Harmonium Devices ideas

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

Just had a few houghts about Harmonium and it's use in devices. Specifically the more Internal abilities like Feruchemy.

Let me start by going over what we know.

Firstly, the effects of Ettmetal can be directly applied to objects such as Airships having their weight reduced Feruchemically. Makes me wonder if they are actually storing that weight somewhere or if it's just vanishing into the ether but I digress.

So by that logic, it should be possible to reverse this and make the ship heavier instead, tapping instead of storing.

I have a few ideas on how this could work with other Feruchemical and even a few Allomantic Abilities.

I'll begin with Feruchemy first.

F-Tin: Very broad, but any devices that utilize a 'sense' could be vastly improved. Could be used on Sonar to gain longer range? Telescopes see even further than normal? Non-human senses built specifically for the device might be possible to improve?

F-Pewter: Storing might cause the structure of the device to become smaller? While Tapping might enlarge it? Could allow for devices to miniaturize and be easier to store?

F-Steel: Allows faster and slower speeds, proper control over the device could allow instant and easy control over the level of speed? Cars that can accelerate and brake on a dime?

F-Gold: Devices that can repair themselves. Useful for emergency repairs or just maintenance. Perhaps it could be a way to duplicate very rare resources? Make the resources part of a device, then violently rip them out and have the device heal itself and replace the component? Would probably require great understanding of Realmatics to make that work.

F-Brass: Devices that can be cooled, will probably be much more useful during the computer age as a much more effective coolant by directly leeching away heat and preventing the device from overheating. Makes me wonder why the Malwish don't have devices that do the opposite and produce heat, maybe they already do but there are only in their homeland? Speculative, but probable due to how big a problem the cold is for them and how long they've been using this kind of stuff.

F-Cadmium: Could potentially be used to create large amounts of air and funnel them to create thrust? Or maybe just creating breathable air in vehicles that go to more extreme environments and negate the need for pressurized air canisters?

F-Bendalloy: Could be used to directly generate electricity for devices that need it? Or would the concept of 'Feruchemical Energy' not be that broad? Very speculative.

Moving on to Allomantic devices. Half of the Internal Allomantic abilities, of the Physical and Temporal quadrants, aren't clear what they could be used for in Ettmetal devices, so I'll take a stab at them.

A-Pewter: Improve all physical functions of the device. If it has moving parts, they move faster. If it is fragile, it becomes tougher. The healing effect might negate any need for maintenance.

A-Tin: Improve sensitivity of the device. If it's a camera, it sees better. If it's a microphone, it hears better. If it's a pressure plate, it becomes more sensitive.

A-Electrum: Provides immunity/resistance to other futuresight. More advanced and powerful devices might allow for direct observation of the Spiritual Realm, whether that would be of any use is up for debate.

A-Gold: Could be used on a computer to read other possible outcomes? Better simulations? I dunno I'm out of ideas.

[+Lewis Nethur He/Him]

Well, just like in real life, I would hope and expect that the first use of harmonium that we shall see (explained in fine detail) will be in the form of a music box:

https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonium

Unfortunately, I'm starting to suspect that complex machines based on the Metallic arts may simply not be possible to make by leveraging an individual metal. It's results just seem too inconsistent to be elemental on a fundamental level.

For example, the anti-gravity device in the bands of mourning may only be "simulating" iron feruchemy via a complex abstract combination of many harmonium powered subassemblies woven together at a nearly atomic scale. I like where your head's at though!

Edited October 17, 2024 by hwiles

[Vandero]

The feruchemical storing of a ship's weight is not something that was ever revealed. The lifeboat craft used an allomancy powered propeller, while the passenger's weight was stored feruchemically in varying degrees, modulating altitude. The bigger craft could very well work the same way.

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

58 minutes ago, Vandero said:

The feruchemical storing of a ship's weight is not something that was ever revealed. The lifeboat craft used an allomancy powered propeller, while the passenger's weight was stored feruchemically in varying degrees, modulating altitude. The bigger craft could very well work the same way.

Bands of Mourning, Chapter 29

Spoiler

"Fed is down below, priming the weight-changing machinery with her Feruchemy, to lighten the ship. That should be the last step!"

[+Lewis Nethur He/Him]

On 10/17/2024 at 8:30 AM, JustQuestin2004 said:

Just had a few houghts about Harmonium and it's use in devices. Specifically the more Internal abilities like Feruchemy.

Let me start by going over what we know.

Firstly, the effects of Ettmetal can be directly applied to objects such as Airships having their weight reduced Feruchemically. Makes me wonder if they are actually storing that weight somewhere or if it's just vanishing into the ether...

This point is actually rather interesting. Depending on how Identity functions for non-sapient objects, I could imagine the weight being stored into local onboard ironminds or transmitted remotely back to a central hub. I can imagine almost no scenario where an airship pilot could ever want or need to fully utilize the massive feruchemic iron charge that they would build up over time, so it would be interesting to see how Scadrians attempt to utilize it. It could simply be treated as a waste product and expunged periodically (ocean-faring vessels IRL can gradually accumulate magnetic charge across their hull that needs to be hammered back out of them periodically after all!), but it would be more creative and thought-provoking if operators found some kind of novel use for it. A fleet of large ships running patrols continuously might, for example, swap their saturated minds out for empty ones and send them back home to power plants/stations/relays/manufacturers on a schedule rather than just dumping them into the sea when they're full.

For the other powers, I've been assuming that we'll observe their functions in machines in a way that best allows for the hand-waving away of complex physics and engineering concepts in device operation. So like...a touch-screen-interface-enabled monitor connected wirelessly to 27 surveillance cameras in distant locations might leverage A/F-Tin for "optical sensing," A-bronze for triggering circuit relays and switches throughout the network, A-copper as a signal dampener/isolator to prevent unintended functions, embedded F-aluminum to uniquely ID the cameras in the network on the monitor interface, ect. This would (just for example) open up opportunities for nicrobursters to be ungodly powerful hackers if they can pry open a device casing and manually overload an allomantic control-relay. 

That said...Scadrians do appear to have access to classical forms of electricity (some guy did discover the lightbulb...) and fossil fuels...which implies that they'll probably discover semi-conductors and ultra-complex circuit design eventually, so...it's possible that I'm way off base and Scadrial's technology will obey classical IRL physics and development pathways and that allomancy/feruchemy/hemalurgy will be reserved only for augmenting devices beyond the capabilities of real world technology (more like you're suggesting) rather than used as a stand-in for complex hardware/firmware/software elements. Honestly, based on what we've seen thus far I could imagine the author going in either direction still. I suspect that it will largely depend on what "magical" operations ultimately need to be depicted on-page and how much focus/attention gets placed on human-machine interfacing for any future main characters' core development arcs.

Edited October 19, 2024 by hwiles

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

37 minutes ago, hwiles said:

That said...Scadrians do appear to have access to classical forms of electricity (some guy did discover the lightbulb...) and fossil fuels...which implies that they'll probably discover semi-conductors and ultra-complex circuit design eventually, so...it's possible that I'm way off base and Scadrial's technology will obey classical IRL physics and development pathways and that allomancy/feruchemy/hemalurgy will be reserved only for augmenting devices beyond the capabilities of real world technology (more like you're suggesting) rather than used as a stand-in for complex hardware/firmware/software elements. Honestly, based on what we've seen thus far I could imagine the author going in either direction still. I suspect that it will largely depend on what "magical" operations ultimately need to be depicted on-page and how much focus/attention gets placed on human-machine interfacing for any future main characters' core development arcs.

I could easily see the Southern Scadrians, being the ones with full access to the source of Ettmetal, likely from Harmony's Perpendicularity like Atium from Ruin's, would use the Mechanical Metallic Arts much more extensively while the Northern Scadrians, having little to no access to it, would develop more conventional technology first before they gain stable access to Ettmetal.

[+Lewis Nethur He/Him]

3 hours ago, JustQuestin2004 said:

I could easily see the Southern Scadrians, being the ones with full access to the source of Ettmetal, likely from Harmony's Perpendicularity like Atium from Ruin's, would use the Mechanical Metallic Arts much more extensively while the Northern Scadrians, having little to no access to it, would develop more conventional technology first before they gain stable access to Ettmetal.

Oh I like that. Plus, a metaphorical marriage of the two divergent development pathways, the northerners' steampunk & advanced metallurgy tech with the southerners' soul alteration techniques and arcane magic-tech would be an extremely elegant way to accelerate all of Scadrial from either era2 to era3 or from era3 to era4. Working together, I can definitely see how they could bridge the gap from epic-fantasy to something more closely resembling classic sci-fi (epic-sci-fi...? Epic-Sci...?  Fanta-Fi...? Magi-tech...? A brand new word may have to be word-smithed... ) With the tools the two sides developed in era2.

I suppose a lot of that will simply hinge on what ends up being the focal points and settings of the story for era3. A criminally-insane mistborn bred or artificed by the agents of Autonomy could make for a very easy excuse to import northern metalborn to the south or southern technology to the north (or both!).

Edited October 19, 2024 by hwiles

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

19 minutes ago, hwiles said:

Oh I like that. Plus, a metaphorical marriage of the two divergent development pathways, the northerners' steampunk & advanced metallurgy tech with the southerners' soul alteration techniques and arcane magic-tech would be an extremely elegant way to accelerate all of Scadrial from either era2 to era3 or from era4. Working together, I can definitely see how they could bridge the gap from epic-fantasy to something more closely resembling classic sci-fi (epic-sci-fi...? Epic-Sci...?  Fanta-Fi...? Magi-tech...? A brand new word may have to be word-smithed... ) With the tools the two sides developed in era2.

It would take quite a lot for the Malwish Consortium to willingly cooperate with the maskless barbarians of the north, perhaps it would even take the influence of someone that both sides greatly revere.

Perhaps Scadrial's 'Cold War' might be part of an intentional plan to encourage technological advancement over the fear and threat of war, only for a certain greatly revered figure to step out of the shadows and calm the tensions, preventing any actual war from occurring.

It would certainly be both a very crazy and somewhat egotistical plan that would hinge on the actions of a single man, but it's not like we've seen that happen before in Mistborn.

11 minutes ago, hwiles said:

suppose a lot of that will simply hinge on what ends up being the focal points and settings of the story for era3. A criminally-insane mistborn bred or artificed by the agents of Autonomy could make for a very easy excuse to import northern metalborn to the south or southern technology to the north (or both!).

The Criminal Mistborn might not need to be bred, since Harmony is having the Kandra use Trellium to separate Harmonium in order to give Marsh more Atium, that also means he's now building up a stockpile of Lerasium.

Perhaps once Harmony becomes Discord, it will allow an opening for someone to steal a sample of Lerasium from the Kandra? Or maybe even a rogue Mistborn Kandra?

I'd love to see the Southerners reactions to a Mistborn, they already revere Mistings so how would they see a Mistborn?

[+Lewis Nethur He/Him]

8 minutes ago, JustQuestin2004 said:

...

I'd love to see the Southerners reactions to a Mistborn, they already revere Mistings so how would they see a Mistborn?

Oh man...I'd bet a year's salary without even blinking that they would immediately regard any full-metalborn, be they mistborn or feruchemist, as a creature above even the faceless immortals (who...if I'm recalling correctly, have already been dissected as being an allegory for the real world equivalent of "angels," the ninth and lowest order of God's agents according to some IRL theologies) That would immediately put them on the level of archangel (8th order) or higher. I assume that they would have, despite his obvious and glaring flaws, regarded the lord ruler as a full-blown seraphim walking around (1st order i think?).

Although...if they were actively and openly hostile, there are some more-or-less equivalent hierarchies of demons established so...maybe somewhere between arch-demon and beelzebub (lord of death and decay)?