Aurora 4x
VB6 Aurora => Aurora Chat => Topic started by: swarm_sadist on June 04, 2012, 02:08:25 PM
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Anyone know what the physical properties of the trans-newtonian metals are?
Could also use the Sorium specific impulse.
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Don't think any were ever decided on, other than Duranium = hard, Sorium = boom, etc.
They're just handwavium excuses. :)
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I kind of imagine them to not have any fixed physical properties, since they are trans-newtonian, after all, so they don't obey our normal laws of physics.
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The only stuff Steve has mentioned about the is which component/facility requires them.
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Sorium doesn't really have a specific impulse, it propels a ship only when the engines are turned on, so it might as well be an energy source for an inertialess drive. You'll have to invent your own ideas for what precisely each of the minerals does, though a good rule of thumb is to take an existing application and magic it better.
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http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,4329.msg42917.html#msg42917
As per Newtonian Aurora.
Sorium is the fuel for many types of engines.
The engines have Isp, not the Sorium itself (or rather, the engines have thrust, fuel consumption and acceleration). ie you're burning Sorium for Nuclear Pulse Engines the same as you're burning it for Internal Confinement Fusion.
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"The only stuff Steve has mentioned about the is which component/facility requires them."
We can kind of infer what is being done with each mineral via the devices/facilities that they build.
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http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,4329.msg42917.html#msg42917
As per Newtonian Aurora.
Sorium is the fuel for many types of engines.
The engines have Isp, not the Sorium itself (or rather, the engines have thrust, fuel consumption and acceleration). ie you're burning Sorium for Nuclear Pulse Engines the same as you're burning it for Internal Confinement Fusion.
One could assume Sorium is a gas based on it being the only mineral available on gas giants.
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One could assume Sorium is a gas based on it being the only mineral available on gas giants.
and makes me a sad Auroreer that my geological survey teams can not improve the quantity and accessibility of for that reason.
I don't have Aurora in from of me but:
Duranium
Neutronium
Corbomite
Tritanium
Boronide
Mercassium
Sorium
Uridium
Corundium
Gallicite
I always assumed Duranium was just a metal alloy. Similar to steel, titanium or aluminum. This is why everything requires it.
Sorium was a fuel for ships and I don't think used anywhere else. Maybe not the go boom kind like a petroleum product, but more like a radioactive element used to fuel nuclear reactions. In that regards it is unique that it is stored in liters. I suppose you could RP that it was liquified in refinement to make it easier to handle.
Corundium is used in mine and auto mines, is it used for anything else? My thought was that the drill heads for the mines use it. For that reason the initial mineral requirement should have been less to build the mine and it should have been a consumable which required regular deliveries of the material to keep mining operations running. But oh well.
The rest I don't recall off the top of my head.
Gallicite is primarily used for shipyard construction, yes? To me that makes me think that most of the newtonian elements are toxic or dangerous for human or conventional materials to handle in a raw state and that the gallicite is used as a shielding agent in manufacturing equipment until the completed product is done being manufactured.
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Sorium isn't actually stored in liters - only the sorium-derived fuel is. It's also used in the construction of jumpdrives, so a radioactive or otherwise weirdly energetic element makes as much sense as anything.
Neutronium is what you're thinking of with regard to shipyards. Gallicite is used almost entirely for engines of all types.
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Duranium - Metallic alloy
Neutronium - Inert - newtonian element shielding/handling material.
Corbomite
Tritanium
Boronide
Mercassium
Sorium - Energetic solid, when refined can be liquified as a fuel source
Uridium
Corundium - Mining and extraction agent
Gallicite - Engines - heat shielding or radioactivity containment?
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I'd prehaps venture that sorium could exist either as a gas or solid. I'm thinking in gas giants it would exist as a gas, but when found on a normal planet could form compounds of some sort and become solid.
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I'd prehaps venture that sorium could exist either as a gas or solid. I'm thinking in gas giants it would exist as a gas, but when found on a normal planet could form compounds of some sort and become solid.
Why would it need to be a solid on normal planets? There are gasses that are mined, or mined as a by-product of other mining operations.
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Why would it need to be a solid on normal planets? There are gasses that are mined, or mined as a by-product of other mining operations.
It wouldn't necessarily have to be. Just could be.
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Duranium - Metallic alloy
Neutronium - Inert - newtonian element shielding/handling material.
Corbomite
Tritanium
Boronide
Mercassium
Sorium - Energetic gas, when refined can be liquified as a fuel source
Uridium
Corundium - Mining and extraction agent
Gallicite - Engines - heat shielding or radioactivity containment?
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Mineral Description
The minerals are as follows:
1. Duranium. Most common ore and used to build factories, mines and ship structures.
2. Neutronium. Very dense material used for shipyards, advanced armors and kinetic weapons such as railguns or orbital bombardment systems.
3. Corbomite. Used for advanced shields, stealth systems and electronic warfare systems.
4. Tritanium. The primary material used in many missile technologies and in the construction of ordnance factories.
5. Boronide. The primary material used in the construction of power systems and capacitors and also for the creation of Terraforming facilities.
6. Sorium. Used for construction of jump drives and jump gates. Also refined by fuel refineries to produce fuel.
7. Uridium. Used in sensors and fire control systems.
8. Corundium. The primary material used in almost all energy weapons.
9. Mercassium. Used for Research Facilities, life support systems and tractor beams.
10. Vendarite. Used in the construction of fighters, fighter factories and fighter bases.
11. Gallicite. Used in the construction of engines, including missile and fighter engines.
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Excellent, now lets break that down into a lower level. Sure corbomite is used for shields and such, but why? I know it's because Steve said so but there can easily be an logical deduction as to the base mineral properties dependent on what it is used for.
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I don't think we can quite infer that yet.
What part of current laser technology is corundium replacing? Probably the medium of the laser itself which would make powerful, efficient lasers available for mining or combat purposes.
How could boronide be used in a reactor(and given that all reactor techs use it)? Steam driven turbines are 35% efficient, so I'd imagine that it replaces the turbine with a material that magics heat into electricity with a higher efficiency then that(probably not 100, that breaks all kinds of things).
Tritanium and Vendarite seem like they overlap. Missiles and fighters would need lightweight strong materials.
Gallicite is probably really good dealing with the heat problems that engines tend to have.
Uridium being as widely used as it is is likey some circuitry replacement. EM, Thermal, and active sensors(not to mention fire controls) would share a processing need, not the antennae in the first place necessarily.
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When running my LP I came up with my own fluff explanations for why certain minerals did certain things.
Off the top of my head:
Corbomite has a TN analogue for magnetism property, which allows it to create force fields (tractor beams, shields, etc).
Uridium is very sensitive to EM and gravitational radiation, hence its use in sensors.
Corundium has radiation focusing properties that help avoid scatter (useful in beam weapons, etc).
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In real life, corundum is a very hard crystal that is used in lasers and mining equipment, there is probably a connection there.
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I've always thought of duranium to be something like durasteel from star wars: it's like steel, but better. Using star wars again, neutronium I've always assumed to be a very dense, strong material making it impractical for armor, but good for other stuff like shipyards. Uridium I've assumed to be very reactive to radiation, making it ideal for detection systems. I guess boronide functions as some sort of super-duper-über conductor, making it ideal for power systems. Corbomite I've thought of as being absorbent to most radiation, allowing to absorb large amounts of energy for shields or conceal the energy signature of a vessel for cloaking devices. Gallicite probably has an extremely high specific heat capacity, making it a practical material for engines that generate power equivalent to thousands of chemical rockets. Corundium most likely works as a focus for various types of energy, and vendarite is probably a lightweight, strong material like titanium. Sorium is some sort of highly energetic material, probably the most physics defying one as it appears to allow the function of jump engines. Tritaniunm I assume to be a highly volatile material, capable of releasing energy Over a much smaller period of time than sorium, thus leading to large booms. Mercassium is probably some sort magnet-like substance, being used to accelerate other materials for research purposes in labs, or "grab" them for tractor beams, and extracting them from the air for life support.
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Corbomite definitely has its origins in Star Trek
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Corbomite definitely has its origins in Star Trek
All the mineral names have been used at some point in Star Trek :)
Given my occupational history, Corbomite was one of my favourites :)
Steve
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All the mineral names have been used at some point in Star Trek :)
Given my occupational history, Corbomite was one of my favourites :)
Steve
I do recall you stating explicitly back on the yahoo group that Corbomite was drawn from Star Trek :)
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Just spent 10 minutes on Memory Alpha reading through the Star Trek descriptions of the minerals. Oddly satisfying!
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All the mineral names have been used at some point in Star Trek :)
Given my occupational history, Corbomite was one of my favourites :)
Steve
heh, you shouldve tried Fizzbin ;) with it's ummm fluid rules you couldve retired
Matt