the Krana escape? Probably not, but I can't say for sure. As for Pahrak-Kal, well, let's just say that he died from intense heat and pressure and leave it at that. If you want to make a detailed theory of what happened, make another topic (that would actually be pretty cool). I learned long ago that science and the cannon don't mix well.

Um, I don't believe that that can be considered a "weakness" as "weakness" implies that you can be beat. However, I do agree that it is like talking with a genie, since even the most minor slip up can have consequences.

Well, the larger the planet, the greater the pressure. The greater the pressure, the higher the density. This is of course different for different materials, though.