How much energy to destroy a planet

[Replicator Fifth]

First, there is no direct comparision between a ZPM, which have a fixed amount of energy and the arcutus device, which have almost unlimited energy.
Second, 100% probably was the maximum safe power output. When the device exploded obviously it was running at much higher (maybe millions of times) outputs than that amount.

since we don't know the ZPM's exact manufacturing process, I'll bring in its closest relative to answer. in MTG: The Thran, it explains how such a power source could be manufactured on a hypothetical planet that has a ancient Greek level civilization, the resident genius built a huge complex that focuses the suns light, via thousands of mirrors, unto a perfect glass crystal (a huge one) until the dark center was lit and its structure fractured from the energy. Each various sized shards that each could power any device that they needed. there are many chapters of how Glacian, the genius, hypothesized what the greater potential for "zero point modelers" beyond energy output, like that there was a whole dimension of infinite space with in each stone. (this is questionable since his sanity was "iffy") But the books main focus is on there potential for destruction. the Stones where unstable and when fractured, they had HUGE destructive consequences. Glacian didn't know this until a mind like Yawgmoth came along and found what horrible weapons he could make with it. a small stone took out a huge chunk of the infirmary. Now applying this to the SG's ZPMs these things have a plethora of energy going into them in there creations, thus, hypothetically you could take out a planet with a large enough ZPM. this also applies to using it to power weapons. the bigger the ZPM the more output.

O_O... or has there been an irkling from the writers about their real creation and I am totaly off

[Mister Oragahn]

Why should you care? i dont know, why are you replying if you dont? i just stated my opinion, you dont have to live by it. I didnt say anything about the material in that site or about sw in general, i dont know what happened there and frankly its irrelevant, i just meant that the figure that the guy in that site calculated (because its based on actual physics) should be a high end one, as there are easier ways to "destroy" a planet.

The guy calculated a figure based on premises. According to these premises, no matter your claims, the figure is not silly. It's outrageously big, but not silly.

What also happened was that 3 zpms overloading inside barely destroyed a cityship. Go figure. But i guess a vague comparison with something much more powerfull is much more credible than the actual event.

Obviously, it would have been a tad detrimental to the escape if McKay had set the ZPMs to cleanse that region of the planetary system I think.
As I suggested, the overload threshold could be defined, from anything like build up enough energy to blow up a crate to whatever necessary to make sure no one finds a planet anymore.

He also said the explosion would destroy half a continent, is that still not powerfull enough for massive extinction?

By talking with sheer volcanic ejecta, we understand destroy as spoiled.
That is, the surface area is damaged, but it doesn't explode per se.

Maybe its just me, but scope doesnt equal ouput, does it? Not to mention that its just another descriptive metaphor, that doesnt make any sense in the context of zero point energy.

Sure, I was just throwing it there. But the power source was clearly described as tapping from the universe itself... and as powerful as the scope of the universe itself.
These guys are talking about a power source, we know that the universe roughly outputs X watts, and Zelenka says this device is as powerful as possibly the entire scope of the universe.
You got to admit that it's hard to find another interpretation of that.
Above all, it totally fits with the event, since it generated nearly what corresponded to a supernova, wiping out almost the entirety of a planetary system.

Certain supernovae can release energies up to e28 megatons. That's around 4.2 e43 watts, which is not too far from the power of the universe, to say things simply.

[Character]

Obviously, it would have been a tad detrimental to the escape if McKay had set the ZPMs to cleanse that region of the planetary system I think.
As I suggested, the overload threshold could be defined, from anything like build up enough energy to blow up a crate to whatever necessary to make sure no one finds a planet anymore.

But he didnt say anything about limiting the explosion (is it even possible to limit an overload?), and if he could, surely one zpm (if it can destroy a planet)
would be enough and he would take the others, but that didnt happen. What happaned was that he specificly said he couldnt take any.

You got to admit that it's hard to find another interpretation of that.
Above all, it totally fits with the event, since it generated nearly what corresponded to a supernova, wiping out almost the entirety of a planetary system.

As you said yourself, you'd need a super nova to output such amounts of energy. Zero point energy is powerfull (or rather theres alot of it), but not to the levels of a supernova per minute or five. As such, i'd easily take that "scope of the universe" as "incredibly huge", rather than "outputing similiar energy levels to the universe".

[Mister Oragahn]

But he didnt say anything about limiting the explosion (is it even possible to limit an overload?), and if he could, surely one zpm (if it can destroy a planet) would be enough and he would take the others, but that didnt happen. What happaned was that he specificly said he couldnt take any.

The thing is, we know that a single overloaded ZPM can do much more harm than lit up a spec in the sky.
Why McKay didn't pull ZPMs possibly has to do with them working by three at that very moment, and pulling them off may have compromised their escape.
If you look where the ZPM room is, and consider the fact that they escaped from the top hatch of the main spire, above the PJ bay, they had to cover a distance before being safe.
Besides, perhaps they decided that they had to be sure the Asurans couldn't shutdown the overload, so McKay and co spoiled the three of them.

As you said yourself, you'd need a super nova to output such amounts of energy. Zero point energy is powerfull (or rather theres alot of it), but not to the levels of a supernova per minute or five.

It's some notches below a supernova, but it's there.

As such, i'd easily take that "scope of the universe" as "incredibly huge", rather than "outputing similiar energy levels to the universe".

But that's a fact, solely due to the comparison between the total power output of the stars in the universe, and what is needed to screw nearly an entire planetary system of unknown dimensions, with a single off-(helio)center explosion.