Rate of Stormlight loss from different gemstones

[Glubbdrubb]

Do we know if gems lose stormlight (SL) at different rates? I assume larger gems can store more SL at first, but then do they then lose the SL faster so different gem types all go dark at the same time?

 

If gems are stored together and shielded from the outside, do they keep their SL for longer? I am thinking of the diamond gems used in the surgery for light.

 

 

[Pathfinder]

I do believe it has been stated that the cut of the stone affects how well it holds stormlight and for how long

[soulcastJam he/him]

We're not entirely sure of how it all works, but we do know that larger gems and/or cut gems hold stormlight longer.  Also, larger gems glow brighter.  If we assume that emitting photons is correlated to stormlight loss (which might not be true since it's invested light) then we can take that to mean that larger gems lose light faster.  

 

Anyway, as you increase the size of the gem the volume increases faster than the surface area.  If stormlight loss is proportional to surface area and stormlight capacity is proportional to volume, then the larger gems will be brighter, but also go completely dun later than smaller gems.

 

The idea here is that when light bounces around the gem some of it will reflect back into the gem and some will pass out of it. A polished surface will reflect better, and if cut properly you can get a lot of the light to reflect back completely when it hits a given surface.  

 

The concept of storing the gems together to prevent loss is a good one, but might not improve results much.  If the cut of the gem holds in more light because of total internal reflection (TIR), then that same TIR will keep light from entering at the correct angle to keep it inside.  So light from one sphere probably won't get stored in the neighboring sphere, in which case it's just bouncing around your shielded container.  But what is it shielded with?  Metal is highly absorptive.  

 

If we had modern tools and chemistry, I wonder if it would be possible to cover the spheres in a high-reflection coating designed for their specific wavelength range.  There was some work at my university where they dipped things in a solution that created self-assembling high-reflection coatings and the solution could be tuned to all visible wavelengths.

[Yata he/him]

We're not entirely sure of how it all works, but we do know that larger gems and/or cut gems hold stormlight longer.  Also, larger gems glow brighter.  If we assume that emitting photons is correlated to stormlight loss (which might not be true since it's invested light) then we can take that to mean that larger gems lose light faster.  

We have a couple of WoB (but now I have not time to search) that say that a perfect cut gemstone doesn't lose Stormlight and that also that gemstone will Glow because the Glow isn't related to the Stormlight leaking out.

 

Like you said a bigger gemstone may keep more Stormlight, and probably the lost can't grow more faster than his storage capacity... much more if the lost is something "imperfection related"... it's possible that a bigger gemstone may have less than a proportional number of imperfection in his structure.

[Glubbdrubb]

I found the relevant WoB here: http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1160#105

 

 

We have a couple of WoB (but now I have not time to search) that say that a perfect cut gemstone doesn't lose Stormlight and that also that gemstone will Glow because the Glow isn't related to the Stormlight leaking out.

 

Like you said a bigger gemstone may keep more Stormlight, and probably the lost can't grow more faster than his storage capacity... much more if the lost is something "imperfection related"... it's possible that a bigger gemstone may have less than a proportional number of imperfection in his structure.

 

Yata, you are indeed right about that.

 

And from what I interpret in those WoB, SL cannot be transferred from gem to gem by direct illumination. But that is a bit of a stretch, I admit. Could we make that a question for him?

[Jondesu he/him]

Remember too, Stormlight behaves more like a gas than as light. Placing gems in physical contact might work where the glowyness doesn't.

jW

[soulcastJam he/him]

Thanks for that WoB Glubbdrubb.  I've been wondering about that for a long time. I'll upvote you when my quota is back... First time I ran out...

[icspots]

Wasn't there a comment towards the end of WoR about this?

 

When they were talking about the large blue gems they used during the Weeping while advancing onto the Shattered Plains.  It was something about how the large gems were saved through the Weeping for the purpose.

[The Sovereign]

A couple of other relevant WoBs in addition to the who Glubbdrubb posted:

 

 

Interview: Sep 24th, 2013

Interview with Brandon Sanderson - Chris King (Miyabi) (Verbatim)

Chris King (Miyabi)

Two more questions here: Do bigger gems store more stormlight for longer than smaller gems? So a broam would hold it for twenty hours where a chip might hold it for six hours or something.

Brandon Sanderson

The cut of the gem and how flawless the gem is has more to do with how long the stormlight stays than size.

Tags

stormlight, gemstones,

 

 

 

Interview: Mar 22nd, 2014

WoR Signing Report - Argent (Verbatim)

TheChronicFeruchemist

What is the gem cut that holds the most Stormlight, and does it vary from gem to gem?

Brandon Sanderson

It does vary from gem to gem, and... I've got this written down somewhere... I am going RAFO, because it's more of a "I need to go to my notes and find out."

Tags

stormlight,

In addition, I am 100% sure there is a WoB that states that the color of the gemstone matters too but I cannot find it.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Iron Eyes

[Jondesu he/him]

I suspect from that WoB that the cut and perfection of the gem are what controls the rate of leakage, but the size does control how much it can hold initially.

jW

[The Sovereign]

I suspect from that WoB that the cut and perfection of the gem are what controls the rate of leakage, but the size does control how much it can hold initially.

jW

 

I suspect that Kaladin's Wine-skin comparison applies to the Gemstones too, if you have a larger Gemstone not all the way filled I bet it would leak Stormlight at a slower rate than if it were full.

[Jondesu he/him]

I suspect that Kaladin's Wine-skin comparison applies to the Gemstones too, if you have a larger Gemstone not all the way filled I bet it would leak Stormlight at a slower rate than if it were full.

Hmm, I wonder. I'd have figured two gems of equal quality and cut would hold it based entirely on the size, but you're right, there might be more to it than that.

jW

[Glubbdrubb]

 

A couple of other relevant WoBs in addition to the who Glubbdrubb posted:

 

 

 

In addition, I am 100% sure there is a WoB that states that the color of the gemstone matters too but I cannot find it.

 

 

 

If this is what you're talking about, the color is important because it affects soulcasting the 10 essences.

 

 

I see SL loss as a function of half life. A good cut increases half life, size does not. I don't know how color affects it, independent of size and quality.

[The Sovereign]

If this is what you're talking about, the color is important because it affects soulcasting the 10 essences.

 

 

I see SL loss as a function of half life. A good cut increases half life, size does not. I don't know how color affects it, independent of size and quality.

 

Thanks Glubbdrubb, that is actually not the WoB I was thinking of but it was one that I wasn't familiar (which honestly, is a bit of an oddity). The one I am referring to was either from the Bands of Mourning or Calamity tours. I'll find it eventually.

 

The gist of the WoB was literally that the color in addition to the cut effect the amount of Stormlight that can be held in a gemstone.

[Lazarus52980]

I seem to remember a specific WoB that stated that a gemstone cut perfectly on the molecular level would lose no stormlight at all.  Does anyone know of that specific WoB?

[Yata he/him]

I seem to remember a specific WoB that stated that a gemstone cut perfectly on the molecular level would lose no stormlight at all.  Does anyone know of that specific WoB?

here

 

It was posted in the fifth post of this topic ;-)

[A Windspren he/him]

I find the way Stormlight interacts with gemstones extremely interesting. It seems that on Roshar, symmetry is a key factor in both religion and Investiture, in the way a more perfect gemstone holds Stormlight better. I wonder if other crystalline structures could hold Stormlight, like, say, metal...?

[dvoraen]

Here's a random thought that just hit me:

 

Since Roshar is more Cognitively bound (Surgebinder interaction with Shadesmar, Listeners, spren, and so on), could it be that Cognitive perception greatly enhances an interaction with Investiture on Roshar?

 

To put it in terms with gemstones, what I'm getting at is that a "more perfect" cut (as it's perceived by people) means it's "more perfect" at holding Stormlight / Investiture.

Edited May 25, 2016 by dvoraen