Blue Line Theory: Rethinking Steel and Iron-Sight

[Titan Arum Savant]

From the Ars Arcanum:

 A person burning iron/steel can see translucent blue lines pointing to nearby sources of metal. The size and brightness of the line depends on the size and proximity of the metal source. All types of metal are shown, not just sources of iron/steel.

 

The blue lines of iron-sight and steel-sight seem to hold a lot of information. For example, Oudeis provided evidence before that Ranette's use of iron may have given her the ability to identify other metals, simply using her ironsight. Maybe this is because she's an iron savant? With this in mind, what if there is more information to be gleaned about metals and their relationship to iron and steel sight?

 

The Ars Arcanum quote above leads me to believe that the size of the blue line is directly correlated to the "size" of the metal source and that the brightness of the line depends on the "proximity" of the metal source. A lot of quotes from the original Mistborn trilogy seem to back this up. However...I've found inconsistencies in the quotes from the original trilogy AND I want to propose that the word "size" is incorrect. I'd argue that "mass" makes more sense instead and would fit better with Ranette's metal identification skills. 

 

Confirming the AA, Chapter 7, The Final Empire: New lines appeared as she walked, and old ones faded, disappearing behind. The lines came in various widths, and some of them were brighter than others

 

This quote shows that proximity does in fact have an effect on the brightness/illumination of the blue lines. It reminds me of the Doppler Effect. As you move away from the metal sources the color dims like the sound of the waning Doppler Effect. We also have a mention of width, but nothing to the effect of size or mass. The next quote helps us here better.

 

Confirming the AA, Chapter 1, The Well of Ascension: The thickness of the lines was proportionate to the size of the metal pieces they met. Some pointed to bronze door latches, others to crude iron nails holding boards together.

 

Here we see that the size of the metal dictates the thickness of lines. Seems pretty straightforward, and confirms the Ars Arcanum, right?

 

Conflicting the AA, Chapter 5, The Final Empire: Translucent blue lines sprang into existence around him, visible only to his eyes. Each one led from the center of his chest out to a nearby source of metal. The lines were all relatively faint-a sign that they pointed to metal sources that were small: door hinges, nails, and other bits. The type of source metal didn't matter. Burning iron or steel would point blue lines at all kinds of metal, assuming they were close enough and large enough to be noticeable.

 

The bold sentence (emphasis mine) contradicts the Ars Arcanum. The word "faint" should be replaced with "thin", because a size, small, is referenced afterwards. Here Kelsier is confusing the correlation of the illumination of the blue lines with what should instead be a description of the blue lines thickness. 

 

Either Kelsier is misinformed or Brandon made a mistake here. Whichever it is, this led me to think more about what the full description of the blue lines really means. There is plenty of evidence (which I won't quote here) throughout the books that shows that the illumination of the blue lines is indeed correlated with proximity. I have no problem with this observation by the author of the Ars Arcanum or the other characters in the book. However, I believe that interpreting thickness as "size" is incorrect. All the evidence in the book shows that proximity and illumination vary while the thickness of the blue lines never varies when an person is burning iron or steel and looking at their blue lines. At least, there is never a description of the thickness changing. This, to me, is because the mass of an object is fixed. Yes, size matters too, but it's more than that. 

 

It's quite common for size to be misinterpreted when commonly talking about mass. Here's how Wikipedia defines mass with regards to physics:

 

 Mass is a property of a physical body which determiners the strength of its mutual gravitational attraction to other bodies, its resistance to being accelerated by a force

 

Does this sound familiar? I think so. It sounds a lot like how the iron and steelsight actually works. When Vin is first testing out her steel push with Kelsier on the top of the Luthadel wall, she notices that there is a limit to how how high she can push. Her steel-line fades in color, but she never comments upon the thickness. This is because the mass of the coin doesn't change. It's fixed because of the metal the coin is made out of. 

 

But what would happen if she uses a coin with a higher mass? The "size" is the same, but the mass increases...would the thickness of the steel-line increase and thus allow Vin to push herself even higher? I'd argue yes.

 

Let's think about this slightly differently. As we move down the periodic table of elements, each element has a higher atomic mass. Thus, the same number of atoms for gold, for example, will have a higher mass than the same number of atoms for iron. Now let's compare the same size unit for these metals: a cubic foot of iron weights 491 pounds while a cubic foot of gold weighs 1206 pounds. All because the mass of the atoms of the two elements is different. Would we really expect equal steel push strength on both of this slabs of metal?

 

I'd argue no, because I think steel pushing specifically relates to the mass of the object you're pushing against. Thus size is irrelevant. But mass is important. Let's pretend Vin uses a gold coin instead of an iron coin to push herself. I'd argue that since the mass is different but the size is the same, she'd observe a thicker blue line AND be able to push her self higher.

 

What implications does this have on the whole for Scadrial? Well, a weaker coinshot could artificially inflate their powers by using coins with a higher mass relative to a stronger coinshot using simple iron coins. Thus they'd appear to be stronger than they actually are, because everyone thinks steel pushing is all about size of the metal source instead of mass. This reminds me of arbitrage in finance. If someone were to discover this, they could take advantage of this information.  

 

Which brings us back to Oudeis' insight on Ranette's ability to determine which metals are what simply by using her ironsight. Is she identifying metals because of each metals unique mass as seen through the blue lines of her ironsight?

 

Yes, if you ask me. 

Edited August 25, 2015 by Titan Arum

[Oudeis Steel Inquisitor]

Well thought out, well presented. Well done. A few thoughts.

 

Mass must have an effect on distance, somehow. When Kelsier steals the atium from Keep Venture, he says that the roof is the only source of metal large enough to give him an ironline that far out. So maybe... thicker blue lines put off more "illumination", allowing them to be detected (and utilized) farther?

 

Wax confirms your idea that more mass of a metal means a more powerful Push; he leaps off a lamp post once, and expressly says that it gives him a lot of Push expressly because it is so big.

 

(Also, fyi, Vin wasn't hovering over a coin, I don't think. It was an ingot. Which is interesting. If the ingot, presumably many times the mass of a coin, could only be sensed 40 feet out (the height of the Luthadel wall) how close do you have to be before you can sense a coin?

[Titan Arum Savant]

I agree, Oudeis, that mass can have an impact on distance...but it's still fixed with regards to the thickness of the blue line. In the example of the iron roof, I'd imagine that the roof has so much mass that the blue line would be rather thick. There probably is a direct positive correlation to distance then, and this still fits within the framework of my theory because the more mass the metal object has, the more power a coinshot or mistborn can use to push on the object. It's not necessarily more illumination, it's that the blue line will just be visible for longer.

 

Think of it with the gold coin and iron coin example. If the iron coin allows Vin to push herself up 40 feet before the blue lines fade to almost nothingness and thus limiting her height, then the gold coin could potentially allow her to push herself up to 70 feet because it has more mass (and thus gives her more power) because the blue line is just longer in length...not necessarily more illuminated. The length of the blue line will have the same ratio of brightness as you move along the blue line; you just get each amount of brightness for longer because the blue line itself is longer. 

[Oudeis Steel Inquisitor]

So... if I'm standing next to an ingot of gold and an ingot of iron of the same volume, the ingot of gold will have a thicker line, but their illumination will be equal. Then if I travel away from them 39.5 feet, the width of the lines will not have changed. But the gold line will still be brightly glowing, while the iron line will have faded to almost nothing. In another 30 feet, I won't see the iron line, and the gold line will have faded to almost nothing.

 

Is this your model?

[Titan Arum Savant]

The only edit I'd make to your interpretation of my model: their illumination RATIO will be equal. Not the absolute value of the illumination, because the gold line will be longer and thicker. Also, this ratio will vary by the individual looking at the same piece of metal as another because each individual's own ratio is determined by their overall allomantic strength.

I'm also glad there was confirmation of the mass idea in AoL. I didn't have that book readily available for searching quotes like I have for the ebook version of Mistborn.

Edited August 25, 2015 by Titan Arum

[Voidus God Beyond]

Couple of points.
The Doppler effect relates to the pitch or frequency of a wave, not its volume. If Allomantic lines were effected by the Doppler effect they'd shift in color not brightness.

Now while I believe that larger or more massive objects give a stronger push I don't think they can actually be pushed for any longer, I believe that the appearance of thicker lines lasting longer is solely due to the difficulties in seeing something both incredibly thin and pale. Look at hair for instance, hold a single hair as much as a meter away and it can be difficult to see, hold a group of them together and you can see them for much longer. The opacity doesn't change, just your perspective.

[Oudeis Steel Inquisitor]

Now while I believe that larger or more massive objects give a stronger push I don't think they can actually be pushed for any longer

 

I concur that Doppler was perhaps not the best choice of analogy for a few reasons.

 

I disagree with the quoted statement above, as does Kelsier. The rule is, if you can see a line, you can Pull on it. If you cannot see a line, then you cannot. Ergo, since you can see the lines from further away for larger things, you absolutely can Pull (or Push) on larger objects from further away (ergo, longer). If two Coinshots are standing over ingots, one of iron, one of gold, they can both Push themselves into the air. Once they get to 50 feet, the iron one will no longer have access to his line, and the only forces acting on his momentum will be gravity and air resistance. At the same point, the gold one will still have the line, and will be able to continue Pushing, for a longer period of time.

 

By your reasoning, when Kelsier had been standing looking at Keep Venture, only seeing one single line for the metal on the roof, he didn't have to pull on it; simply knowing there would be thousands of small bits of metal, he could have chosen to Pull on all of them, even though he couldn't see them, just because he knew they were there. I do not believe this to be the case.

[natc Mistborn]

So, how about Inquisitor ironsight? They seem to perceive enough lines from trace metal to see, but probably can't push them.

Are they simply more sensitive to the lines normally too dim to see by normal allomancers?

[Titan Arum Savant]

So, how about Inquisitor ironsight? They seem to perceive enough lines from trace metal to see, but probably can't push them.

Are they simply more sensitive to the lines normally too dim to see by normal allomancers?

If Inquisitors truly see trace metals in everything, wouldn't they just be blinded by blue lines? I'd imagine all of the lines appearing to merge together due to the insane amount of trace metals in the environment. Then again...maybe that's how they actually see?

 

If they can determine the mass of the metal and use Ranette's trick of identifying what type of metal it is, then maybe they could see through all of the noise and identify each individual line, which helps them determine what they're looking at by the shape of the object projecting lines of constant and fixed widths. 

[Oudeis Steel Inquisitor]

Inquivision is weird. It's described in-world as seeing everything in blue outline. And sometimes needs light, and sometimes doesn't, and may or may not be enhanced by allomantic tin.

[natc Mistborn]

The very first page of my copy of HoA has Marsh saying he could see the metal in his companions' blood, so it must not need too much.

They might be really "dim" compared to metal objects though (quotation marks since they don't have a sense of vision anyway), so they can still push/pull properly that way if that's how mass-distance correlation and thickness/brightness works.

They're definitely blind though. It might make more sense to them to look at if their brains no longer process iron/steel allomancy visually.

[kinxer Gyorn]

I concur with natc. Because the steel/ironsight replaces vision, it can be interpreted as vision would be, probably with similar precision. When considered quantitatively, the amount of information we receive through our eyes is staggeringly enormous, but we deal with it well. Even if that weren't the case, atium and electrum provide solid examples of allomantic metals which provide the burner with the cognitive mechanisms necessary to interpret them.

 

In regard to the OP, I think the model is solid. Well presented indeed.

[Shadowspren Oldblood]

Either Kelsier is misinformed or Brandon made a mistake here. Whichever it is, this led me to think more about what the full description of the blue lines really means. There is plenty of evidence (which I won't quote here) throughout the books that shows that the illumination of the blue lines is indeed correlated with proximity. I have no problem with this observation by the author of the Ars Arcanum or the other characters in the book. However, I believe that interpreting thickness as "size" is incorrect. All the evidence in the book shows that proximity and illumination vary while the thickness of the blue lines never varies when an person is burning iron or steel and looking at their blue lines. At least, there is never a description of the thickness changing. This, to me, is because the mass of an object is fixed. Yes, size matters too, but it's more than that. 

 

It actually is quite possible that Kelsier is indeed misinformed as shown by the Prologue of the Final Empire: 

 

Kelsier burned tin.

It was simple for him now, after years of practice. The tin sat with other Allomantic metals within his stomach, swallowed earlier, waiting for him to draw upon them. He reached inside with his mind and touched the tin, tapping powers he still barely understood. The tin flared to life within him, burning his stomach like the sensation of a hot drink swallowed to quickly.

 

(Bold self emphasis) It says at the beginning of the book as shown above that Kelsier barely understands Allomancy, furthermore it is the very first time we see Allomancy ever. Thus I think it is more likely that it is Kelsiers misconception.

Still, very well presented 

Edited August 27, 2015 by Shadowspren

[Voidus God Beyond]

It actually is quite possible that Kelsier is indeed misinformed as shown by the Prologue of the Final Empire: 

 

Kelsier burned tin.

It was simple for him now, after years of practice. The tin sat with other Allomantic metals within his stomach, swallowed earlier, waiting for him to draw upon them. He reached inside with his mind and touched the tin, tapping powers he still barely understood. The tin flared to life within him, burning his stomach like the sensation of a hot drink swallowed to quickly.

 

(Bold self emphasis) It says at the beginning of the book as shown above that Kelsier barely understands Allomancy, furthermore it is the very first time we see Allomancy ever. Thus I think it is more likely that it is Kelsiers misconception.

Still, very well presented 

He is about as proficient in Iron and Steel as it's possible to be though.

[Jondesu Midnight Essence]

He is about as proficient in Iron and Steel as it's possible to be though.

He's incredibly skilled in their use, yes.  However, that doesn't mean he's knowledgeable about why or how they work from a theoretical standpoint, just that he's learned how to make them do what he wants.  Heck, we don't really know why gravity works or even exactly how, but we put it to very good use in a lot of very precise ways.

 

jW

[Oudeis Steel Inquisitor]

Kelsier and Vin both were always more engineers than scientists.

[Titan Arum Savant]

It appears there may be some credence to my Blue Line Theory (or BLT, as I've fondly begun to consider it), given this new WoB from the never-ending AMA on reddit:

 

https://www.reddit.c...5?context=10000

Q: If a coinshot were to drop a gold coin of size X or an iron coin of the same size X, would the coin with more mass (the gold coin), under normal circumstances, allow the coinshot to vertically push themselves higher than they could with the coin with less mass (the iron coin)?

A: Mass is indeed a factor in anchors.

 

He concedes that mass is a factor, but to what end? He didn't really answer my question which was an indirect way to get to blue-line thickness, but it does leave room for thickness to vary by mass instead of just by size. Now if he'd only answer the actual question I asked!