OG God metals

[ConnorSlayer]

This weeks chem chapter covered the process of electrolysis. It has a little section that talked about the production of aluminum, and how it was virtually impossible because of its extremely low reduction standard. To separate pure aluminum from its ore, you need a way to create and run a steady electric current and a fairly in depth understanding of chemistry. I wonder if all of this could be evidence towards pure aluminum being Adonalsiums god metal, as it would be very hard for pre industrial societies to make otherwise. It makes sense on Scadrial in era 2 but it’s presence on Roshar seems... strange.

Edit this might not make sense. It is my first theory post here so go easy on me. 

Edited January 27, 2021 by ConnorSlayer

[Kingsdaughter613]

1 hour ago, ConnorSlayer said:

This weeks chem chapter covered the process of electrolysis. It has a little section that talked about the production of aluminum, and how it was virtually impossible because of its extremely low reduction standard. To separate pure aluminum from its ore, you need a way to create and run a steady electric current and a fairly in depth understanding of chemistry. I wonder if all of this could be evidence towards pure aluminum being Adonalsiums god metal, as it would be very hard for pre industrial societies to make otherwise. It makes sense on Scadrial in era 2 but it’s presence on Roshar seems... strange.

Edit this might not make sense. It is my first theory post here so go easy on me. 

They can soulcast objects into aluminum on Roshar. I think they may also be getting some from Scadrial.

[AquaRegia]

10 hours ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

They can soulcast objects into aluminum on Roshar.

Certainly this is true, but it doesn't answer the question "how do Rosharans even know what aluminum is?"  Here on Earth, it took 60 years of trying by the smartest chemists to make any (1820s), and another 60 years before it was commercially available (1880s).  Given what we see of the state of Rosharan science and technology, no native Rosharan should even expect it to exist.

Worldhoppers importing it from Scadrial, Silverlight, or elsewhere clearly must be part of the explanation.  I wonder if we will ever know the full story.

That said, back to the OP.  Brandon has created fictional elements for all the other God Metals we've seen - Atium, Lerasium, Raysium.  If Adonalsium has a God Metal, it seems unlikely that it would be something as mundane as aluminum.  While aluminum IS difficult and costly to make, it's hardly the MOST difficult or costly... and my understanding is that God Metals can't be "made" at all; they are not "normal" matter, but rather solid deposits of Shard Investiture.

[Kingsdaughter613]

3 minutes ago, AquaRegia said:

Certainly this is true, but it doesn't answer the question "how do Rosharans even know what aluminum is?"  Here on Earth, it took 60 years of trying by the smartest chemists to make any (1820s), and another 60 years before it was commercially available (1880s).  Given what we see of the state of Rosharan science and technology, no native Rosharan should even expect it to exist.

Worldhoppers importing it from Scadrial, Silverlight, or elsewhere clearly must be part of the explanation.  I wonder if we will ever know the full story.

That said, back to the OP.  Brandon has created fictional elements for all the other God Metals we've seen - Atium, Lerasium, Raysium.  If Adonalsium has a God Metal, it seems unlikely that it would be something as mundane as aluminum.  While aluminum IS difficult and costly to make, it's hardly the MOST difficult or costly... and my understanding is that God Metals can't be "made" at all; they are not "normal" matter, but rather solid deposits of Shard Investiture.

They mention that Hoid told them. And there are hints that Shallan’s necklace was of Scadrian origin.

[Honorless]

@KSub you could become very rich in Scadrial very fast!

 

Hmm... having an extant irl metal be a godmetal seems weird. I think the eponymous Dragonsteel is the godmetal of Adonalsium.

Edited January 27, 2021 by Honorless

[KSub]

3 hours ago, AquaRegia said:

Certainly this is true, but it doesn't answer the question "how do Rosharans even know what aluminum is?"  Here on Earth, it took 60 years of trying by the smartest chemists to make any (1820s), and another 60 years before it was commercially available (1880s).  Given what we see of the state of Rosharan science and technology, no native Rosharan should even expect it to exist.

Worldhoppers importing it from Scadrial, Silverlight, or elsewhere clearly must be part of the explanation.  I wonder if we will ever know the full story.

That said, back to the OP.  Brandon has created fictional elements for all the other God Metals we've seen - Atium, Lerasium, Raysium.  If Adonalsium has a God Metal, it seems unlikely that it would be something as mundane as aluminum.  While aluminum IS difficult and costly to make, it's hardly the MOST difficult or costly... and my understanding is that God Metals can't be "made" at all; they are not "normal" matter, but rather solid deposits of Shard Investiture.

It's also possible it was brought to Roshar by one of the other groups who call Roshar home like the amians or iriali.

[Weltall]

Yeah, I think that if Adonalsium had a godmetal and it's something we know about, it's dragonsteel. Other godmetals are the result of Investiture condensing into solid form while aluminum is naturally occurring via stellar fusion, so it would be very odd for the latter to number among the former. Also as mentioned it's possible to soulcast things into aluminum. We know that it is extremely hard to create godmetals via soulcasting, to the point that proximity to Honor's Perpendicularity (which functioned as a huge surge of accessible Investiture) would not be enough. If that much power can't enable you to soulcast a godmetal, there's no way aluminum could be soulcast if it were a godmetal itself.

[garlick]

We know in the past the heralds and others are cosmiclly aware and there was even a trade through the pits of hathsin before kelsier destroyed it. Vasher learned about shardblades from roshar and thats where the idea of an awakened blade came from. So to have aluminium show up on roshar through normal trade means isnt farfetched

[Halyo_Alex]

On 1/27/2021 at 0:59 PM, Weltall said:

Yeah, I think that if Adonalsium had a godmetal and it's something we know about, it's dragonsteel. Other godmetals are the result of Investiture condensing into solid form while aluminum is naturally occurring via stellar fusion, so it would be very odd for the latter to number among the former. Also as mentioned it's possible to soulcast things into aluminum. We know that it is extremely hard to create godmetals via soulcasting, to the point that proximity to Honor's Perpendicularity (which functioned as a huge surge of accessible Investiture) would not be enough. If that much power can't enable you to soulcast a godmetal, there's no way aluminum could be soulcast if it were a godmetal itself.

(Hey, that's my WoB! )

[metal get in my tummy]

On 27/01/2021 at 5:59 PM, Weltall said:

Yeah, I think that if Adonalsium had a godmetal and it's something we know about, it's dragonsteel. Other godmetals are the result of Investiture condensing into solid form while aluminum is naturally occurring via stellar fusion, so it would be very odd for the latter to number among the former. Also as mentioned it's possible to soulcast things into aluminum. We know that it is extremely hard to create godmetals via soulcasting, to the point that proximity to Honor's Perpendicularity (which functioned as a huge surge of accessible Investiture) would not be enough. If that much power can't enable you to soulcast a godmetal, there's no way aluminum could be soulcast if it were a godmetal itself.

No no no I have figured this out. Think about it... LerasIUM,, RaysIUM, AtIUM, HarmonIUM…  AdonalsIUM!!! Adonalsium is therefore clearly a block of metal from which all investitures comes. Cosmere solved. Brain so big I need a neck brace.

[AquaRegia]

On 1/27/2021 at 9:05 AM, Kingsdaughter613 said:

They mention that Hoid told them. And there are hints that Shallan’s necklace was of Scadrian origin.

I remember Azure saying Hoid told HER (and delivered a wagonload of aluminum plates himself)... but 1) this was VERY recent, during the siege of Kholinar, 2) she was clearly keeping it a secret, and 3) she's not even Rosharan.  That one interaction can't explain Rosharans in general knowing about the existence of a metal they can't make and have, except in the rarest of cases, never seen.

Certainly we can infer that worldhoppers have been importing the occasional item from offworld for a while now.  But seeing a necklace made of an odd-looking silver-colored metal is a long way from knowing what it is and what else it can be used for.

[KSub]

1 hour ago, Telantes said:

No no no I have figured this out. Think about it... LerasIUM,, RaysIUM, AtIUM, HarmonIUM…  AdonalsIUM!!! Adonalsium is therefore clearly a block of metal from which all investitures comes. Cosmere solved. Brain so big I need a neck brace.

You missed aluminIUM.

I only recently accepted that Adonalsium was a being. Dont make me change my mind again.

[Fezzik]

And cadmium, the god metal of chull-hats.

[Twinborn76]

I agree that Aluminum could be Adonalsium's God metal as it generally either blocks or affects different forms of investiture in weird ways. As well as the fact when you make it into  Duralumin on Scadrial it has the opposite affect and grants a huge boost to investiture. I think it would be very interesting to see how Duralumin would affect Surgebinding. As for the reason that it is possible to make Aluminum, while it is nearly impossible to make the other God metals without a shard actually makes sense. All the other God metals have shards that have direct or somewhat direct control over the creation of their God metal, because they have and active Intent and Command when it comes to their God metals. Adonalsium being shattered spread his God metal across the cosmere and outside of his control as he no longer has the conscious control over where his God metal is produced. Aluminum is also able to be forged relatively easily, while other God metals tend to be nearly indestructible is also due to Adonalisium's splintered state. 

Edited March 23, 2021 by Twinborn76

[Halyo_Alex]

On 3/22/2021 at 7:24 PM, Twinborn76 said:

I agree that Aluminum could be Adonalsium's God metal as it generally either blocks or affects different forms of investiture in weird ways. As well as the fact when you make it into  Duralumin on Scadrial it has the opposite affect and grants a huge boost to investiture. I think it would be very interesting to see how Duralumin would affect Surgebinding. As for the reason that it is possible to make Aluminum, while it is nearly impossible to make the other God metals without a shard actually makes sense. All the other God metals have shards that have direct or somewhat direct control over the creation of their God metal, because they have and active Intent and Command when it comes to their God metals. Adonalsium being shattered spread his God metal across the cosmere and outside of his control as he no longer has the conscious control over where his God metal is produced. Aluminum is also able to be forged relatively easily, while other God metals tend to be nearly indestructible is also due to Adonalisium's splintered state. 

The major issue with "Aluminum is adonalsium god metal" is that... Aluminum is real.

So is Silver, and it also has weird cosmeric properties.

[Zapata]

9 hours ago, Halyo_Alex said:

The major issue with "Aluminum is adonalsium god metal" is that... Aluminum is real.

So is Silver, and it also has weird cosmeric properties.

I personally don't think Aluminum is a god metal, but there's currently much ambiguity in that area.

Quote

XMikethetrikeX

Is aluminum the godmetal of Adonalsium?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO

If it were so simple, Brandon could've said no. I mean they can Soulcast other things into aluminum, aluminum is (as far as we know) mined and created normally (no Pits of Halthsin or Shardweapon manifestation), and is also a real Earth metal. But that RAFO complicates matters. 

[Weltall]

3 hours ago, Bearer of Agonies said:

If it were so simple, Brandon could've said no.

Brandon openly admits he sometimes does this just to keep us guessing.

[Zapata]

2 minutes ago, Weltall said:

Brandon openly admits he sometimes does this just to keep us guessing.

maybe that's what this is. but it's worth considering, I think. of course, I don't think the RAFO alone is enough evidence, but I think there could eventually be a reason for why aluminum is the way it is.

[garlick]

Keep in mind there is off world trade. The heralds were far more cosmere aware and we see plenty world hoppers on roshar. The atium mines used to have a trade route through them before they were destroyed. All it takes is one example given to someone able to soul cast aluminium then for them to pass the knowledge through the lightweavers and elsecallers.  With the destruction of the orders the knowledge was lost but they could have made a lot and whats around is reused. A smart world hopper could swing by Scadrail and grab some aluminium then travel to shadesmar and make a nice profit im sure.

[Twinborn76]

If aluminum ends up being Adonalsium's God Metal I don't think it would be wrong that aluminum is a real metal, as it would be a clever way of disguising it throughout the cosmere. Even if it isn't Adonalsium's God metal I'm hoping we we will see more of how it affects different types of investiture on different planets, and seeing how space age Scadrians and Rosharans will make good use of both it and Duralumin.