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Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now desertlike, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone, having volatilised. EDIT: Even calcium is gone at 3000 degrees, let alone sodium and potassium. All you have is mullite, quartz and alumina, which are extremely inhospitable to life. Maybe a tiny bit of serpentinite at best.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.

Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now desertlike, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone, having volatilised.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.

Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now desertlike, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone, having volatilised. EDIT: Even calcium is gone at 3000 degrees, let alone sodium and potassium. All you have is mullite, quartz and alumina, which are extremely inhospitable to life. Maybe a tiny bit of serpentinite at best.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.

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user86462
user86462

Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now a desertdesertlike, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone, having volatilised.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.

Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now a desert, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.

Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now desertlike, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone, having volatilised.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.

Source Link
user86462
user86462

Yes, the epicentre is glassed, probably yes, you have a desert

Any fire hot enough to vaporise a city is hot enough to vaporise the inevitable stone or concrete components of that city. That implies horrendously hot fire, probably 3000 degrees Celsius or so. That will melt whatever rock substance is there, even if it's pure silica or pure alumina. With days or weeks of heat, the particles of the soil will be sintered into large agglomerates. The land may not be glossy, but it will be hard.

The reason it's probably now a desert, at least for a few decades is that a) water is likely to run off and not be available for anything in the soil, b) the soil is completely inert fused rock, c) all the precious alkalis and so on that returning life will need are gone.

Of course, the further out from the epicentre you are, the less damage there is. Merely burning down a forest probably will not result in desert, unless it was a region on the verge of desertification anyway; to make a desert, you need to really ruin the inorganic components of the soil, and that takes extreme heat, not a forest fire. So you need to decide how big the portal is compared to the forest.

PS It sounds like the elites of your world are as incompetent as ours.