Which is hotter?

[phazonjunkie]

The Colossus' thermal lances or an upgraded Hellion?
Naturally you'd assume the Colossus' weapon would be (if they're anything like the tripods from 'War of the Worlds'). But a Hellion's cannon with the infernal prelighter upgrade burns bluish, whereas the Colossus' twin thermal lances burn bright red. Now I'm no physics major, but from what I understand, in terms of flame/plasmas, generally speaking 'cooler' colors (i.e. blue, green, etc.) generally denote a higher temperature.

If a colossus' weapon is in fact hotter, it should probably burn an even brighter blue or even white.

What do you think?

[l33telboi]

For some reason I expected this to be a contest between Kerrigan and Nova.

Quite true, anything that burns yellow is less hot then something that burns blue. However, in terms of which is more deadly it's a little more problematic then so. Submersing someone in red hot lava is more deadly then covering someone in yellow flame, as an example. Density of the medium plays a very large factor. Hence why the 12,000 degree corona of the sun is less dangerous then the 6,000 degree surface. The former is less dense and the latter more dense.

The thermal lances on the Colossus aren't quite measurable in this way however, since they're some form of beam weapon, and not flamethrowers or the like. You can't judge the yield or temperature simply by looking at the beams.

[Gradius]

Doesn't color also depend on what combustion materials are used?

[l33telboi]

That too.

[phazonjunkie]

Doesn't color also depend on what combustion materials are used?

I'm aware that much will depend on the oxidizing agent (essentially all a fire really is is an extremely rapid oxidization), but I was under the impression that the hellions infernal flame thrower, like the firebat's perdition flame throwers was plasma based. That would indicate something beyond; or at least in addition to conventional chemical combustion.

Then again it's not explicitly stated just what kind of chemical/oxizdizing agent is used.

[l33telboi]

Well, the screenshot from SCII establishes that the firebats's flamethrowers are based on something they call "combusto-plasma" (or something, can't remember the specifics). If they just shot plasma the flames wouldn't really behave the way they do in the games, the flamethrowers would look more like beam weapons.

I'd wager that the flamethrowers spew some form of flammable liquid, just like modern flamethrowers do, but the “combusto-plasma” part would indicate that this liquid is something very different from what is used today.

[phazonjunkie]

You're probably right. If they were purely plasma based, the visual effect would probably resemble something like a long distance plasma arc rather than a flame. But what then what were the 'containment fields' mention on the firebat's suit in 'Speed of Darkness'?

Ah what the hell, you practically dismantled the c-14 in an essay, you wanna give the flamethrowers a shot?

BTW, in regards the question of Kerrigan or Nova; I'd say Dr. Hanson wins hands down. Girls with glasses are hotter by default.

[Maul]

A blue flame is almost always hotter than a red one, and generally it is correct that the "cooler" colours are hotter burning.

[Jamoose]

The color of the flame is also affected by the surrounding components of air. We do not know what types of gas are present on the planets that the battles occur on.

LOL

[l33telboi]

Ah what the hell, you practically dismantled the c-14 in an essay, you wanna give the flamethrowers a shot?

Nah, the Perdition flamethrowers are not as interesting as the C-14. And there's too little to work with.

BTW, in regards the question of Kerrigan or Nova; I'd say Dr. Hanson wins hands down. Girls with glasses are hotter by default.

I'm with Nova, all the way. Her assets are too firm to ignore.