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Worldbuilding

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    $\begingroup$ While I would like more information it’s a good answer so far, thank you. The purpose of glassing the whole surface is a statement. Just like the Death Star destroys the entire planet rather than just render it’s surface uninhabitable. It shows how much power you have and how much time to make sure as much as possible of a planet is wiped out. $\endgroup$
    – Demigan
    Commented Mar 1 at 14:30
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    $\begingroup$ Glassing the surface might be a good idea if someone released grey goo onto it, or a similarly virulent biological agent. $\endgroup$
    – Robert Rapplean
    Commented Mar 1 at 21:23
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    $\begingroup$ @RobertRapplean - I believe in Starcraft the Protoss glass multiple planets to deal with the Zerg, which fits the bill. $\endgroup$
    – jdunlop
    Commented Mar 2 at 0:04
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    $\begingroup$ The Carthagians would have appreciated if the Romans thought along your way. The Romans, instead, preferred ensuring Carthage would never again be a thread, and salted its fields. You could see glassifying as a way to create a DMZ: make the planet / system unable to sustain life at scale in order to ensure no threat can use it as an advanced base against you in the future. $\endgroup$
    – Matthieu M.
    Commented Mar 2 at 14:50
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    $\begingroup$ The psychological effects of glassing a species' home planet would be substantial. If you're the rule-by-terror sort of empire, it's probably even better than blowing it up with some sort of laser-weapon. $\endgroup$
    – Profane tmesis
    Commented Mar 2 at 18:51