I've worked on this list before, but hopefully this can be the start of a complete list with stats for everything, and descriptions of how they are used.
List of SF Materials:
1. Ceramcrete
2. Roccoco Bubbled Concrete
3. Cerametal
4. Carbon-carbon Polyfiber (a hyperstrong string)
5. Artificial spidersilk
6. Elemental Iron or Eit (pronounced 'Eat').
7. Neutronium
8. Mass-alleviated Neutronium in Eit casing.
9. Time-locked Matter (this can be used on anything. It makes matter inmoveable because time does not affect the matter).
10. Quasi-matter Type One (matter-energy).
11. Quasi-matter Type Two (matter-tachyons). This has strange temporal effects. It is typically mined from black holes in a very hazardous operation.
12. Battlesteel
13. Molycirc
14. Room Temperature Superconductors
15. Superstring Fragment
16. Molecule thin crystal (matrix, wafer are sometimes attached for 'growth matrix' and 'computer chips', and it is used in Starsong for swords.)
17. Optical chips
18. Biocomputer Gel Paks
19. Grey Goo
20. Molecule thin wire
Razorplas is another--it can be fashioned into knives, but its undendable and tends to split, and cut its user. Its a type of fiberglass.
Fantasy Materials--Trees
1. Branch from the Great Oak (child of Yggdrasil, the Oakmaster is growning world acorns, or bubble universes). Its branches are specially useful to open worldgates, and are practically unbreakable. The Wood of Small Things is one such world attached to it. The Realm of the Great Elves is another world attached to it. Treehome is the center world for the Oakmaster, and is the nexus point for these worlds. The Gardeners' Garden is another world which he defends from transgressors from the Wood of Small Things. The Children's Wood is another micro-world.
2. Ironwood--This reddish tree absorbs iron from the ground, leaching it out.
3. Fireblossom Tree-- Its blossoms are loaded with gunpowder and naptha. They stink, these huge red and white blossoms. Smacking one on the ground tends to cause a fire. The trunk is near immune to fire, and often stands alone as it has burned out all nearby competition.
4. Lightning Tree--It grows very tall, and it enjoys the benefits of frequent lightning strikes, and the nitrogen fixing while sparing its neighbours too many fires, and strikes.
What is this?
This is Game Master/Game Designer Support Material.
You've dropped your player into a SF world, and you describe another character working.
"The man in the poly-silk trouser/shirt uniform is bent low over the access panel, patching a strand of room-temperature superconductor with raw razorplas paste. The last hyper-velocity pellet had rattled the star cruiser Genghis Khan pretty good. The anti-positron reactor had scrammed and gone off-line due to a bending of the exterior battlesteel by the pirate ship's weapon which had translated itself by kinetic force transfer to this interior corridor, and resulted in a broken RTS line that was supposed to feed the monitors. No monitors in operation, and idiot fail-safe's kicked in, and scrammed the reactor.
At his hip, a bead autopistol dangles from a ready-stik patch woven into his trousers. A handful of raw razorplas gets slapped on the RTS line, and he pulls from his pocket a strand of artificial spidersilk, and ties it all together.
'Lord of Hosts preserve us.' He tags his earpiece. 'Reboot the monitors'. He then turns to you. 'Well either it works, or you won't feel a thing. The pirates have surely powered up their axial laser by now.'"
Understand now?
Eric
Understand now?
Yup
In the Omega Virus scenario I loosely based off an old Milton Bradley game, there was a brief scene wherein Paul got to visit the secret xenobiology lab where the Yellow government was keeping Toto (his pet nerf-ball from the Orange Plain). The translucent box that served as a cage appeared seamless, but when properly manipulated the top would fold in half upon itself on an invisible hinge, and when closed again the top pane would again seal seamlessly with the rest of the box.
It was inspired by the "smart metals" that have been invented recently. I called it Flexiglass.
Kewl.
Eric
WAW Tadeusz has a 'memory metal' hatchet which is a small ball of metal, but with a tiny electric charge it unrolls itself to become a hatchet. I said he bought the cheap version which is only one shape held by the metal.
List of SF Materials:
1. Ceramcrete--This material joins ceramic structure to concrete yielding a stronger, but more brittle concrete. Its chief advantage is that its comparative weight is 20% of concrete for equivalent strength. Upon breaking, it tends to produce lethal shards.
2. Roccoco Bubbled Concrete--This material has millions of tiny air bubbles inside it which connect to each other by molecule wide tunnels, and connect to the exterior outer side by the same. When wind hits the exterior of a skyscraper, it infiltrates air molecules inside the brick. Most of the air molecules end up pushing against each other as bubble presses against bubble in a form of judo, of using the wind's strength against itself. The material also flexes in the process.
It is lighter, and stronger than regular concrete, but more brittle. However it does not form shards when broken. Instead it forms dust and small balls generally so that sometimes it is marketted as 'Safetycrete'.
3. Cerametal--This process may be used on Aluminum, Iron, Steel, and Titanium. It makes the metal much stronger, but more brittle with 'deathneedles' forming if overstressed.
4. Carbon-carbon Polyfiber (a hyperstrong string)--This is typically constructed by using nanotechnology. It is the strongest cord of normal matter known to exist in many hi-tech worlds. It is typically used for building Earth to Orbit skyhooks.
5. Artificial spidersilk--This is fifty times stronger than steel. Sometimes it is grown from genetically engineered spiders, and sometimes a chemical process is used. Its creation has enabled the construction of bridges three times larger than before which in some dimensions includes the Australia-New Zealand Bridge, and the Straits of Gibraltar Bridge.
6. Elemental Iron or Eit (pronounced 'Eat')--According to legend, the plains of Karigen, said by some to be the Final Battlefield for the Multiverse are composed of Elemental Iron. Elemental Iron is typically constructed with nanite assembler technology which atom by atom builds up the mass needed. Its thought by many scientists to be the hardest substance in the universe. But even the most minor tinge of other materials can spoil it. But with pure, one hundred percent iron, a change occurs. An emergent property rises up, and the metal becomes something inordinately strong.
7. Neutronium--This material is typically found in Brown Dwarf collapsed stars. A star falls in on itself as it ages, but it lacks the explosive potential to nova, and the mass neccessary to become a black hole. Instead, it becomes a neutron star.
All atoms in the star are crushed under the great weight, and electrons and protons are forced out and away. The only thing left is neutrons jammed cheek by jowl.
Neutronium is extremely heavy. A cubic centimeter is going to run between 80 and 200 million tonnes.
8. Mass-alleviated Neutronium in Eit casing--The outer casing of Eit keeps the material from exploding outward, and the mass alleviation allows gravity to have a much weaker hold on the matter than ordinarily.
9. Time-locked Matter (this can be used on anything. It makes matter inmoveable because time does not affect the matter). Typically it increases the strength of an object by 2@1. However, there are cases where an active energy flow system is created (which is more difficult -20 Sit-mod). In that case, the stability of the material tends to be based on how much energy is able to be pushed through the Time-Lock Engine. In cases where one side is attempting to bore through a time-locked wall with a laser powered by a fusion generator, and the other side is defending with two pair of fusion generators (a one to four ratio is typical), then even success tends to create odd temporal effects.
Botches can destroy solar systems.
10. Quasi-matter Type One (matter-energy)--The creation of this requires super-high density energy sources, and typically does not occur before practical control of antimatter reactors. It is matter-energy which has both of the effects of its parents at the whim of the designer. The designer can cause the M/E or 'M Slash E' as its usually called to flow down wires, and then solidify to form a foundation, for one example. However, M slash E is not safe to be around unprotected as it never gets below a hundred thousand degrees.
11. Quasi-matter Type Two (matter-tachyons). This has strange temporal effects. It is typically mined from black holes in a very hazardous operation. Near black holes, even tachyons slow down, and then they get caught into orbit of various atoms. These atoms can be retrieved by a Gravity Punch. A Gravity Punch allows someone to temporarily alter the gravity of an area. A pair of punches is required. One to free to altered atoms from their enslavement, and the other to hold them in that weird gravity so they don't fly apart.
Tachyonic matter can be used for Faster-than-light computing, and in some cultures, it is used to build starships since it naturally exceeds the speed of light.
12. Battlesteel--This highly heated, and very precisely made alloy is extremely durable and resistant to damage. It is frequently used in the outer hulls of spaceships.
13. Molycirc
14. Room Temperature Superconductors
15. Superstring Fragment
16. Molecule thin crystal (matrix, wafer are sometimes attached for 'growth matrix' and 'computer chips', and it is used in Starsong for swords.)
17. Optical chips
18. Biocomputer Gel Paks
19. Grey Goo-This is typically the result of a nanotech disaster where dissasemblers broke everything in the enviroment down. Its also a type of slurry for a feed stock for nanotech assemblers although solid feed stocks are generally considered more efficient.
20. Molecule thin wire
21. Flexiglass (created by Pope Wodium)
22. Memory metal
23. Elemental metals
24. Diamond Construction Material
25. Moly-thin Mylar (typically used for solar sails)
26. Electrical Resister Cord
27. Direx or Directional Explosive
28. Zeefrick or Zero Friction (more properly Micro-friction) Material
29. Semi-Autonomous Materials or "Sammies"
30. Ready-stik
Mostly I thought "Flexiglass" was a clever name, so I wanted to share. It could replace safety glass in car windshields - it just pops open like a set of saloon doors to let the passengers come flying out and then folds back together good as new. The victims of the crash are still dead, but there's no need to replace the windshield!
I did my senior exit project on #5. It's exciting stuff. Personally, I'd call the bridge the Gibraltar O'er-Vaulter. I like fringe rhyme. And I have it on good authority that #10 would actually be called "M-wacky."
Have you read "Diamond Age," by Neal Stephenson? I'm assuming #24 is just diamond constructed by nanotech. (It's just carbon, after all, how hard can it be?)
I've read 'Snow Crash', 'Diamond Age', 'Cryptonomicon'. I haven't read any of the Baroque Cycle. I have a high degree of respect for his sense of the future.
10. Quasi-matter Type One aka M-whacky (matter-energy)--The creation of this requires super-high density energy sources, and typically does not occur before practical control of antimatter reactors. It is matter-energy which has both of the effects of its parents at the whim of the designer. The designer can cause the M/E or 'M Slash E' as its usually called to flow down wires, and then solidify to form a foundation, for one example. However, M slash E is not safe to be around unprotected as it never gets below a hundred thousand degrees.
11. Quasi-matter Type Two (matter-tachyons). This has strange temporal effects. It is typically mined from black holes in a very hazardous operation. Near black holes, even tachyons slow down, and then they get caught into orbit of various atoms. These atoms can be retrieved by a Gravity Punch. A Gravity Punch allows someone to temporarily alter the gravity of an area. A pair of punches is required. One to free to altered atoms from their enslavement, and the other to hold them in that weird gravity so they don't fly apart.
Tachyonic matter can be used for Faster-than-light computing, and in some cultures, it is used to build starships since it naturally exceeds the speed of light.
12. Battlesteel--This highly heated, and very precisely made alloy is extremely durable and resistant to damage. It is frequently used in the outer hulls of spaceships.
13. Molycirc--Molecular circuits imprinted on a flexible surface are essential for 'scrollcoms' which are ten by eight sheets of laminated plastic with more memory and speed than a Cray. A different type of molycirc is used to create solar energy 'blankets' and 'tattoos'.
14. Room Temperature Superconductors allow transfer of energy over vast distances. A power station can be in Alaska, and provide power to Mexico City. Room Temperature Superconductors allowed the creation of the World Energy Net. They also enable the storage of energy in 'infinite loops' for weeks at a time. Thus vast quantities of energy are held securely for a short term, to meet emergencies. This helps stabilize the World Energy Net in those worlds where the engineers have the foresight to build such.
15. Superstring Fragment--One of the basic backbones of the universe tumbles past. Its as strong as it is possible to be in the physical universe. It can be of infinitesimal length or longer than a solar system. Having one hit a planet (of the longer variety( is an almost unimagineable disaster which would probably destroy the planet.)
16. Molecule thin crystal (matrix, wafer are sometimes attached for 'growth matrix' and 'computer chips', and it is used in Starsong for swords.)
17. Optical chips are computer chips that use lasers instead of electricity. They are faster, and more powerful than an equiavlent electronic chip.
18. Biocomputer Gel Paks are frequently slower in operation cycles, but they make up for it by having such a vast memory. This is a type of biological computing.
19. Grey Goo-This is typically the result of a nanotech disaster where dissasemblers broke everything in the enviroment down. Its also a type of slurry for a feed stock for nanotech assemblers although solid feed stocks are generally considered more efficient.
20. Molecule thin wire is an ephemeral wire sharp enough to slice through steel.
21. Flexiglass (created by Pope Wodium)
22. Memory metal
23. Elemental metals are few and far between, but it seems clear that pure substances of one element have 'emergent properties'. So when Gold was tested out, it turned to be clear, and to have qualities suited to a roadway surface (its modestly flexible, its sticky, but not too much so.)
24. Diamond Construction Material is made by nanites working with carbon atoms. The first use is typically Diamond Windows, although in some universes whole palaces of glittering diamond have been built.
25. Moly-thin Mylar (typically used for solar sails)--Shiny, reflective mylar, about four molecules thick is the material used for solar sails. Such sails are typically huge.
26. Electrical Resister Cord is a metal alloy that resists an electrical charge. Once a significant charge is pumped through it, the whole wire explodes outwards converting electric energy into explosive energy.
27. Direx or Directional Explosive--Its possible to create chemical explosives that only explode in one direction or only explode in a few degrees of an arc. There is a 'backblast' to keep things stable, but that is designed to be diffuse.
28. Zeefrick or Zero Friction (more properly Micro-friction) Material--This material has been tested at Autonomous Study Group. A 150 pound male shoved off with twenty pounds of force. He glided for 3.2 miles before stopping.
29. Semi-Autonomous Materials or "Sammies" use sensors and capillary action to deiver bonding liquid to the cracks and other damage the Sammie has suffered.
30. Ready-stik is a handy item often woven into clothing from which just about any items that can be hung is hung.
On a side note, one of my pet peeves is forum posts which quote large sections of previous forum posts without distinguishing the quoted from the new material. The "blockquote" tag works fine on this board, or you can use the "ul" tag to create indent, or you can even use the "em" or "strong" tags to make the text look different.
This is rather important to me. If I come to a post that has clearly marked quoted material, I will skim the quotes and read the new stuff. If I come to a post that looks like it contains a lot that I have already read, not marked, I skip it entirely. I have neither the time nor the patience to read through what I've already read to get to the new pieces.
That said, there are two materials I did not catch here, although it might be because they were in a post that looked too familiar.
When I dubbed that stuff on NagaWorld "Plastic Steel", I had the impression I got the name from somewhere else, but I don't know where. However, my impression of the material is that it is a polymer with a strength of a hard metal, but which can be molded or cast or otherwise formed at room temperature before it sets. Think PC-7 on steroids.
I know that Metamorphosis Alpha, and I think Gamma World, included a material called Duralloy. In the former it was used to patch the ship. The deal was this came in pre-formed pieces (I believe they were large triangles with mounting holes in strategic positions) that could not actually be cut or shaped behind the fact that being sheet metal-like they flexed a bit. They combined this incredible hardness with an equally incredible lightness, making duralloy far superior to white dwarf alloy.
Did you get that? White Dwarf Alloy is mined from supercollapsed stars, and so has an incredible top-scale density and a weight to match. E. R. Jones uses it in a lot of stuff.
--M. J. Young
Affirmative on Duralloy in Gamma World. They also used it to pave their roads (though why you need roads for anti-grav is beyond me) and make their coins (Domars). Someone needs to decide if it responds to magnetism, because I can easily see a mutant with magnetic control using his power to form a kind of scale mail out of his spare change.
MJ,
The first new information was in line one of #10. After that, a jump down to #13, and largely thereafter its new info.
However, its probably good you didn't read because I do need to consolidate this, and to put listings of strengths, and any other necessary data into the chart for a final draft.
You probably did get plastic steel or plastisteel from somewhere else. Its common enough in the SF field to be generic in my opinion (as a 2@10 pro on SF knowledge I think my opinion might even have legal validity :) ); I've seen it in a number of different books.
So we can definitely add 'NagaWorld Plastic Steel' to the chart.
At first I was thinking I'd make Duralloy a different name for Battlesteel, but B doesn't flex at all (it can warp, but then its permanently damaged), and its pretty heavy.
I suspect Duralloy is generic enough as well if I cut out the bit about triangles, and mess with it a bit.
White Dwarf Alloy seems to be a variant of Neutronium which is #7. That is, one takes raw Neutronium, and alloys it to make it more useful in some cases, and one now has WDA. I'll add it as either another entry, or a subset of #7 just like I'll probably make #8 a subset of #7.
You say WDA is top level in density and strength....So how much is that? I need to know in order to scale my responses, and put proper numbers to the various metals.
As to the magnetism of Duralloy...I'd guess D is an advanced form of mostly aluminum, so no. On Eeit (Elemental Iron), I'd say no because everything is so bound into itself that there is no hook to the outside world. On Neutronium, that is a definite 'no' from everything I know about science unless you want to get into the possibility of neutrons splitting under pressure to form protons....no? Didn't want to go there? Wise of you. I didn't want to either. Neutronium is extremely magnetically neutral.
I'm sick, so I'm confining myself to minimal work, and the computer with lots of time to game design.
Its a rough life.
I'm supposed to be running Temple of the Dying Sun tonight, but I can't. It'd be rude to cough cold germs in their face as I asked them to roll Fortitude saves.
I'm mostly better, just have a severe chronic cough, and not much move about power.
===========================================
I saw that WDA is 6@10 in Density, and so that question is answered.
Densities of materials is listed under cover value (yeah, well, that was where we realized we needed it), and repeated in Appendix 4: Collected Tables. It gives a range for "Sci-fi materials" of 3@10 to 6@10; we never put anything higher than that.
I think your reason for making Elemental Iron non-magnetic is faulty, but that's because of my studies in electricity and magnetism. Iron and some other metals respond to magnetism by aligning their atomic structures along the flux lines--that is, all the atoms fall into phase with each other when exposed to a magnetic field. I would think that a fundamental property of iron; I believe it even affects a large variety of iron compounds, including iron oxide (rust), and the feature is part of why nuclear magnetic resonant (NMR) imaging works.
Ah, and that's what I get for trying to answer questions as I reach them--well, yes, 6@10 is correct.
--M. J. Young
I'm postulating an emergent property of Iron is extreme stability of form. So, in order to get an Eeit slab to magnetize you'd have to have some terravolt magnet or something probably even stronger. About the only thing that affects Eeit is atomic decay, and well, thats a realllllllly long time span; the other thing is huge amounts of force. So it would be possible to magnetize Eeit, but you'd probably have to pump enough energy into it that you'd fuse some of the iron atoms into the next element, and it'd no longer be Eeit, and then it'd be a cloud of gas.
My other emergent property postulated is Gold--its transparent, and makes for a truly superior footpath substance having the exact qualities needed for a human footpath.
It'd be neat to come up with a list of emergent properties. I think for Carbon I'd put it as Extreme Tensile Strength. A pure carbon nano-fiber something or the other kinda sorta is already being considered as the only likely substance strong enough to use as the cable in a skyhook. I think I should just suggest that its stronger than anyone expects (which happens, but rarely. The people who built the poles for the power cables have a nasty mix of creosote and stuf on the base of the poles which they without need extended the warranty on because they found it just wasn't decaying. That's some good poison there!)
Now there's a couple hundred other emergent properties to invent, or borrow the idea for, and I invite one and all....
Eric
Dynamic Molecular Materials - Nano-scale machinery is built directly into the molecular structure of the material, allowing it to self-repair or atomically reconfigure to strengthen itself against various types of stresses. The material comes "pre-programmed" and can use either ambient energy (heat, electromagnetic, electrostatic, or various forms of background radiation) or an discreet external power source.
Does this mean we can use Density to measure the hardness of a material, regardless of its weight? The mechanics treat Density as a sort of all-inclusive toughness for objects; for Duralloy to be superior to WDA, it needs a Density nearly as high as WDA's despite being many orders of magnitude less dense. (I'd peg it at 6@1 - 6@5, possibly as low as 5@10 if you're concerned about eclipsing WDA.)
Battlesteel is probably a LOT cheaper to produce than Duralloy, and many of the SF cultures we're considering probably don't have the technological means to produce Duralloy anyway. Before the apocalypse in Gamma World, the technology was absolutely ludicrous - hand-held resurrection rays are on the treasure charts for player characters to find.
I have no idea what Duralloy might be made from, but I'm perfectly content calling it non-magnetic.
It might be better to come up with a list of emergent properties and allow individual referees to make their own decisions about which elements get which. (A column for "suggested element" could also work.)
Yeah, we had one of those hand-held resurrection rays; but it malfunctioned more often than not, I think. If I remember correctly, if it didn't work nothing happened, but if it did work the character using it got bathed in radiation. It made for some interesting play. Also, it was a very odd device, as far as resurrection goes--the way our referee read it, when you were resurrected, you re-rolled absolutely everything, including character mutations. I had a character with a claw who died and came back and didn't have the claw anymore.
On point, right, density is not directly related to weight.
--M. J. Young
This is an attempt at creating a Complete List for the Website. As such it involves a lot of copying.
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This is a list of Science-Fiction Materials so that the Gamemaster can do this...
You've dropped your player into a SF world, and you describe another character working.
"The man in the poly-silk trouser/shirt uniform is bent low over the access panel, patching a strand of room-temperature superconductor with raw razorplas paste. The last hyper-velocity pellet had rattled the star cruiser Genghis Khan pretty good. The anti-positron reactor had scrammed and gone off-line due to a bending of the exterior battlesteel by the pirate ship's weapon which had translated itself by kinetic force transfer to this interior corridor, and resulted in a broken RTS line that was supposed to feed the monitors. No monitors in operation, and idiot fail-safe's kicked in, and scrammed the reactor.
At his hip, a bead autopistol dangles from a ready-stik patch woven into his trousers. A handful of raw razorplas gets slapped on the RTS line, and he pulls from his pocket a strand of artificial spidersilk, and ties it all together.
'Lord of Hosts preserve us.' He tags his earpiece. 'Reboot the monitors'. He then turns to you. 'Well either it works, or you won't feel a thing. The pirates have surely powered up their axial laser by now.
NOTE: In Multiverser, Density is used as an all-purpose measurement for Toughness.
List of SF Materials:
1. Ceramcrete--This material joins ceramic structure to concrete yielding a stronger, but more brittle concrete. Its chief advantage is that its comparative weight is 20% of concrete for equivalent strength. Upon breaking, it tends to produce lethal shards. Density is 3@10.
2. Roccoco Bubbled Concrete--This material has millions of tiny air bubbles inside it which connect to each other by molecule wide tunnels, and connect to the exterior outer side by the same. When wind hits the exterior of a skyscraper, it infiltrates air molecules inside the brick. Most of the air molecules end up pushing against each other as bubble presses against bubble in a form of judo, of using the wind's strength against itself. The material also flexes in the process. Density is 3@5.
It is lighter, and stronger than regular concrete, but more brittle. However it does not form shards when broken. Instead it forms dust and small balls generally so that sometimes it is marketted as 'Safetycrete'.
3. Cerametal--This process may be used on Aluminum, Iron, Steel, and Titanium. It makes the metal much stronger, but more brittle with 'deathneedles' forming if the metal is overstressed. It tends to break suddenly, and fling 'deathneedles'in every direction. Densit is 4@2.
4. Carbon-carbon Polyfiber (a hyperstrong string)--This is typically constructed by using nanotechnology. It is the strongest cord of normal matter known to exist in many hi-tech worlds. It is typically used for building Earth to Orbit skyhooks. Density is 4@10.
A. Diamond Construction Material is made by nanites working with carbon atoms. The first use is typically Diamond Pane Windows, although in some universes whole palaces of glittering diamond have been built. Its Density is 3@8.
B. Also Ablative, Rubberized Carbon is sprayed on the outside of some space fighters that require extra armor vs. heat due to enemy lasers or a planned emergency landing in atmosphere.
5. Artificial spidersilk--This is fifty times stronger than steel. Sometimes it is grown from genetically engineered spiders, and sometimes a chemical process is used. Its creation has enabled the construction of bridges three times larger than before which in some dimensions includes the Australia-New Zealand Bridge, and the Straits of Gibraltar Bridge. Density is 3@10.
6. Elemental Iron or Eit (pronounced 'Eat')--According to legend, the plains of Karigen, said by some to be the Final Battlefield for the Multiverse are composed of Elemental Iron. Elemental Iron is typically constructed with nanite assembler technology which atom by atom builds up the mass needed. Its thought by many scientists to be the hardest substance in the universe. But even the most minor tinge of other materials can spoil it. But with pure, one hundred percent iron, a change occurs. An emergent property rises up, and the metal becomes something inordinately strong. Its Density is 6@9.
7. Neutronium--This material is typically found in Brown Dwarf collapsed stars. A star falls in on itself as it ages, but it lacks the explosive potential to nova, and the mass neccessary to become a black hole. Instead, it becomes a neutron star.
All atoms in the star are crushed under the great weight, and electrons and protons are forced out and away. The only thing left is neutrons jammed cheek by jowl.
Neutronium is extremely heavy. A cubic centimeter is going to run between 80 and 200 million tonnes. Civilizations that use raw Neutroninium in significant quantities also tend to be ones that engage in Stellar Engineering (Moving stars, and building Dyson Spheres).
Its Density is 6@10.
A. Mass-alleviated Neutronium in Eit casing--The outer casing of Eit keeps the material from exploding outward, and the mass alleviation allows gravity to have a much weaker hold on the matter than ordinarily. Its Density is 6@8.
B. White Dwarf Alloy is much, much lighter only weighing in at one ton per cubic centimeter. However, it is as tough as pure Neutronium, and it does not require exotic gravity fields to hold it stable. Its Density is 6@10.
8. Dynamic Molecular Materials - Nano-scale machinery is built directly into the molecular structure of the material, allowing it to self-repair or atomically reconfigure to strengthen itself against various types of stresses. The material comes "pre-programmed" and can use either ambient energy (heat, electromagnetic, electrostatic, or various forms of background radiation) or an discreet external power source. Density is 4@1. Courtesy David Marcoe.
9. Time-locked Matter (this can be used on anything. It makes matter inmoveable because time does not affect the matter). Typically it increases the strength of an object by 2@1. However, there are cases where an active energy flow system is created (which is more difficult -20 Sit-mod). In that case, the stability of the material tends to be based on how much energy is able to be pushed through the Time-Lock Engine. In cases where one side is attempting to bore through a time-locked wall with a laser powered by a fusion generator, and the other side is defending with two pair of fusion generators (a one to four ratio is typical), then even success tends to create odd temporal effects.
Botches can destroy solar systems with Active Powered Time-locked Material.
10. Quasi-matter Type One aka M-whacky (matter-energy)--The creation of this requires super-high density energy sources, and typically does not occur before practical control of antimatter reactors. It is matter-energy which has both of the effects of its parents at the whim of the designer. The designer can cause the M/E or 'M Slash E' as its usually called to flow down wires, and then solidify to form a foundation, for one example. It is matter or energy or both with properties than can be specified by manipulating the energy flow. However, M slash E is not safe to be around unprotected as it never gets below a hundred thousand degrees which is one of the specifications that does not change that much. Typically, its Density ranges from 2@1 to 4@5.
11. Quasi-matter Type Two (matter-tachyons). This has strange temporal effects. It is typically mined from black holes in a very hazardous operation. Near black holes, even tachyons slow down, and then they get caught into orbit of various atoms. These atoms can be retrieved by a Gravity Punch. A Gravity Punch allows someone to temporarily alter the gravity of an area. A pair of punches is required. One to free to altered atoms from their enslavement, and the other to hold them in that weird gravity so they don't fly apart.
Tachyonic matter can be used for Faster-than-light computing, and in some cultures, it is used to build starships since it naturally exceeds the speed of light. Its Density is 2@2.
12. Battlesteel--This highly heated, and very precisely made alloy is extremely durable and resistant to damage. It is frequently used in the outer hulls of spaceships. Its Density is 4@10.
13. Molycirc--Molecular circuits imprinted on a flexible surface are essential for 'scrollcoms' which are ten by eight sheets of laminated plastic with more memory and speed than a Cray. A different type of molycirc is used to create solar energy 'blankets' and 'tattoos'. Its Density is 1@5.
14. Room Temperature Superconductors allow transfer of energy over vast distances. A power station can be in Alaska, and provide power to Mexico City. Room Temperature Superconductors allowed the creation of the World Energy Net. They also enable the storage of energy in 'infinite loops' for weeks at a time. Thus vast quantities of energy are held securely for a short term, to meet emergencies. This helps stabilize the World Energy Net in those worlds where the engineers have the foresight to build such. Its Density is 1@3.
15. Superstring Fragment--One of the basic backbones of the universe tumbles past. Its as strong as it is possible to be in the physical universe. It can be of infinitesimal length or longer than a solar system. Having one hit a planet (of the longer variety( is an almost unimagineable disaster which would probably destroy the planet.) Its Density is 6@10.
16. Molecule thin crystal (matrix, wafer are sometimes attached for 'growth matrix' and 'computer chips', and it is used in Starsong for swords.) Its Density is 1@4.
17. Optical chips are computer chips that use lasers instead of electricity. They are faster, and more powerful than an equiavlent electronic chip. Its Density is 0@5.
18. Biocomputer Gel Paks are frequently slower in operation cycles, but they make up for it by having such a vast memory. This is a type of biological computing. Its Density is 0@3.
19. Grey Goo-This is typically the result of a nanotech disaster where dissasemblers broke everything in the enviroment down. Its also a type of slurry for a feed stock for nanotech assemblers although solid feed stocks are generally considered more efficient. Its Density is 0@1.
20. Duralloy is the product of highly advanced societies. It is most common later than the year 3000 A.D. in societies that have continued to advance technologically beyond the limits of battlesteel, and warp drives. It is relatively light weighing in at one pound per cubic centimeter. It is mildly flexible. Its Density is 5@10.
21. Flexiglass is a translucent material that may be formed into panes or other shapes. It may be colored. It has no apparent hinges, but proper manipulation will allow it to bend smoothly on invisible hinges. Its Density is 2@1. Courtesy Pope Wodium.
22. Memory metal is an alloy that holds multiple (up to five) patterns for itself. The application of a small electric charge causes the 'ball' (as it typicaly stores itself) to unroll, and unfold into a new hand tool. Its Density is 2@3.
23. Elemental metals are few and far between, but it seems clear that pure substances of one element have 'emergent properties'. So when Gold was tested out, it turned to be clear, and to have qualities suited to a roadway surface (its modestly flexible, its sticky, but not too much so.) Its Density is 1@8.
24. Plastic Steel is a polymer with a strength of a hard metal, but which can be molded or cast or otherwise formed at room temperature before it sets. Think PC-7 on steroids. Density is 2@10.
25. Moly-thin Mylar (typically used for solar sails)--Shiny, reflective mylar, about four molecules thick is the material used for solar sails. Such sails are typically huge. Also other uses are noted such as Molecule thin wire is an ephemeral wire sharp enough to slice through steel. Moly, as its known is Density 3@2.
26. Electrical Resister Cord is a metal alloy that resists an electrical charge. Once a significant charge is pumped through it, the whole wire explodes outwards converting electric energy into explosive energy. Its Density is 2@5.
27. Direx or Directional Explosive--Its possible to create chemical explosives that only explode in one direction or only explode in a few degrees of an arc. There is a 'backblast' to keep things stable, but that is designed to be diffuse. Its Density is 1@5.
28. Zeefrick or Zero Friction (more properly Micro-friction) Material--This material has been tested at Autonomous Study Group. A 150 pound male shoved off with twenty pounds of force. He glided for 3.2 miles before stopping. Its Density is 0@2.
29. Semi-Autonomous Materials or "Sammies" use sensors and capillary action to deiver bonding liquid to the cracks and other damage the Sammie has suffered. Its Density is 2@5.
30. Ready-stik is a handy item often woven into clothing from which just about any items that can be hung is hung. Its like velcro to ordinary material. Its Density is 1@3.
Elemental Materials.
Elements that are completely pure tend to manifest emergent properties.
Iron is exeptionally strong and stable.
Gold is transparent, and it has just enough tackiness and resilience to make an excellent walking surface.
Carbon is of extreme tensile strength.
Now for a random chart that can be attached to a new Pure Element...
1. Is not affected by gravity.
2. If friction heated by two degrees in an oxygen atmosphere will explode into ten thousand degree flames which will persist until the material is destroyed.
3. Will cause a stasis bubble ten feet across to appear except around the immediate, one inch vicinity of the material. This bubble will stay in existence until atomic decay degrades the material to other elements. Time span is usually fifteen thousand years.
4. Will vastly accelerate atomic decay in all nearby objects. This will create a low-level radioactive field that is not harmful to humans.
5. Material with fission explosively (a nuclear bomb).
6. Material with open para-dimensional tear.
7. Material will be pschyoactive. It will thus be able to be influenced by psi powers with a 50 point sit-mod bonus.
8. Material will evaporate back into the quantum substrate.
9. Material will assume Absolute Zero which it will keep unless heated with terrawatts of heat. and then it will fuse atoms, and no longer be a Pure Material.
10. Material will exert a fascinative effect on sentient minds.