Popular Post Pagerunner he/him Posted December 12, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 12, 2016 (edited) I went to my first signing ever on the Arcanum Unbounded tour, and when I went through the personalization line, Brandon and I had a nice conversation about the physical properties of ettmetal, otherwise known as harmonium, and how they were impacted by Realmatics. (Influenced in part, I assume, because when he was going through his opening talk, I fist-pumped when he said he was originally a chemistry major. He saw, and asked if I was a chemist, to which I replied I was a chemical engineer. So, I think he took the chance to share some details with someone who’d be able to fully comprehend them.) I’m still waiting to get the recording of the signing line, but I’ll paraphrase what I got out of it. Brandon said that it makes sense for ettmetal to be so volatile, because it has the power of both Shards in it, and the conflict associated with them. He also clarified that it’s not a nuclear reaction; it’s chemically reactive, it’s the properties of the electrons in Harmonium that make it so reactive. It’s like ‘super-cesium,’ reacting very quickly with water. I wasn't quite ready prepared to deal with the implications (I was there as a cosmere fan, not a scientist), but I've spent some time thinking it over, and I think I understand a little more exactly how the physics and the realmatics are interacting. I've come to several major conclusions, which are reliant on a college-level understanding of chemistry. If you’re not at that level, skip ahead to the next section, where I’ll try to build it up in layman’s terms. For those who feel knowledgeable, though: Overview of the Theory · I propose that the subatomic particles of harmonium (protons, electrons, and neutrons) are comprised of pure Investiture, but still functioning as normal subatomic particles. This Investiture would be still of each individual Shard, even though the atom as a whole would be of Harmony. · The reactivity of harmonium follows the trend of alkali metals, but would be enhanced due to an additional electron shielding factor that would come from the repulsion of Ruin particles and Preservation particles, lowering the ionization energy and increasing reaction rates. · The alkali-metal behavior of Harmonium would come from the imbalance between the two Shards, the extra piece of Ruin. It would follow the orbital structure of cesium (atomic number 55), with one electron in each filled orbital from each Shard. The single valence electron would be an extra Ruin electron. · I’d like to say that each harmonium atom (cesium-133, the only stable isotope) is a combination of a lerasium atom and an atium atom, which would make atium = nickel (28) and lerasium = cobalt (27). However, I can’t get the neutron math to add up. It’s possible that the nucleus looks different, that the stability of harmonium is different because of the competing Investiture in the nucleus. This gets into physics, not chemistry, so I’m not equipped to dig deeper into this idea. So, if you understand that, great. Head on down the page to my conclusions, to see what I’ve thought of as implications of this. If you didn’t (which I assume is the majority), let’s do a quick* chemistry lesson. (For those who have actually studied chemistry, be aware this explanation will be pop science. Like one of my professors used to say, all explanations of chemistry are lies, and we just learn slightly smaller lies the farther and farther we go.) Chemistry of Alkali Metals What are atoms? Elements (like copper, oxygen, or chlorine) are made of fundamental particles called "atoms." These atoms interact with one another, bonding together to form more complicated substances (from water to gasoline to medicinal compounds). Different atoms will behave in different ways, based on the number of subatomic particles they’re comprised of. All atoms have dense nucleus, made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The number of protons defines the element: any atom with one proton is hydrogen, any one with six protons is oxygen, any one with 55 protons is cesium. Chemical reactions are largely driven by the transfer of electrons from one atom or group of atoms to another. How do electrons behave? Electrons are attracted to the nucleus through the electromagnetic force, pulling together the negative charge of an electron and the positive charge of the protons. But electrons aren't like planets in a solar system, just floating wherever they feel like. When they surround a nucleus, they order themselves into levels, filling from the lowest level (closest to the nucleus) and going up. For chemical reactions, only electrons in the outermost level will be involved; anything in a lower level that has been completely filled will not react. In chemical reactions, atoms will trade or share electrons until every atom involved has a filled outermost shell (either by getting more electrons or getting rid of some of theirs), since a filled shell is the most thermodynamically stable. That's how the periodic table of elements is arranged; elements in a column all have the same number of electrons in their outermost level (called 'valence electrons'), so they will all behave in a similar fashion. If they have an almost-full shell, they will be very reactive, like chlorine and oxygen. If their shell is filled, they will be nonreactive, like helium. The reactive properties of ettmetal match the first column of the periodic table, the 'alkali metals.' They all have a single valence electron, and they want to get rid of it like none other, so they'll take any opportunity to do so. They are metals, but they will react very violently with water. Other alkali metals you may have heard of are sodium, lithium, potassium, which are not found in nature in their pure forms because of how reactive they are. How can we free up that electron? Pure alkali metals would like to pass off their single valence electron to another molecule or atom, which would be more thermodynamically stable with it. However, to get rid of this electron in the first place, there is some energy required to ‘knock it loose.’ It's sort of like trying to launch a rocket from earth; you need a bunch of energy to overcome gravity, but once you're out in space, you can go wherever you want. Unlike that rocket, though, there are many different forces acting on an electron. Each proton is pulling on that valence electron, trying to keep it there. But, believe it or not, as you take alkali metals with more protons, the total force on a valence electron electron goes down, and they get easier to remove. Why is this? Two reasons: first, the electron is farther away from the nucleus. But, more relevant to this discussion, the lower shells filled with electrons are also pushing the valence electron out. This concept is called "electron shielding.” Negative charges repulse other negative charges, so when there are a ton of electrons between the valence electron and the nucleus, they will cancel out some of the pull of the protons. Since the electrons in heavier alkali metals aren’t held as strongly, reactions happen faster, and release their energy much quicker. Harmonium reacts even quicker than cesium, the highest alkali metal that's not a pretend element (another of my old professor's fun sayings about transuranic elements). That means its electron is even easier to remove, and it reacts even faster. Realmatics of God Metals How does this play with Realmatics? Finally, we get back to what Brandon said about the opposite forces within the same atom. An atom with protons and electrons comprised of Ruin would behave like a normal atom; no unusual interactions. Same for an atom completely of Preservation. But mix and match, and Preservation electrons would push on the Ruin electrons, giving extra electron shielding. And the Preservation protons would also push on the Ruin electrons (partially countering their normal electromagnetic attraction), reducing the force holding them in. By making it easier to remove harmonium’s valence electron, the rate at which it reacts with other atoms will increase. Which is what we’ve seen. Why does Harmonium have 1 valence electron in the first place? Lastly, I think that harmonium needs to be an alkali metal and have that 1 extra valence electron because of the balance between Ruin and Preservation. In a filled electron shell, each electron has a pair. I think each electron pair contains one Preservation electron and 1 Ruin electron. But, here's the problem: there's extra Ruin. Some of Preservation is in mankind, so if he doesn't physically manifest this extra Ruin somewhere, he won't be in balance. So, he throws in an extra Ruin proton and Ruin electron; this very reactive valence electron. As long as he manifests enough harmonium, the extra Ruin is there in the environment. Brandon has referred to ettmetal as super-cesium. That could be interpreted as a magically stabilized francium (which isn't stable, and doesn't exist outside of a few moments in a laboratory), but I think he means it's a super-reactive cesiuim. Cesium has 55 protons and 55 electrons; harmonium would have 27 of Preservation and 28 of Ruin. The Invested protons, neutrons, and electrons change the atomic behavior of Harmonium, which is why it isn’t exactly cesium. In Conclusion So, I learned in my discussion with Brandon that 1) the pieces of Ruin and Preservation are distinct in harmonium and 2) the battle between them causes ettmetal to be highly reactive. I think I’ve identified the specific mechanism by which this happens. It does, however, carry some interesting implications that I’m still working out. Let me share some of them with you; feel free to comment. · If there’s a repulsion between electrons, there must also be one for protons and neutrons. This would make Harmonium’s nucleus more unstable. Although Brandon said it is not a nuclear reaction that we’ve seen, it may just require the proper catalyst, so I would not be surprised to see an ettmetal nuclear bomb at some point. · If harmonium is cesium made out of Investiture, then maybe it is a fusion (the scientific term, combining the nuclei) of a lerasium atom and an atium atom. That would mean that lerasium would have 27 Preservation protons, and behave like cobalt. Atium would have 28 Ruin protons, and behave like nickel. However, although the electrons add up, the neutrons will not. (The number of neutrons doesn’t affect how an atom behaves chemically, but it can make it radioactive, which will change it into a different element.) There’s only one stable isotope of cesium, and one of cobalt, and doing the math doesn’t yield one of nickel’s stable isotopes. It’s possible the stability of harmonium is different, because of the extra forces between Ruin’s and Preservation’s protons and neutrons, somehow requiring fewer neutrons for stability. But, this isn’t anything I’ve studied as a chemist; it’s in the realm of physicists. · Because there are individual elements of Ruin and Preservation, this doesn’t bode well for Harmony as a whole. Sure, on a macroscopic scale, there’s balance. But it could mean that, in each of his individual interactions with people, he might go back and forth between two extremes. It also makes me wonder how easily Harmony could Splinter back into two Shards (although we do know that at this point, if Sazed died, he would drop a single powerful Shard.) · Ettmetal reacts, which means its transferring part of itself to water. Once the electrons are gone, they ain’t coming back. Atium burns and regenerates; how would a harmonium oxide make its way back to continue the cycle? It seems like Investiture is lost to the environment when ettmetal reacts with water. · People have extra Preservation, but if ettmetal is Harmony’s way of sequestering his extra Ruin, then as it continues to react with water, the extra Ruin could end up transferring to the environment. Man vs Nature is a very big concept in sci-fi, so maybe it could come up in Mistborn Era 4, that the planet itself is of Ruin while its inhabitants are of Preservation. Just spitballing here. · How do other god metals work? If they’re elements made out of Investiture particles, then can Shardblades rust? Or maybe are they silver made out of Honor’s Investiture, which is why they won’t react? (Unfortunately, Element 10 is neon, which is not a metal.) But that wouldn’t give them the structural integrity they need (even if they don’t physically do the cutting, a pure silver sword would be deformed in a duel). Does each Shard make a different metal for its god metal, or could it make any metal it wanted? · Are all physical forms of Investiture (the mists, the liquid Shardpools, Stormlight) similarly constructed? Maybe the mists were composed of two Preservation hydrogens and one Preservation oxygen? Are Perpendicularities just Invested mercury? The reactivity of ettmetal shows that, at the very least, the solid form of one Shard’s power manifests below the atomic level; does every solid form of Investiture do so, as well? Uh… In Conclusion, Again Okay, I’m done for real this time. I know people have proposed similar things (like atium is Ruin’s electrum) based on allomantic behavior, and I didn’t like them at the time (the ideas and logic behind them, not the people), but the way Brandon spoke of Harmonium makes me think that approach was on the right track. However, it’s on a more fundamental level: the very protons and electrons are either of Ruin or Preservation, and when you combine the two, you get a very reactive metal. I’ve tried to completely explain the chemistry of the situation, but it does dive pretty deep at times. If you’d like to know more about that, please just let me know. I didn’t bring out any graphs to show exactly why electron shielding increases reaction rate, but I can if anyone’s interested. I will also try to get the actual transcript to post it. I’m confident in the broad strokes of my conversation with Brandon, that Harmonium is extra reactive because of the opposing Shards it’s made up of, but I do think that having his exact words would have preempted some objections that I’m sure are coming. I’m just not patient enough. 07/19/17 - Made slight changes to the text to (hopefully) clarify what is canon and what is supposition on my part. To emphasize, it is not confirmed that harmonium is unbalanced towards Ruin. What is canon is it behaves like an alkali metal. If my supposition is true, that each electron is either of Ruin or Preservation, then the idea of unbalanced harmonium naturally follows. Edited July 19, 2017 by Pagerunner 99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) Upvotes. Upvotes everywhere. This is genius. Brandon shows us again that he can combine science and magic and get something that makes some crazy amount of sense. I'll need to think about this a bit to see if I come up with anything else. Very good write-up. I understood enough thanks to my program which is close enough to chemical engineering. 1 hour ago, Pagerunner said: If there’s a repulsion between electrons, there must also be one for protons and neutrons. This would make Harmonium’s nucleus more unstable. Although Brandon said it is not a nuclear reaction that we’ve seen, it may just require the proper catalyst, so I would not be surprised to see an ettmetal nuclear bomb at some point. Maybe the bomb the Southerners had? Edited December 13, 2016 by Spoolofwhool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagerunner he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 2 minutes ago, Spoolofwhool said: Upvotes. Upvotes everywhere. This is genius. Brandon shows us again that he can combine science and magic and get something that makes some crazy amount of sense. I'll need to think about this a bit to see if I come up with anything else. Very good write-up. I understood enough thanks to my program which is close enough to chemical engineering. Maybe the bomb the Southerners had? Yeah, I considered that, and I don't remember enough of the exact wording from our conversation to officially debunk that, but the sense I remember is that none of ettmetal's properties we'd seen were nuclear in nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeskarKomrk he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Awesome write-up! Everything you've said about the chemical properties of harmonium makes sense to me. I only took general chemistry in college, but I like to think the physics degree is worth something. I'll have to get back to you on the stability of the nucleus question, it's going to require a little more research first. However, I'll say now that even physicists don't understand it very well. The strong nuclear force that holds the nucleus together is probably the least understood of all the fundamental forces, so it's pretty easy to for Brandon to handwave that kind of thing away. It will have to be different from cesium regardless, as it doesn't share any of its physical properties. I don't think it would be a reliable way to make airships fly if there was a good chance of it melting in the process. I'll have to think about this further and see if I can come up with something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalaCrisp88 Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) I'm in high school right now, took chem freshman year. There are some things I'm a bit fuzzy on, but I think that I got most of it. Edit: Wasn't intending to brag about being smart, I just meant that Pagerunner explained it so well that I could understand it, even with very little education on the topic. On 12/12/2016 at 6:46 PM, Spoolofwhool said: Upvotes. Upvotes everywhere. This is genius. Brandon shows us again that he can combine science and magic and get something that makes some crazy amount of sense. I'll need to think about this a bit to see if I come up with anything else. ^Pretty much everything else I wanted to say. This whole thing is just so amazing! Edited December 19, 2016 by 8giraffe8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironeyes he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) I never dreamed that AP chemistry would serve me in a place like this. MEGA high five for asking a question like that! And upvotes. I think you're spot on with the assumption that Lerasium would be like Cobalt and Atium like Nickel. It fits the physical description, at least for Atium. I can't recall the physical properties of Cobalt at the moment. Edited December 13, 2016 by Ironeyes 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savanorn he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Wow. This is good. Fortunately I've now done a year of uni chem so I got it. And I didn't even realise ettmetal was harmonium. Silly Savvy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Out of curiosity, could somebody provide a link that Ettmetal is Harmonium? I feel like I've missed a few bits of information. I mean, it makes sense, it really does. I was kind of irritated with Brandon for introducing yet another new metal with Ettmetal, so Harmonium fills that gap quite nicely. As for the stability of the nucleus---well, I was a physics major. I know just enough about the subject to know how little I know about the subject. (I'm a tad bit better on the math behind wave chaos). One thing I do know, though, is that at that level, with the sheer amount of energy crammed into that tiny little nuclear volume, the behavior of protons and neutrons is wildly quantum mechanical. They apparently have a shell structure, like the electrons, but far more complicated thanks to the strength of the, er, strong force. There can be unintuitive side effects from this, like we see in chemistry with full shells being favored, but more complicated. It's still true, though, that extra repulsion makes things less stable. However, most regular atoms are very stable, so it's still probably not easy. We can barely pull the stunt of truly breaking the atom with Uranium and Plutonium, and those are at the very edge. Most natural radioactivity is more like a human dropping a couple of pounds rather than an actual break. Which is to say that Brandon can do what he wants, but in my opinion, he shouldn't make it too easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 4 hours ago, Pagerunner said: Yeah, I considered that, and I don't remember enough of the exact wording from our conversation to officially debunk that, but the sense I remember is that none of ettmetal's properties we'd seen were nuclear in nature. http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1181/#44 Sorry, but it's late and I'm too tired to copy the actual text now. I'll do it in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironeyes he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 If someone doesn't beat me to the punch, I'll try to explore this topic more when I see Brandon in February. I'd like to confirm this theory about Ettmetal containing slightly more ruin than preservation, and ask about the repulsion between protons and neutrons. He'd probably RAFO this but it's even worth asking if the metal has nuclear weapon potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagerunner he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 5 hours ago, happyman said: Out of curiosity, could somebody provide a link that Ettmetal is Harmonium? I feel like I've missed a few bits of information. Yeah, I'm the original source for that. I was asking about ettmetal's symbol at the recent signing (I was convinced it wasn't harmonium), and it sort of spiraled from there. I posted it over in the thread for the Hoboken signing. 5 hours ago, Spoolofwhool said: http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1181/#44 Sorry, but it's late and I'm too tired to copy the actual text now. I'll do it in the morning. See, that's not the transcript, that's my retelling of how Brandon slipped up and confirmed E=H. It's not word-for-word, and it's not the entirety of the conversation. It probably shouldn't be on Theoryland; one of the Theoryland admins has the recording and is in the process of the actual transcription right now, so once he gets it done we'll have exactly what Brandon said. I just wanted to get this theory out there sooner, rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 @Pagerunner Quick question while I'm processing this stuff. How sure are you that ettmetal follows the structure of Cesium, and not any other alkali metal? Most likely it's not Francium, but suppose it is actually a stable version of element 119? (Which means that the metals are Pr / Nd?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 8 hours ago, Pagerunner said: See, that's not the transcript, that's my retelling of how Brandon slipped up and confirmed E=H. It's not word-for-word, and it's not the entirety of the conversation. It probably shouldn't be on Theoryland; one of the Theoryland admins has the recording and is in the process of the actual transcription right now, so once he gets it done we'll have exactly what Brandon said. I just wanted to get this theory out there sooner, rather than later. I'm aware. I was just providing the link to the general point where Brandon confirms E is H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yata he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 I like your exposition @Pagerunner...the only thing that bother me is about your idea of Harmonium umbalance toward Ruin. I understand Harmony has more Ruin than Preservation but I feel that it's quite possible that Harmony already spawned again some Atium to balance his powers and the Harmonium is just a further Investiment to help/sustain the Southern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagerunner he/him Posted December 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) 22 hours ago, aeromancer said: @Pagerunner Quick question while I'm processing this stuff. How sure are you that ettmetal follows the structure of Cesium, and not any other alkali metal? Most likely it's not Francium, but suppose it is actually a stable version of element 119? (Which means that the metals are Pr / Nd?) You know, it might be a possibility. I'd discounted 119 because it hasn't been synthesized IRL, it has an estimated half-life of less than a second (and the Shardic interaction should make it less stable), and Brandon has referred to it as super-cesium more than once IIRC (which indicates to me that it's a super-reactive cesium). But there are some good points to praseodymium and neodymium, considering both aren't found in their pure form in earth's crust and the former makes a green oxide when exposed to air (my big hang-up with cobalt, since I can't find an oxide that matches lerasium's greenish coating). So, without a good mechanism to rationalize a stable isotope of 119, I'll stick with cesium. (The same logic applies to francium twice, since it's not stable and it would cause lerasium to be technetium, which also isn't stable 'cause it's just screwy.) But it's a good question. EDIT: @Yata, all alkali metals have an odd number of electrons, so if those individual electrons are all quantized pieces of Ruin or Preservation, then there must be an imbalance in the atom. So, my logic wasn't trying to figure out how Harmony could balance out his extra piece of Ruin, it was trying to explain why there is extra Ruin in the harmonium atom. The titular 'Lost Metal' of the next book could easily be atium (actually, I don't see any other good candidates), and Harmony could have balanced himself out using a combination both methods (atium and harmonium). EDIT2: Also, @aeromancer, I did a little more research into both praseodymium and neodymium, and apparently their oxides don't form coatings, they flake off, so a bead will completely oxidize in less than a year. So, their chemical behavior is different than lerasium and atium, both of which can last for a long time (the lerasium bead was at the well for over 1000 years, and Marsh has had a bag of atium he's used to compound youth for 300). Edited December 14, 2016 by Pagerunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vissy Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 Someone needs to ask about the planet being of Ruin while people of Preservation. Wouldn't people get Ruin particles too via enrichment of the food chain? As harmonium converts to water Ruin and Preservation particles eventuallyend up in the animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagerunner he/him Posted December 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 13 minutes ago, Rob Lucci said: Someone needs to ask about the planet being of Ruin while people of Preservation. Wouldn't people get Ruin particles too via enrichment of the food chain? As harmonium converts to water Ruin and Preservation particles eventuallyend up in the animals. The harmonium isn't turning into water, it's reacting with water to form harmonium hydroxide, and that reaction goes quickly and produces a lot of energy. One of the hydrogen atoms is 'replaced' on the water molecule with the extra Ruin electron, and those loose hydrogen atoms will combine to form an elemental hydrogen molecule H2. It would be possible to form a harmonium salt solution by adding an acid to a harmonium hydroxide solution, and that would result in water with a single Ruin electron in the mix. But it would require recovery of harmonium hydroxide, which looks to be a little difficult since it releases enough energy to vaporize itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 32 minutes ago, Rob Lucci said: Someone needs to ask about the planet being of Ruin while people of Preservation. Well, then this could happen. Planets of particles are bad. Also, Ruin needs to be in people for him to affect them. Wait. That's a weird thought. So, that supposing that all humans contain trace elements of godmetal electrons and/or protons (but probably not protons). Do you suppose that has to do with Spiritwebs? In other words, would drinking a stable harmomium-salt solution give you the ability to use Scandrial powers? Someone needs to ask this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowwisp Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 So Harmonium is not an alloy of Lersium and Atium? In another words, am I correct in saying that you can not breakdown Ettmetal into Atium and Lersium if you had enough of it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted December 14, 2016 Report Share Posted December 14, 2016 17 minutes ago, shadowwisp said: So Harmonium is not an alloy of Lersium and Atium? In another words, am I correct in saying that you can not breakdown Ettmetal into Atium and Lersium if you had enough of it? Correct. By all accounts it's a new element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 Well, yes but no actually. While you can't chemically breakdown Ettmetal into Atium and Lerasium, you can create Atium and Lerasium from the sub-atomic components of a Harmonium atom, from the way it's being understood. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowwisp Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 Hmmm, does this mean that an alloy of Atium and Lersium would have distinct different magical properties from Ettmetal? Or would they just cancel each other out, becoming inert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromancer he/him Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) Yes. An alloy is two separate molecules bonded together, i.e. Iron(Fe) + Carbon(C) for steel. Ettmetal is a different metal entirely, so in this analogy, it might be Lead(Pb). In reality, Pagerunner thinks it's Cesium, and I speculate it's a stable version of Element 119. Pagerunner's probably right. EDIT: The atium/lerasium alloy turns you into a Seer if you burn it, by the way. Edited December 15, 2016 by aeromancer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagerunner he/him Posted December 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, shadowwisp said: Hmmm, does this mean that an alloy of Atium and Lersium would have distinct different magical properties from Ettmetal? Or would they just cancel each other out, becoming inert? We don't know, for sure, but I'd like to think so. I think what @aeromancer said is likely, since it resolves how harmonium can have its own behavior while maintaining the alloying effects we've seen for lerasium (something that was hard to reconcile when we imagined harmonium to be the atium/lerasium alloy). It's possible that atium and lerasium will annihilate each other if they're exposed, the way that Vin destroyed both herself and Ruin. Alloys have a 'metallic bond,' where they share electrons easily among atoms, which wouldn't seem likely to me if the electrons were all polarized. It might be a mixture, but not a true alloy. Edited December 15, 2016 by Pagerunner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HK-42 Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) This is really cool! I hope the chemistry of the cosmere gets a larger focus in the sci-fi Mistborn series. Not sure if anyone has pointed this out already, but there is some evidence that supports the theory that atium is analogous to nickel. Malatium, according to the Coppermind, is an alloy of atium and gold and is described as silvery white. In real life, an alloy of 90% gold and 10% nickel yields white gold. These seem pretty similar. It's a shame, if Kelsier had spectroscopic techniques at hand, he never would have thought malatium was a new metal. I also looked up nickel-cobalt alloys and found Kovar (also includes iron and trace elements), and it apparently has similar properties to borosilicate glass (low thermal expansion). If this is enhanced in god metal alloys, I'd imagine that atium-lerasium alloy similar to this could be used in something where you need extreme heat resistance. EDIT: Another topic of interest would be distinguishing particles made of various shards. How would I tell the difference between an electron made of Preservation versus one of Ruin? The four quantum numbers would no longer completely describe the identity of the electron. Edited December 15, 2016 by NavySealsGuy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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