system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars] What happens when the Death Star fires the Superlaser at a gas giant?
gpt
There are several competing forces at work. First lasers disperse rapidly in atmosphere. But given that it isn't trying to get through solid matter, it should be easier for the laser to reach the solid core of a gas giant. That core is a lot denser than that of a rocky world, requiring more energy to penetrate. But if it does manage to penetrate then the force of the explosion will be much greater. Chances are you'd obliterate the gas giant and have a much more powerful shockwave as a result of all the compressed gas. There is even the chance of igniting  a fusion reaction, causing the gas giant to burn like a star, if only temporarily.