Atmospheric dissipation was an event that dissipated the atmosphere of a planet, sometimes within thirty-eight hours. The rate at which atmospheric dissipation progressed was unpredictable. After the breakdown of the stratosphere, plasmonic reactions broke down the mesosphere, after which ionic reactions broke down the troposphere, leaving the planet with no atmosphere at all and unable to support life. An atmospheric dissipation could not be stopped, but an atmospheric shield could be used to contain the atmosphere within a limited area.