Doug Gordon <71610.247@compuserve.com> asks:
> Was the implication supposed to be that the high energy of these
> weapons was atomically fusing the hydrogen? Or perhaps the weapons
> were designed to be used in vacuum, and the atmosphere was
> scattering the energy? Or am I missing something quite obvious?

Given that we're looking at a high-energy weapon capable of
burning through a four-mile wide Narn orbital base as though it were
made of butter, it's putting out enough energy, I figured, to lead to a
reaction with the hydrogen, whether it's a fusion reaction of some
other.

We're talking a concentrated level of energy equal to a
thermonuclear reaction on a controlled level, or a fusion weapons
system with an energy output well beyond contemporary science to
calculate (particularly since this system is capable of delivering the
energy, undiluted, to targets tens or dozens of miles distant).

jms