The Bodies of Gods (shards)...

[Arook]

From my understanding it should be possible to create god metals from the pool. I expect that the process to do so is something only a shard could set up(see Pits of Hathsin). Of course that only works if the liquid pool for ruin is below the pits.

[Shardlet]

I don't think that that is the way it works.  Atium beads are/were formed inside geodes so there would be no real way for the metal to seep in or what have you.  I think that since the gas, liquid, and solid forms are all present and stable at STP then it we should not really consider them to be of the same matter.  They are all manifestations of the same power perhaps.  But not the same matter. 

[Arook]

 Well the geodes were formed in sharp crystal recesses that were constantly forming them. So its not like they a constantly digging for the geodes that contain the bead. It would really be more of using the liquid power to create the metal which is why Lerasium is does not grow and that only a set amount was place at the well, possible created by Preservation at the same time the pits were created to harvest the body of Ruin.

[Oudeis]

I don't think that that is the way it works.  Atium beads are/were formed inside geodes so there would be no real way for the metal to seep in or what have you.  I think that since the gas, liquid, and solid forms are all present and stable at STP then it we should not really consider them to be of the same matter.  They are all manifestations of the same power perhaps.  But not the same matter. 

 

Upvote for science.

 

That said, I'm not sure it "needs" to be that purely physical a reaction. I could see the following scenario:

 

The body, the "power" of Ruin is locked into the physical shape of atium. A human burns it, using it, "releasing" the power into the cosmere in nebulous, useless form. The "pool" acts as a beacon, drawing this nebulous energy to itself. This energy huddles around the pool, and the geodes react, drawing the power in and turning it into solid atium via a process that doesn't make any sort of sense. Extract, burn, repeat.

 

Of course, this is utter conjecture and could be wholly wrong. I think we've heard for sure that Ruin's pool is at the Pits, however. We saw that when Rashek used up the power at the Well, it regenerated in 1024  years. The 'power' of the atium seems to replenish itself similarly. One theory I've heard is that lerasium also regenerates, just very slowly, explaining why after 1024 years there were two beads at the Well (the question at the time was, why would Rashek leave ANY beads behind). We know Preservation's Shardpool and atium will both regenerate after being used; if the other metal and Shardpool act similarly, then we are left with the coincidence of metal and pool both regenerating at the same physical location. I realize correlation does not mean causation, but Occam's razor, some sort of connection seems very likely, whatever that connection is, whether the pool is part of the generation of the solid or if they're both effects of the same cause.

[Shardlet]

Try to avoid thinking of Ruin's pool as a pool of liquid power of Ruin.  At least in connection with the pits.  WoB is that atium forms at the pits because there is a leak from the spiritual realm there.

 

http://www.17thshard...mpshire-signing

 

Ok. The gemhearts/stormgems/whatever that are grown inside the beasts in Way of Kings ... is that the same as the way Atium is grown inside geodes in the Pits of Hathsin?
Brandon Sanderson

It's similar. The pits are an area where there's like a leak from the spiritual realm into the physical. That's what happens there.

 

[Arook]

For some reason I had thought preservation created the mines to provide an extra safeguard against ruin, but now that I think about it more I can't really recall if they did. I will need to reread.