Steelpushing

[Apollyon he/him]

Someone else has probably already asked this question, but I'm a little confused as to something in Mistborn: The Final Empire. In the book, Kelsier explains Steelpushing as a weight thing, you push on something lighter than you that is unsupported, it goes away, but if it is heavier than you or supported, you move in the opposite direction. If this is how Steelpushing works, how come Vin can hold her own in a pushing match with people thrice her size without the use of duralumin?

[RShara she/her]

Vin is from a purer line of Allomancers. She has more power in her Push than others, allowing her to do more with her weight.

[Calderis he/him]

She's strong. The issue of weight doesn't really have anything to do with the strength of the push, it's just like with trying to push a ball away from you vs trying to push a car. If it weighs more you're going to move easier than it does. 

Vin has to brace herself in order to push things heavier without being pushed away herself, but the real advantage she has is that she is stronger allomantically than most, and she small. 

Yes small may seem like a disadvantage, but a steelpush always comes from the center of the torso, so relatively to most people she's in a push match with, they would be pushing down on her, helping brace her against the ground, and she'd be pushing slightly up, making it harder for them to brace themselves. 

At least that's the way I've always seen it. 

[The One Who Connects he/him]

14 hours ago, Steeleigoldart said:

If this is how Steelpushing works, how come Vin can hold her own in a pushing match with people thrice her size without the use of duralumin?

As the others have said, weight is some of it, but not all of it. I think of it as a sliding scale, personally.

• If the Allomancers are roughly equal in power, then weight is about 95% of the equation. (It's unlikely for two people to be exactly equal in power, or else it'd be 100%)
• As the power gap increases, weight takes up a smaller piece of the equation. Against Vin, weight is probably only about 75%. I'd put an Inquisitor with one spike here too.
• For a Mistborn with an A-Steel spike(or an Inquisitor who has two A-Steel Spikes), weight is probably about 66% or so.
• For a Lerasium Mistborn like Elend, weight is about half of the equation. Elend physically knocked back an Inquisitor because of this power difference in HoA.
• For the Lord Ruler, the weight of his opponent is almost irrelevant. His Allomantic Strength is high enough that he shook the doorframe of his throne room(which should be braced by the wall), and the weight difference didn't even make him flinch. Vin isn't that light, and he still sends her flying into a pillar with a casual push.

It's the same with Piercing a Coppercloud. If the two are roughly equal in Allomantic power, cloud blocks the seeker. But if the seeker is more powerful(via a Spike, for instance), they can pierce the Coppercloud.

[MPHRD]

The way I understand it is allomancy puts a force between the person and the object. The lighter thing moves either way but Vin can put more force out. But often times Vin pushes both the object and stuff in the opposite direction to use as an anchor, to compensate for being lighter so she is not what goes flying.