Physics and Star Wars
To estimate the effects of the second Death Star, Minton looks into its mass. According to estimated data from some students of Lehigh University, the steel mass needed for building one would be around 770 kilograms times the mass cubed in weight. This would give the Death Star of about ten to the power of nineteen kilograms in mass. Using this data, Minton produces equations that lead him to conclude the fragments would hit the moons surface so hard causing craters almost four times the size of the Chicxulub crater in Mexico. This impact would cause a planetary firestorm and vaporize all lifeforms on the moon.
Grand Moff Tarkin
He allows the Rebels to escape the Death Star with the Princess after placing a tracking beacon on the "Millennium Falcon" in order to find the Rebel base. He orders the Death Star to destroy the Rebel base on Yavin IV. In the film's climax, Tarkin refuses to believe that the Death Star is in danger from the Rebel starfighter attack. As such, he refuses to evacuate. Subsequently, he is killed when Luke Skywalker succeeds in destroying the Death Star.