Problems with gateways - Edit 1
Before modification by Narg at 28/09/2012 05:14:30 PM
Does RJ ever mention the terrible gusts of wind that would come through most gateways for Travelling even if there was originally no wind on either side of the gateway?
Air pressure obviously changes with elevation. Additionally, the local weather patterns cause zones of lower and higher pressure. Gateways between places of different elevation would almost always be accompanied by huge blasts of wind through the gateways. And gateways between places of similar elevation would probably cause significant wind a lot of times just due to the differences in local pressure zones.
But this is never talked about that I can remember, except when Avi made a gateway into a Seanchen snowstorm. But even then it seems it was just the wind blowing from the storm on the Seanchen side.
Rand opening a gateway from Ebou Dar (sea level) to the top of Dragonmount (lets say 15,000 feet elevation) may possibly have just blown him right through the gateway. If he had tried to walk through a gateway from Dragonmount to sea level he may have had a very difficult time walking into the headwind.
Is this discussed in the books and I just don't remember it? Are there physics rules for gateways such that only things moved by living beings can pass through? Thus you couldn't just flood an enemy city by opening a gateway between it and a few meters below the surface of the ocean for a few hours? Is this why shadowspawn can't go through? What are the rules for matter passing through gateways?
Air pressure obviously changes with elevation. Additionally, the local weather patterns cause zones of lower and higher pressure. Gateways between places of different elevation would almost always be accompanied by huge blasts of wind through the gateways. And gateways between places of similar elevation would probably cause significant wind a lot of times just due to the differences in local pressure zones.
But this is never talked about that I can remember, except when Avi made a gateway into a Seanchen snowstorm. But even then it seems it was just the wind blowing from the storm on the Seanchen side.
Rand opening a gateway from Ebou Dar (sea level) to the top of Dragonmount (lets say 15,000 feet elevation) may possibly have just blown him right through the gateway. If he had tried to walk through a gateway from Dragonmount to sea level he may have had a very difficult time walking into the headwind.
Is this discussed in the books and I just don't remember it? Are there physics rules for gateways such that only things moved by living beings can pass through? Thus you couldn't just flood an enemy city by opening a gateway between it and a few meters below the surface of the ocean for a few hours? Is this why shadowspawn can't go through? What are the rules for matter passing through gateways?