Binsosk Posted January 10, 2018 Report Share Posted January 10, 2018 If harmonium is an alloy of lerasium and atrium, would it be possible to split the alloy into its respective metals some way? I found this while looking into splitting alloys to see if actually splitting alloys is possible http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/58709-separating-alloys/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Calderis he/him Posted January 10, 2018 Report Share Posted January 10, 2018 Harmonium is an element unto itself. Not an alloy. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/35/#e2548 Quote Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He said ettmetal is chemically reactive, not nuclear. The longer answer makes it sound like Harmonium isn't a Lerasium/Atium alloy, but a whole new metal. He described it as "super-cesium," and that its volatility was based on electrons, not on protons or neutrons. "It is not unstable, it is reactive. So it's like a "super-cesium". It reacts so violently..." Footnote: Unspecified question by Pagerunner. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/100/#e3640 Quote FirstSelector Would an alloy of atium and lerasium produce the same effects pre- and post-Harmony? Brandon Sanderson Yes. Footnote: Note that harmonium is technically not an atium/lerasium alloy. It can't be split. That said, here is something ghat is left over after Harmonium burns. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/117/#e1663 Quote Ironeyes So then it's not creating an oxide because after the spiritual energy goes away from the explosion[unintelligible] metal, right? Brandon Sanderson Right, and... Ironeyes So you can't find harmonium oxide in the water afterwards. Brandon Sanderson Right right right right. Because it's not, it's, yeah. But you might be able to find something else, which is really relevant to the cosmere. And to Scadrial. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 asterion137 he/him Posted January 11, 2018 Report Share Posted January 11, 2018 1 minute ago, Weltall said: Silver is invaluable on Threnody because it repels Shades and if applied quickly can reverse their withering effect. That said, it can't be what Brandon was referring to as a byproduct of a harmonium reaction because the metal is useless in the Metallic Arts while Brandon said that whatever was left behind would be relevant to Scadrial. And 'really relevant' to the Cosmere, which so far as we know does not describe silver in a broader sense; the only planet where we know it's valuable or has any special properties at present is Threnody. Quote Questioner In Mistborn, silver doesn’t play a role. But then in Shadows for Silence, silver does play a role... Brandon Sanderson It does. I still wanted silver to be part of the Cosmere. Questioner But we’ll never see it in Scadrial? Brandon Sanderson It does not, as they understand currently, interact with Allomancy, with the three Metallurgic Arts. Silver does have a Cosmere role. I think you could take this WoB either way in terms of the harmonium question, but Silver does have a Cosmere role. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 asterion137 he/him Posted January 11, 2018 Report Share Posted January 11, 2018 5 hours ago, Calderis said: Right right right right. Because it's not, it's, yeah. But you might be able to find something else, which is really relevant to the cosmere. And to Scadrial. Silver? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 The White Fox Posted January 11, 2018 Report Share Posted January 11, 2018 9 minutes ago, asterion137 said: Silver? [serious question] why is silver important in the cosmere? I remember silver is abundant on threnody and I think the worldhopper nazh has a dagger made of silver, but I don't remember it having any special properties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Weltall Posted January 11, 2018 Report Share Posted January 11, 2018 2 hours ago, The White Fox said: [serious question] why is silver important in the cosmere? I remember silver is abundant on threnody and I think the worldhopper nazh has a dagger made of silver, but I don't remember it having any special properties? Silver is invaluable on Threnody because it repels Shades and if applied quickly can reverse their withering effect. That said, it can't be what Brandon was referring to as a byproduct of a harmonium reaction because the metal is useless in the Metallic Arts while Brandon said that whatever was left behind would be relevant to Scadrial. And 'really relevant' to the Cosmere, which so far as we know does not describe silver in a broader sense; the only planet where we know it's valuable or has any special properties at present is Threnody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Yata he/him Posted January 11, 2018 Report Share Posted January 11, 2018 10 hours ago, Weltall said: Silver is invaluable on Threnody because it repels Shades and if applied quickly can reverse their withering effect. That said, it can't be what Brandon was referring to as a byproduct of a harmonium reaction because the metal is useless in the Metallic Arts while Brandon said that whatever was left behind would be relevant to Scadrial. And 'really relevant' to the Cosmere, which so far as we know does not describe silver in a broader sense; the only planet where we know it's valuable or has any special properties at present is Threnody. My headcanon (based on @Pagerunner theory on an unbalance into the Harmonium) is the Ettmetal's byproduct is Atium. It could be an interesting way to re-introduce it (The Lost Metal) without drastically change the Scadrial's status quo (without Mistborn and Full Feruchemist, the Atium is mostly useless) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Weltall Posted January 11, 2018 Report Share Posted January 11, 2018 @Yata That's my assumption as well. Brandon has hinted that Harmony could be doing something with his 'excess Ruin' to maintain balance and putting more of it into harmonium than Preservation could add to the existing explanation of its explosive property (that it's composed of opposing 'particles' as it were) and that the annihilation would leave behind something important. As a godmetal, atium or an atium-ish byproduct would be of interest in the Cosmere for general study purposes and since it makes the best hemalurgic spikes, it would be really valuable for anyone who knows of that magic and wants to do a little spiking without having to figure out exactly what metal you'd need to steal any given attribute. And like you said, it would be a neat way to reintroduce the metal as well. 11 hours ago, asterion137 said: I think you could take this WoB either way in terms of the harmonium question, but Silver does have a Cosmere role. This is true but it's open to interpretation whether he means silver has a wider Cosmere role or it just has a Cosmere role, on Threnody. And while there's just enough wiggle room in that WoB to argue that silver has some role to play in Scadrial that nobody currently knows about, the fact that it's not one of the sixteen metals makes this kind of unlikely. Atium has known uses on Scadrial and for the wider Cosmere so it seems a much more likely option. There's also the obvious question of why a common metal would be a byproduct of a harmonium reaction. You can get silver just about anywhere (Brandon even says he didn't swap it for aluminum because silver is just too easy to obtain so it wouldn't work as a 'surprise' metal) so it's hard to imagine many situations where such a method of obtaining it would be useful. And then there's the fact that as the condensed essence of a Shard in Physical form, there's no real reason for harmonium to have silver in it. That WoB even specifically calls it out as an element, not a compound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 TheHeadHancho Posted January 21, 2018 Report Share Posted January 21, 2018 Have you considered that it could leave behind investiture? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Binsosk
If harmonium is an alloy of lerasium and atrium, would it be possible to split the alloy into its respective metals some way?
I found this while looking into splitting alloys to see if actually splitting alloys is possible http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/58709-separating-alloys/
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