stop me if you think im wrong but heres how i think most of the shields in the Halo universe operate. in basic form most of the shields are nothing more than a very well manipulated magnetic field whose polarity is constantly changing from positive to negative  over certain sections of the shield layer so that the polarity of of the entire shield in not the same over a wide surface area.

it is this ever changing magnetic polarity that allows the shield to stop both bullets and plasma because plasma is nothing but a gas with a specific charge it too is either positive or negative. in the covenant whose shields have a specific color( like a jackals shield or the shield walls) it is caused by one of two things 1: the shields magnetic field is contains a plasma sandwiched between it or  the magnetic field is stripping electrons away for surrounding gas particles near the shields surface to generate a plasma to give it color.

as for the sparkle effect that happens when a shields takes a hit it can be because of heat from friction or in the case of plasma  the particles are just spreading out because of the superheated plasma.   the shimmer from when a shield fails it could be because of the electrons that were contained in the magnetic field from any ionized gas suddenly releasing into the environment kinda like mini lightning bolts all along the magnetic field. this effect can happen both in a planets atmosphere and in space(all the charged particles released by any star found i a solar system). so what i saying is that a person can not really see the shields in halo what you are seeing is nothing more than charged particles or gasses along the shields surface.  

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there are three people whose wives you dont sleep with
your command officer
your parachute packer
your squad sniper

whooo, put some space between it man

 

and why did you write it , you did anser your own question??

 

yes i did read

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Believe, trust, have fate

Verry interesting point. I think you may be right, however im not as sure on the bullets as much as the plasma. Please explain this more. I like when people actually consider phisics in these forums instead of just saying "They hav better technology." However to further the query bubble shield= ;aser=beam of concentrated light. Transparent lets light through. The Fact the a bubble shield can block a laser is physicaly impossible.

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{The Forgotten Fleet} New FF Read it! Or your kidney will fail!

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thats cool

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You can't play halo wars until you see this video
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/645-Halo-Wars
I've been perma-banned at bungie.net :(

Next time paragraphs, please.

 

What intrigues is the fact that similar theories have never been posted on any of the Haloforums I've visited over the last decade. The problem in my case is that my knowledge of physics isn't that broad nor does the fact that it's in English help (Dutch 15 year old lol) Fact is that there has never been any information published in the novels or by Bungie about how the shielding works in more than very simple terms. In Sci-Fi it's always risky to make assumptions about the physics behind non-existing technology because, in most cases, there isn't always a correct theory supporting it .

@ Blessedgrub: He didn't ask any questions. The most important part of a question is a question mark, and there isn't even one in there.

I'm gona go and make my own home made covenant energy shield now that I know how to do it!!!

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I am Aloysius's best cub scout!

But now I have a new heart to win over.

Shikoku16:

Next time paragraphs, please.

 Fact is that there has never been any information published in the novels or by Bungie about how the shielding works in more than very simple terms.

Not saying I wouldn't appreciate an explanation on how it works, but most of the reason why is because the UNSC don't know how it works(completely), and the only ones that know don't tell because they're not main characters.

Bungie is either secretive or have little knowledge on the subject.

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"Die?"Kurt laughed."Didn't you know?"he told the Elite. "...Spartans never die."

tmspartan:

Shikoku16:

Next time paragraphs, please.

 Fact is that there has never been any information published in the novels or by Bungie about how the shielding works in more than very simple terms.

Not saying I wouldn't appreciate an explanation on how it works, but most of the reason why is because the UNSC don't know how it works(completely), and the only ones that know don't tell because they're not main characters.

Bungie is either secretive or have little knowledge on the subject.

You're contradicting yourself there, but as to my knowledge we've seen through the eyes of the Covenant in the majority of the novels. You see, we don't even need for the UNSC to come with the explanation as the MJOLNIR shielding is merely modified Covenant technology. There would be no logical reason to keep any secrets about technology that is so widely used in the universe and has been disregarded as a mystery. The most probable reason for it not coming up in the Halo canon is just the lack of a proper situation for it to turn up in.

 

So if we had a bomb with the same charge as the sheild would that object be able to pass through it and dentonate?

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C The Rain

Ranked # 20 in the world as PoR in Reinforcements.

CTheRain:So if we had a bomb with the same charge as the sheild would that object be able to pass through it and dentonate?

 

If I'm right, that would be impossible. As the shield wouldn't have the -exact- same charge all the time, not forgetting developping a bomb with the exact same charge would be a major pain, while the shields' charge could be changed in a nanosecond.

I must say nice theory, but a major hole I saw is that in the games and books many non-metallic and unplasma-like objects are stopped or affected by the shields(ex. in some books [can't remember which ones right now] there are mentions of dirt and rocks bouncing off shields or burning up in them). Also if the shield is demagnetized in the way you describe it would probably take a much longer amount of time to recharge than it does in the games. Other than those two inconsistencies your theory is pretty good and possible.

 

EDIT: Also wouldn't this form of shielding in theory make it difficult or impossible to handle a weapon at all, let alone as well as they are used in the halo-verse?

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Famous Jaxx:

Aloysius:

I love the word filter.

I can change anything I want!

To have such power...

A man can dream...

OMG… Make cannibalism say vegetarian!!!!!!

Needless to say, the chances of the Starships sharing a similar energy shielding system to that of the Sangheili are slim. As we've seen in Halo Wars, the Covenant use different methods of shielding.

Shikoku16:

tmspartan:

Shikoku16:

Next time paragraphs, please.

 Fact is that there has never been any information published in the novels or by Bungie about how the shielding works in more than very simple terms.

Not saying I wouldn't appreciate an explanation on how it works, but most of the reason why is because the UNSC don't know how it works(completely), and the only ones that know don't tell because they're not main characters.

Bungie is either secretive or have little knowledge on the subject.

You're contradicting yourself there, but as to my knowledge we've seen through the eyes of the Covenant in the majority of the novels. You see, we don't even need for the UNSC to come with the explanation as the MJOLNIR shielding is merely modified Covenant technology. There would be no logical reason to keep any secrets about technology that is so widely used in the universe and has been disregarded as a mystery. The most probable reason for it not coming up in the Halo canon is just the lack of a proper situation for it to turn up in.

 

I didn't mean the Covenant when I said that, I meant Covenant engineers. Who would be the ones to have a full understanding of it. The closest we ever came to a Huragok was with two seperate grunts, in Ghosts of Onyx and Contact Harvest.

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"Die?"Kurt laughed."Didn't you know?"he told the Elite. "...Spartans never die."

kylito1:

I must say nice theory, but a major hole I saw is that in the games and books many non-metallic and unplasma-like objects are stopped or affected by the shields(ex. in some books [can't remember which ones right now] there are mentions of dirt and rocks bouncing off shields or burning up in them). Also if the shield is demagnetized in the way you describe it would probably take a much longer amount of time to recharge than it does in the games. Other than those two inconsistencies your theory is pretty good and possible.

 

EDIT: Also wouldn't this form of shielding in theory make it difficult or impossible to handle a weapon at all, let alone as well as they are used in the halo-verse?

 

the reason rocks and dirt cna bounce off of the shields is that dirt( espically dirt on earth) has a certain magnetic attraction in it due to the metal iron which is naturally magnetic so dirt and rock can bounce off as for the shield recharge rate it all depends on how much power is dumped into magnetic field which in MJOLNIR armor uses an micro fusion plant which theoretically has a tremendous power output but not as much a the fusion plants on a starship

Shikoku16:

Needless to say, the chances of the Starships sharing a similar energy shielding system to that of the Sangheili are slim. As we've seen in Halo Wars, the Covenant use different methods of shielding.

 

the only difference between covenant ships shields and an elites is its scale and power supply. which on a starship that has a fusion reactor with greater power output than an elites micro fusion plant (im not sure that elites have microfusion plants in their armor as its never really mentioned what powers their shields)

 

tmspartan:

Shikoku16:

Next time paragraphs, please.

 Fact is that there has never been any information published in the novels or by Bungie about how the shielding works in more than very simple terms.

Not saying I wouldn't appreciate an explanation on how it works, but most of the reason why is because the UNSC don't know how it works(completely), and the only ones that know don't tell because they're not main characters.

Bungie is either secretive or have little knowledge on the subject.

 

i think they dont explain it in the novels or games is because the writers tend to keep it their science down to a certain level so that anyone can read it . if you put too many big words ppl get confused and stop reading. which is why most daily newspapers(that are still printed and not online) are written on a level that 12 year olds can understand

 

 

wise bass18:I'm gona go and make my own home made covenant energy shield now that I know how to do it!!!

 

disclaimer: i am not responsible for any injury that happens to you should you attempt this as the ammount op electricity you are dealing with CAN KILL YOU if you have no idea about what you are doing. also if it was that easy we probably would already have this technology(unless its hidden away in a secret government testin facility)

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there are three people whose wives you dont sleep with
your command officer
your parachute packer
your squad sniper