Aerosol technology?

[bridgemenspren he/him]

I searched the forum and couldn't find this brought up anywhere . . .

Multiple times the books mention that Shallan sprays lacquer onto her drawings.

What exactly is the lacquer contained in?
How does it "spray"?

If it's a simple mechanical device, how do you think it works? Or is it a fabrial (unlikely since it's never described that way, from what I can remember.)

From what I know of sprays, they either need plastic or rubber parts for the small pump, or they require pressurized gas. The latter does not match Rosharan technology. Perhaps the former does, but I don't remember other descriptions of rubber (and certainly not plastic).

 

[Treamayne]

7 hours ago, bridgemenspren said:

Multiple times the books mention that Shallan sprays lacquer onto her drawings.

What exactly is the lacquer contained in?
How does it "spray"?

Perfume Spritzers were around for centuries before the modern technique called "Aerosol" was invented. In fact, aerosolization is just a basic physics principle:

Spoiler

aerosolization

• The creation of an aerosol; the creation of a fine mist or many small droplets.
•  A colloidal system in which the dispersed phase is composed of either solid or liquid particles and in which the dispersal medium is some gas, usually air.

Aerosolization - the process or act of converting some physical substance into the form of particles small and light enough to be carried on the air i.e. into an aerosol.

For example, heavy stormwinds can aerosolize tree sap from micro-wounds in the bark, so the next morning you find your car covered in a fine spray of sap droplets (at least it happens often here in the pine barrens-NC)

From the Other Wiki:

Quote

While spray bottles existed long before the middle of the 20th century, they used a rubber bulb which was squeezed to produce the spray; the quickly-moving air siphoned fluid from the bottle.

For example - a simple perfume spritzer from pre-20th century "aerosols":

Spoiler

I always imagined she used something like that, a small bottle with a squeeze bulb to "spray" the laquer onto the drawings.

Hope that helps

Edited August 16, 2024 by Treamayne
SPAG

[alder24]

7 hours ago, bridgemenspren said:

I searched the forum and couldn't find this brought up anywhere . . .

Multiple times the books mention that Shallan sprays lacquer onto her drawings.

What exactly is the lacquer contained in?
How does it "spray"?

If it's a simple mechanical device, how do you think it works? Or is it a fabrial (unlikely since it's never described that way, from what I can remember.)

From what I know of sprays, they either need plastic or rubber parts for the small pump, or they require pressurized gas. The latter does not match Rosharan technology. Perhaps the former does, but I don't remember other descriptions of rubber (and certainly not plastic).

Lacquer is a sap (liquid) and it's contained in a perfume sprayer - which isn't much different from soap dispenser you might use every day. With the access to Soulcasting, which can soulcast any shape into any material you want, it's not so hard to create such a small device. No pressurization needed, no plastic needed, just some ingenuity.

WoK ch 7:

Quote

She would have to lacquer the page with plytree sap to set the charcoal and protect it from smudges.
[...]
It was contained in a bulb sprayer of the type often used for perfume.
He accepted the small jar and twisted the clasp on the front, then gave the bottle a shake and tested the lacquer on the back of his hand.

[bridgemenspren he/him]

Cool, thanks to you both!