did atium and lerasium split because harmnoy is unstable?

[greatforest10]

so when Wax made that explosion do we know why they split because I thought it was not possible to do such a thing and it is unclear at the end of the lost metal but Marsh had atium so uh how are they getting it

[AltonicKeys he/him]

Welcome to the shard!

Wax polarized the harmonium he got, making one part more atium, one part more lerasium, though not completely separate. He then used the Trellium spike to blow it all up, but only produced traces of atium dust. Probably also lerasium dust but Sazed is all secretive about it.

Quote taken from Coppermind:

Spoiler

When an electric current is passed through harmonium, the metal softens and its Investiture begins to polarize, becoming more atium-like on one end and more lerasium-like on the other. If trellium is inserted between the two poles, a violent reaction occurs, as some of the harmonium's Investiture or matter is converted into pure energy. While this technique fails to divide the harmonium, the resultant blast is extremely powerful; converting less than half a gram of harmonium into energy is capable of destroying a thick safe and the fortified room around it. This interaction can be used to create powerful bombs; however, as these weapons rely upon a novel energy release mechanism, not even Autonomy or Harmony fully understand their true destructive potential.

A separate interaction, detonating harmonium against trellium, produces small amounts of lerasium and atium. Harmony uses this effect to manufacture atium.

Though the Coppermind explains it, I'm not totally sure how Harmony supplies Marsh with atium. Kinda foggy on that part.

Edited December 10, 2024 by Ookla the Freeze