Stone Burner - what?

[Jack Leaf]

Erm, I am really confused now.

First, what is a stone burner? They have mentioned it two times, and I have no idea what it is (reading Dune Messiah).

Well, it uses atomic fuel and is illegal, but what it is? Why does it destroy eyes? Does it just burn the eyes off?

"That night was full of Imperial troops attacking"

Why Paul and the troops just stood and waited for the stone burner to stop - whatever it was doing?

Sorry, lot of questions, but I have no idea what it is and it's hard to me to read book with foreign language.

[Andrew]

I think the eyes burn because the eyes have no real protection from the stoneburner. :-

As for that scene, I recommend you read it again, you may pick up on some stuff you missed. (I did)

Yes a Stoneburner is some type of atomic weapon.

I picture it as some weapon that fires a "laser" which burns through anything at a very high temperature which can cause destruction.

They stood and waited cause there was nothing they could do. It was already too late to save their eyes. I'm also guessig it would ahve been dangerous to walk around with the Stone Burner on.

[Jack Leaf]

Hmm, thanks, I will read that scene again.

[Tezcatlipoca]

The progression of the Atomic weapon (although more nuclear ones) throughout cold was (besides the range, type of rocket, propellent, and time it takes to travel) the increasing progression of destruction and max power (duh). Living and writing during the cold war, nuclear weapons were obviously being thought about by Herbert. He probably wanted to introduce the concept of tatically precice nuclear weapon devices, hence the Stone Burner.

From my understanding, it's a controlled tatical atomic device that instead of blowing "out" in a sphere more or less, it has a concentrated horizontal range (a few city blocks), while still maintaining the energy and destructive power of a high tonage weapon. Hence, the blast has only the X axis to travel on. So, it of course burns up, but more importantly burns DOWN. Thus the name "Stone burner." Evidently most stoneburners will actually burn so far down, that they crack the planet's crust, essientially creating an instant volcano in the area, and resuting in about the same destructive power of a small to medium sized nuclear weapon (hence the tatical part was somewhat of a failure).

They had to wait, because the weapon either doesn't complete it's detonation sequence all at once, and continues to burn down and down until it's out of fuel, or because the area was still effectivly hot or too radiated to enter.

The reason it will burn people's eyes off, is because, like any nuclear weapon, it has a very large amount of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation; imaging the worse sunburn you could ever have. Now imagine it happening in a timeframe of about 5 seconds, with your eyes open, a part of your body with no significant amounts of pigment to deflect harmful rays. Herbert's theory was that this would literally burn your eyes out. Paul was *very* close to this blast, closer then anyone else could have been to a conventional nuclear weapon and survive. He was also looking straight at it. The highly concentrated radiation bombarded him and literally burned out his eyes.

Does that help at all? :)

[Andrew]

It helped me. :)

[Atomic Mitten]

Good work, a very clear explanation ! ;D

[Jack Leaf]

Wow... Thanks, Tezcatlipoca. That explained a lot.

[Caid Ivik]

So you mean that Stoneburner is a nuclear bomb which concentrates the kinetic energy from the blast to a small point? Well, I still don't know what is weird on its effect on eyes. It lowers radiation and explosion, so it isn't lethal in such distance, but still when you look to sun your eyes are being burned...

[Mahdi]

It's a special kind of radiation only a stone burner releases, called Z-rays I think.

[Emperor Harkonnen]

so this radiation does not harm the body only the eyes? or else I think he would be sunburned on his skin if he was not a negro

[Tio_Holtzmann]

J rays.

Sorry I am a total pedant. What the j stands for i have no idea. Jihad.

[Emperor Harkonnen]

so these J-rays only harm the eyes, and has no other effect? what is the point of harming people instead of putting them out of their missory?

[Mahdi]

The point of a stone burner is to destroy an entire planet. The eye thing is just a side effect.

[Atomic Mitten]

The point of a stone burner is to destroy an entire planet. The eye thing is just a side effect.

Have you seen the Children of Dune Movie mahdi, the entire planet ?

If this was so , then they wouldn't have had a film . ;)

[Mahdi]

Have you read Dune Messiah, Atomic, the book?

A stone burner digs its way down into the molten layer of a planet, and shatters the world from the inside out. The one used in Messiah just ran out of fuel before it dug that deep.

That is even explained in the minsieries.

[Emperor Harkonnen]

but u can reduse it's strenght like Vernius did in House Harkonnen

[Tezcatlipoca]

so this radiation does not harm the body only the eyes? or else I think he would be sunburned on his skin if he was not a negro

Heh. They are effecitvly fremen. And if not fremen, they at least have lived on arrakis for a very long time. I'm not saying it doesn't require some suspension of disbelief, but given that they live on a desert world, they probably will have a large buildup of melatonin in their skin to protect them from the everyday sun. He probably *did* have a pretty bad "flash-burn"/sun-burn from it, but via clothing and protection of the skin was able to reduce it enough so he survived. His eyes, exposed through the whole effect (it happening pretty quick) wern't so lucky. Although I wonder what protection the blue eyes would provide in that realm...

[Acriku]

I've always thought that it was called 'stone burner' because, well, it explodes and is hot enough to "burn stone."

[Mahdi]

I've always thought that it was called 'stone burner' because, well, it explodes and is hot enough to "burn stone."

Exaclty. It burns stone until it runs out of feul (which is what you're talking about Harkonnen) or reaches the center of a planet, and destroys it.

[Atomic Mitten]

Oh you mean runs out of Fuel ;)

[mattvs]

think of it like a huge atomic powered jet engine.

the jet fire burns straight up, propelling the device straight down into the core of the planet.

the children of dune movie provides a good visual for this. if set to a high level and given enough fuel, it will burn into the core of planet, causing some form of crustal breach, allowing the super pressured contents of the planet's core to rise up and well, adios amigos.

ever see the movie Backdraft? guy opens the door, letting the air in and WWOOOSSHH.