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According to physics, power is the ability to do work over time, and work is the displacement of a physical mass in the direction of the force applied.

By that definition, what is the most powerful act ever performed by a Dark Side user? How does this compare to acts using the Light Side? Acts by groups are also of interest. Legends or canon acceptable.

thegreatjedi: Edited question to make the OP's definition of the question's context more obvious so that it is recognisable this isn't opinion-based.

thegreatjedi
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Stephen Collings
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  • Few Megawatts of force lighting? – Yasskier Feb 10 '16 at 02:47
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    I believe its too opinion based because its hard to compare actions - what is more powerful - killing someone with a though or healing someone with same effort? What is more powerful - atomic bomb or love? – Yasskier Feb 10 '16 at 03:29
  • A-bomb trumps love every time. So does giant rocks. – Mazura Feb 10 '16 at 03:37
  • Related: http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/79178/is-the-dark-side-of-the-force-more-powerful – calccrypto Feb 10 '16 at 03:37
  • How do you define mind control in terms of power (for example, what's more "powerful" - lifting an 2400 foot rock, or mind-controlling an average human)? – Misha R Feb 10 '16 at 05:05
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    And of course for the XKCD readers, Yoda can output approximately 19kW. – Ian Feb 10 '16 at 14:51
  • @Yasskier: There are actually some events depicted in Legends that makes that kind of comparison immaterial simply through the sheer amount of power being leveraged by a few beings. When we're talking destroying all life on entire worlds, it makes things fairly clear. Particularly since there isn't competing examples of force users spontaneously populating life on an otherwise dead world. – Ellesedil Feb 10 '16 at 19:44
  • @Ellesedil - This mentions midichlorians and is a quote from Palpatine (so I don't even know why I'm typing this) but don't be so sure: "Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and so wise, he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying." –Wikia – Mazura Feb 10 '16 at 22:16
  • @Mazura: Yes, I'm aware. Until there's a book describing Darth Plagueis populating life for an entire planet, then there's no comparison. We have two examples of Force users who converted all life of a planet into Force energy to power one thing or another. So, the question is very much answerable. – Ellesedil Feb 10 '16 at 22:39
  • I'd argue this shouldn't be closed as opinion-based. OP's definition of power is the definition according to physics. The answer is as mathematical as it gets. Only answers involving the movement of physical mass would qualify, and the only opinions would be if the size of the mass, the distance move or the duration is ambiguous enough to cause grey areas between potential answers. – thegreatjedi Feb 11 '16 at 01:36
  • @thegreatjedi But, obviously, users aren't answering it from a physics standpoint. Instead, from a generic interpretation of "power". Question needs more focus to direct people who want to answer –  Feb 11 '16 at 18:21
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    @CreationEdge I edited his question to make the definition of his context clearer and complete. It's really no debate though, if you studied even the most foundational physics in school, his original though incomplete definition is immediately recognisable for what it is. This question should be edited to prevent misinterpretation, but it shouldn't be closed for a reason that the correct interpretation is not. – thegreatjedi Feb 11 '16 at 18:50
  • Shouldn't the word joule be in there then? What's the highest power output ever achieved (measured in [the SI unit of power/work]) from any wielder of the Force? Also, the word wielder. Debatably and pedantically (by my answer), the most accomplished user of the Force was Grand Admiral Thrawn. But no matter what the qualifiers are; pretty sure @thegreatjedi's supernova takes the cake. – Mazura Feb 12 '16 at 00:38
  • @Mazura Well, units of measurements aren't a part of definitions. For example, if the definition of distance is the length between two points in meters, then does that mean 1m is a distance but 100cm is not? – thegreatjedi Feb 12 '16 at 01:04
  • @thegreatjedi - That's why there's SI units. We have to agree on what a unit of power is and how it's measured. The SI unit for distance is the meter, I don't follow you... "The dimension of power is energy divided by time. The SI unit of power is the watt (W), which is equal to one joule per second." –Power, Wiki – Mazura Feb 12 '16 at 01:35
  • @Mazura There's a difference. A definition unambiguously dictates what something is - no more, no less. If distance is defined to be measured in the SI unit meter, only values in meters can be called distance values - any other value in nanometers, kilometers or feet and inches are not in meters and so do not meet the definition to be called a distance value. Do you see now? SI units aren't part of definitions, they are only common standardized units for everyone around the world (except Americans, apparently) to understand each other. What it must be vs what it's suggested to be. – thegreatjedi Feb 12 '16 at 03:01

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Legends:

Joruus C'baoth, while having entire starships worth of crews under mind control, commenced a highly choreographed planetary bombardment of Coruscant. To the best of my knowledge no other force users dark or light have ever exhibited a greater power, the ruse notwithstanding. Simultaneously controlling the skeleton crews manning multiple ships designed to be crewed by thousands is the real achievement.

If power is the ability to do work over time, I sure hope he wasn't getting paid on hourly.

Mazura
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    I'd argue against this, saying that Sidious' hiding of the Lusankya was a more powerful act. He landed an Imperial Class Star Destroyer (on of the really big ones) onto the surface of Coruscant in view of trillions of people, and then used mind control to make every single one of them, including all Jedi, to forget it was there and built over top of it. –  Feb 10 '16 at 15:13
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    @Hatandboots The Lusankya was actually an Executor class. The idea of the Emperor using the Force to influence memory on a massive scale is speculation ... But I agree it's potentially a very impressive feat and wasn't aware of the Lusyanka before, so thank you – Peter Feb 10 '16 at 16:53
  • @Hatandboots - I'd up-vote that and even suggest it be accepted. Except, was it a history lesson (second hand information) or did it actually happen as you read it? Where's this story from? – Mazura Feb 10 '16 at 22:01
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    @Mazura We see the Lusankya rise up from the surface of Coruscant, killing millions in the process, In X-Wing Rogue Squadron: The Krytos Trap. The book speculates that for the ship to have been buried Palpatine must have used force persuasion on a mass scale. –  Feb 11 '16 at 02:39
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Power: The ability to do work over time.

In physics, a force is said to do work if, when acting on a body, there is a displacement of the point of application in the direction of the force. - Wikipedia

See the Sith Magic Supernova.

Naga Sadow was the first on record to use it to blow up two stars (by way of ripping their cores out) to repel a pursuing Republic fleet.

Considering that a single star usually contains several times more mass than all the rest of the star system combined, I'd dare say ripping the cores out of two stars is probably the most work done by any sentient-induced Force ever.

thegreatjedi
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I have two answers, if it pleases the court.

As you included the Legends tag, let me introduce you to two characters whose actions make mind control and storms seem like child's play.

Darth Nihilus

DN

Nihilus was a Sith lord created by the activation of a Mass Shadows Generator superweapon on Malachor V, during the Mandalorian Wars.
He was originally a normal man who, stuck on the planet when the Generator went off, became a wound in the Force. His resulting hunger for Force energy resulted in him Forcefully taking away the energy from people, killing them.

Nihilus was responsible for the devastation of the planet Katarr in 3952 BBY, killing and absorbing the Force energy of the Jedi at the Conclave on Katarr along with every other living thing on the world save one Miraluka woman named Visas Marr.

DHK

Keep in mind that he did this by speaking.

Lord Vitiate, the Sith Emperor

SE

Vitiate, originally of the Sith race, was the Sith Emperor circa 5000 BBY to 3700 BBY. He obtained immortality through the use of a ritual which stripped the Force from planet Nathema.

Every man, woman, and child on Nathema died that day. Every beast, bird, and fish; all the insects and plants; every living being touched by the Force was consumed. When the ritual ended, Nathema was no longer a world. It was a husk sucked dry. Lord Vitiate sacrificed millions, stealing their life force to make himself immortal.

Vitiate also later sapped the life from the world of Ziost.

Compared to controlling hundreds of people, or creating a storm less than a mile wide, I believe killing every living creature on an entire planet to be the more powerful show of Force.

Community
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    Darth Nihilus was the first answer to spring to mind when I first saw the question. +1 – Ellesedil Feb 10 '16 at 19:39
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    Immortality is a good one and so is mass destruction, but I'd rather construe power as your ability to answer the riddle of steel. – Mazura Feb 10 '16 at 19:49
  • Vitiate's consumption of Nathema is what I'd have picked, good one. He also did the same thing to Ziost in SW:TOR –  Feb 11 '16 at 02:41
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    @Hatandboots I will add the Ziost reference. I honestly found it lame that they decided to do another "use the Force to kill all life" deal, but at least Vitiate used it for something. –  Feb 11 '16 at 16:37