Alloy vs. Hybrid shard

[WhimsyIsTheBestShard]

Is alloying two god metals the same as the shards combining? Like, could you get harmonium from alloying lerasium and atium?

Quote

Alpharho
The metal of Shardblades. Cultivationspren versus honorspren, for example. Are they different metals?

Brandon Sanderson
No, but good question.

Alpharho
Are all orders the same alloy, essentially?

Brandon Sanderson
Yes. There's a little asterisk on there, but not in the way you're asking... You could call those all the same alloy. Because the mixture to different spren is different, I think that you could argue that each one is its own alloy.

Alpharho
So, different proportions of tanavastium?

Brandon Sanderson
Yes, but it doesn't quite work that way with these magics, right? I'm going to say that's up to the individual cosmerologist who is in the world, the arcanist, defining it. You would be able to find enough differences to legitimately call them different alloys if you wanted to.

Alpharho
Would you say different ratios of the same two metals?

Brandon Sanderson
Yes. They are not going to have a third one in them, if that's what you're asking. But it doesn't quite work that way. Like, if you were going to take brass, you could measure the exact percentage. In this case, it is a thing; it's not like you could divide it up and split them apart, because they are a thing. And that thing would be called one thing.

Alpharho
But you won't say what that thing is called?

Brandon Sanderson
No, I won't say what that thing is called. But I think you and the 17th Sharders and folks that are dividing them would prefer to call them ten different things, and I think their nomenclature would be relevant.

 

[Ascended Grubberfly He/Him]

1 hour ago, WhimsyIsTheBestShard said:

Is alloying two god metals the same as the shards combining? Like, could you get harmonium from alloying lerasium and atium?

 

Harmonium is not an alloy of atium and lerasium. It is its own thing rather than a compound (I hate it, but it’s true). Harmonium is a little weird, maybe because of the imbalance of Harmony or just because dual Shards are weird.

WoB:

Spoiler

2 

Questioner

If I were to alloy atium and lerasium, would I get harmonium? Or is harmonium different after the Shards combined?

Brandon Sanderson

It's different after the Shards combined.

Questioner

If I was to take harmonium and separate it out through distillation, would I get lerasium and atium or something that functions similarly?

Brandon Sanderson

No, you would-- It actually has become a different--

Questioner

Can't be split?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. I mean, you could find a way, but you're not going to get it through normal, mechanical means.

 

[GG0z He/Him]

35 minutes ago, Ascended Grubberfly said:

Harmonium is not an alloy of atium and lerasium. It is its own thing rather than a compound (I hate it, but it’s true). Harmonium is a little weird, maybe because of the imbalance of Harmony or just because dual Shards are weird.

WoB:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

2 

Questioner

If I were to alloy atium and lerasium, would I get harmonium? Or is harmonium different after the Shards combined?

Brandon Sanderson

It's different after the Shards combined.

Questioner

If I was to take harmonium and separate it out through distillation, would I get lerasium and atium or something that functions similarly?

Brandon Sanderson

No, you would-- It actually has become a different--

Questioner

Can't be split?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah. I mean, you could find a way, but you're not going to get it through normal, mechanical means.

 

 

Wax and Wayne

Spoiler

Harmonium splits into Atium and Lerasium when cut by Trellium

 

[Ascended Grubberfly He/Him]

1 hour ago, GG0z said:

 

Wax and Wayne

  Hide contents

Harmonium splits into Atium and Lerasium when cut by Trellium

 

Spoiler

Harmonium is still its own separate thing. It is its own element separate from the others. I’m not sure why it can be split into those metals, but alloying Lerasium and Atium will not produce Harmonium.

WoB, shortened for relevance:

Spoiler

Ironeyes

So harmonium, we have a working theory that the reason it's so volatile is because some of the subatomic particles are associated with Ruin and some of them are [of?] Preservation. Is that true?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, that's basically what's going on is that it's creating a very unstable metal. Now, it is in the nature of the Cosmere not a compound but an element. But, you could call it a subatomic particle sure. It's very volatile because it is in nature spiritually in contrast with itself. And so though it is a single element rather than a compound, the spiritual nature is not happy as it is, and you can set up in the physical realm, through reactivity things that would just rip it apart and really your energy is not, your energy in that is actually pulling from the Spiritual realm, and so that's why it can be so much more explosive than even the chemistry would account for.
<snipped>

Harmonium =/= lerasium+atium, and it makes my brain hurt.

[GG0z He/Him]

2 minutes ago, Ascended Grubberfly said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Harmonium is still its own separate thing. It is its own element separate from the others. I’m not sure why it can be split into those metals, but alloying Lerasium and Atium will not produce Harmonium.

WoB, shortened for relevance:

  Reveal hidden contents

Ironeyes

So harmonium, we have a working theory that the reason it's so volatile is because some of the subatomic particles are associated with Ruin and some of them are [of?] Preservation. Is that true?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, that's basically what's going on is that it's creating a very unstable metal. Now, it is in the nature of the Cosmere not a compound but an element. But, you could call it a subatomic particle sure. It's very volatile because it is in nature spiritually in contrast with itself. And so though it is a single element rather than a compound, the spiritual nature is not happy as it is, and you can set up in the physical realm, through reactivity things that would just rip it apart and really your energy is not, your energy in that is actually pulling from the Spiritual realm, and so that's why it can be so much more explosive than even the chemistry would account for.
<snipped>

Harmonium =/= lerasium+atium, and it makes my brain hurt.

Same... i don't like that

[WhimsyIsTheBestShard]

Then, how do you interpret the WoB about shardblades. It's possible it's just the term the questioner used, and Brandon went with it, not official term.

13 minutes ago, Ascended Grubberfly said:

  Hide contents

Ironeyes

So harmonium, we have a working theory that the reason it's so volatile is because some of the subatomic particles are associated with Ruin and some of them are [of?] Preservation. Is that true?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, that's basically what's going on is that it's creating a very unstable metal. Now, it is in the nature of the Cosmere not a compound but an element. But, you could call it a subatomic particle sure. It's very volatile because it is in nature spiritually in contrast with itself. And so though it is a single element rather than a compound, the spiritual nature is not happy as it is, and you can set up in the physical realm, through reactivity things that would just rip it apart and really your energy is not, your energy in that is actually pulling from the Spiritual realm, and so that's why it can be so much more explosive than even the chemistry would account for.
<snipped>

Harmonium =/= lerasium+atium, and it makes my brain hurt.

Wait, does this mean you could theoretically alloy the metals, and it would be something else? Or does it just not do anything? Or, could it be what the questioner thought harmonium was and some of the particles are of each shard?

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

3 minutes ago, WhimsyIsTheBestShard said:

Then, how do you interpret the WoB about shardblades

Where?

[WhimsyIsTheBestShard]

6 minutes ago, Through the Living Hopper said:

Where?

Quote

Alpharho

The metal of Shardblades. Cultivationspren versus honorspren, for example. Are they different metals?

Brandon Sanderson

No, but good question.

Alpharho

Are all orders the same alloy, essentially?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. There's a little asterisk on there, but not in the way you're asking... You could call those all the same alloy. Because the mixture to different spren is different, I think that you could argue that each one is its own alloy.

Alpharho

So, different proportions of tanavastium?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but it doesn't quite work that way with these magics, right? I'm going to say that's up to the individual cosmerologist who is in the world, the arcanist, defining it. You would be able to find enough differences to legitimately call them different alloys if you wanted to.

Alpharho

Would you say different ratios of the same two metals?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. They are not going to have a third one in them, if that's what you're asking. But it doesn't quite work that way. Like, if you were going to take brass, you could measure the exact percentage. In this case, it is a thing; it's not like you could divide it up and split them apart, because they are a thing. And that thing would be called one thing.

Alpharho

But you won't say what that thing is called?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I won't say what that thing is called. But I think you and the 17th Sharders and folks that are dividing them would prefer to call them ten different things, and I think their nomenclature would be relevant.