Lines of Vigor

[kinxer]

Alright, so all we know about the strength of Lines of Vigor (LoV) is that it's based on "the size of the curve." As vague as that is, I find it unlikely that it refers to amplitude for two reasons. First, it seems to make more sense that the benefit of a line with greater amplitude would be the ability to hit targets more easily because the "projectile" is larger. Second, lines with greater frequency have sharper crests, which might parallel the strength determination of Lines of Warding, making the LoV stronger with greater frequency. I know Weiry and Kurk talked a little about this, but I've not yet seen a full discussion.

[Sand Master]

There is a picture in the book of two LoV, with one having a larger amplitude than the other, and the notes around then saying that this one is stronger. Not sure how much less vague that could get.

Edit: spelling correction

Edited February 4, 2015 by 550456

[kinxer]

The answer is quite vague. The picture has the second wave with (apparently; it isn't completely clear) larger amplitude, but it also has a higher frequency. I made this thread quite a while ago, and more recently KalynaAnne has pretty much worked out a large portion of the Rithmatic mechanics here. If I remember correctly, she posits (and got WoB on this being the case) that amplitude in general deals with the energy of the LoV, while frequency determines whether it's better at pushing things (low frequency) or punching through things (high frequency). Just go check that out.

[KalynaAnne]

The illustration kinxer linked to is the one referenced, but the one here is also relevant. The vagueness comes from the fact that in the first illustration the stronger line has both greater frequency and larger amplitude.

 

If you don't want to dig through the giant theory thread, the relevant bit is that Brandon confirmed that Lines of Vigor behave somewhat like light waves.  Those with higher frequency (ie. shorter wavelength) are better at attacking.  Those with lower frequency (longer wavelength) are not going to be as strong at attacking but will be better at pushing things. (This parallels the fact that high frequency UV waves are more destructive and low frequency infrared is better at transferring energy.)

 

I didn't get to ask what effect changing the amplitude would have, but if we continue with the light analogy then increasing the amplitude should increase the amount of "energy" they have and make them better at what they are already good at.