Pagerunner

Yeah, I go a little overboard sometimes. Sixth of the Dusk has been my favorite novella, and it still is. I view Brandon as a sci-fi writer working in a fantasy world, so I was pleased when he did actual sci-fi and was able to explore some common sci-fi themes in there. I've been restricting myself to only reading cosmere, so I haven't read Steelheart or Perfect State or most of his sci-fi. But the free short stories on his website, like Firstborn, have also been great. I'm really looking forward to when Brandon gets into the 'futuristic' cosmere, and maybe we get a short story compilation book like AU is primarily sci-fi.

A very good point, which has undoubtedly influenced why Brandon has let them sit for this long, since it doesn't detract from the experience of the book. But nonetheless, since finishing Wheel of Time in 2013, only one of the cosmere books he's published (Words of Radiance, Shadows of Self, Bands of Mourning, Arcanum Unbounded) was in the 'original' 36-book plan. If Brandon continues to add new cosmere books to the outline at this rate, that will have a big delaying effect on the big picture of Brandon's writing plans. Elantris sequels need to be done before Nightblood and Modern Mistborn, Modern Mistborn might still need to be done before Stormlight 6-10, Stormlight needs to be finished before Dragonsteel, Dragonsteel needs to be done before SciFi Mistborn... The cosmere Gantt chart has quite the potential for bottlenecks, and the Elantris sequels look to me like that's where it'll happen. (And, yes, I am actively working on putting together a cosmere publication Gantt chart based on Brandon's historical writing speed and his stated prerequisites, but I'll need another State of the Sanderson or three that have good month-by-month data, so I'm not confident at all in my dates.)

You're probably thinking of Adamant, a series of sci-fi novellas that he's working on. He's written the first one (or most of it), but not for the cosmere; he's talked about trying to slide it in, tweak the story and some of the lines to take out earth references. Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. Stormlight is the big project, and when he's going to fit in another novel between Stormlight books, I hope he goes back to finishing series he already has going (like Wax & Wayne and Elantris), rather than jump into something new (like Dark One or Aether of Night). Not to exclude side projects to focus more on Stormlight (which he's said probably wouldn't save him any time, since he'd slow down without space to recharge), but to carry some of these side projects to completion.

While Brandon was writing the SotS 2016, he got too into it, and secretly wrote SotS 2017 as well! #JustSandersonThings The three books he's said he's planning on writing between SA3 and SA4 are Wax & Wayne 4, Rithmatist 2, and Apocalypse Guard 1. Of those three, the only one I care about is W&W, since it's cosmere. I really hope Brandon doesn't push back the Elantris and Warbreaker sequels any farther. (Once upon a time, we were supposed to have gotten Elantris 2 in 2015, and be getting Elantris 3 after SA3.) He said back when he wrote Mistborn that he wanted to show fans he was able to finish a series. Unfortunately, the only series he's finished aside from Mistborn is Reckoners, and both Mistborn and Reckoners have sequel series' going. This might just be me personally, but I don't want to see Dark One or Aether of Night or Soulburner or anything like that until Brandon has actually completed several of his outstanding series, like Alcatraz (which he said in has last SotS was finished, but he was actually lying to us), Rithmatist, and of course Elantris (since he needs to do behind-the-scenes bits for Warbreaker 2). Maybe I'm a bit of a spoilsport, but I don't want to see any new projects slotted in before Stormlight 5. Stuff has been creeping backwards year after year (the 2-year gap between SA books stretching to 3 years is understandable, but I'm referring to how the expansion of the W&W era pushed other cosmere books back), and if Brandon is going to outline his 5-year to 10-year plans, it'd be worthwhile to not change it on a year-to-year basis.

Alas, ninja'd in my own thread! Whatever, I'll post it anyways. Hydronium is from protons, H+, hydrogen ions. This reaction will transfer the positive charge from protons in the solution (pure water has 1E-7 M hydronium) to the harmonium, leaving behind hydrogen radicals which will combine to form H2 gas. Unless matter is created or destroyed in this process (one possibility that I only briefly touched on, that harmonium might not actually form oxides, and when it loses an electron the whole atom destabilizes and releases energy and Investiture), then the harmonium atoms aren't going anywhere, and they will be bound as harmonium hydroxide after the reaction. Recovery, however, would require as much energy in as you get out. It's kind of like cracking methane (CH4) with steam (H2O) to get carbon dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen (H2), something my company does. That reaction takes place in a furnace that gets above 1000 degF. So, any practical way of cracking harmonium hydroxide after separating it from the environment (remember, it explodes) would require a ton of energy itself, and not really be feasible. You could get various harmonium salts through ion exchange, but any way of getting electrons back to the metal would be more effort than it's probably worth.

That "manifestation of the way shards combine" gives some interesting insight into the possible origins of Feruchemy. Thanks for following up on this and getting clarification.

http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=979#174

I, uh... have no idea where I got that color information from. I may have picked it up from that thread, originally; I just don't remember. I looked through the Well scene, the deleted Well ending, glanced at the opening couple of chapters of HoA with Vin and Elend, and the last dozen-or-so epigraphs of HoA, and I didn't see anything. If it wasn't described as such in the well scene, maybe it's in a later mention in Hero of Ages, where they're thinking back on it or recounting it to someone. I'll have to do some more looking. But it certainly would make things easier of lerasium wasn't green. (Although gold wouldn't fit cobalt any better.) The specific avenue you suggest... I'm gonna say it involves a lot more screwing with physics to actually change the energy levels. Electron shielding gives the periodic table its shape, so if the new electron shielding is too powerful, then d-block electrons (a.k.a. all the transition metals' valence electrons) might behave very differently, and might make them look more like post-transition metals or metalloids. I'm hesitant to go too far in this direction, since my education is even a step removed from the chemistry of it, much less the physics. The underlying idea, though, that anything made of a mixture of the two condensed opposing Investitures would be more reactive, is valid nonetheless; harmonious uranium would be more reactive than regular uranium. But, again, Brandon specifically told me that harmonium's behavior was not a nuclear property, that it's an 'electron thing,' so that approach might be going about it backwards. Let's get a nucleus that fits with the observed reactivity, not see how we can fit the observed reactivity into a desired nucleus. You can gauge how violently different metals react with water by comparing tabulated ionization energies, on Wikipedia. Lower ionization energies correspond to faster reactions (that's not the whole story, but a big part of it, and if we're just comparing reactions with water then that's most of what we need for this specific discussion). It's not linear, it has to do with changing the bounds of integration for the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution graph for that temperature, and technically I don't think water molecules follow that energy distribution plot, but whatever. Less energy required to remove means it happens more quickly, and I expect rate will be roughly exponential with respect to ionization energy. Cesium has the lowest first ionization energy, at 375 kJ/mol. It's 1/16 less (d'oh!) than the next alkali metal up, rubidium, at around 400 kJ/mol. Uranium is at 600 kJ/mol, (actually, pretty comparable to calcium), so it would need some very significant effects on its electron cloud to react quicker than cesium. If I were Brandon, I'd be worried about breaking physics if I were adding a new force with this magnitude into the atoms. So, that's why I lean with it being an actual alkali metal whose reactivity has been slightly enhanced, rather than another metal that has been made extremely more reactive. I don't think this is an enhancement of the electromagnetic force; I think it's a new force that exists in tandem with the electromagnetic force, derived from the opposition between Ruin and Preservation. Gravity is technically still affecting the electrons around a nucleus in an atom; it's just that the forces are so small compared to the electromagnetic forces, they're negligible. I think this Realmatic force operates like the electromagnetic force, on a similar scale, and causes similar effects. Close, but not quite identical. I wonder though, now that you mention it, if there is a 'gravitic' Investiture attraction as well, a force without dipoles that causes Investiture to congregate in Perpendicularities.

We don't know, for sure, but I'd like to think so. I think what @aeromancer said is likely, since it resolves how harmonium can have its own behavior while maintaining the alloying effects we've seen for lerasium (something that was hard to reconcile when we imagined harmonium to be the atium/lerasium alloy). It's possible that atium and lerasium will annihilate each other if they're exposed, the way that Vin destroyed both herself and Ruin. Alloys have a 'metallic bond,' where they share electrons easily among atoms, which wouldn't seem likely to me if the electrons were all polarized. It might be a mixture, but not a true alloy.

The harmonium isn't turning into water, it's reacting with water to form harmonium hydroxide, and that reaction goes quickly and produces a lot of energy. One of the hydrogen atoms is 'replaced' on the water molecule with the extra Ruin electron, and those loose hydrogen atoms will combine to form an elemental hydrogen molecule H2. It would be possible to form a harmonium salt solution by adding an acid to a harmonium hydroxide solution, and that would result in water with a single Ruin electron in the mix. But it would require recovery of harmonium hydroxide, which looks to be a little difficult since it releases enough energy to vaporize itself.

Mostly, I just waste time on the forums. If you want to read books Brandon likes, you should check out his Goodreads recommendations. I like his books because of their strong reread value, if you're trying to pick up clues for foreshadowing or realmatics. So, I'd say read through them all again, trying to find the connections.

Of particular note is a recent Reddit WoB on linguistics, where he lays out the major language groups of Roshar. Horneater/Parshendi are descendant languages of Dawnchant, and the three main other language groups are Vorin (Alethi/Veden/Thaylen), Makabaki (around 30 divergent languages), and Iriali (with Purelake, and I think Reshi, languages in there), with each Aimian species having their own language that isn't connected to anything else. So, that could indiciate 3 different human migrations in the distant past; the Vorin, the Makabaki, and the Iri. I think Shin goes with the Dawnate languages, which would imply that they preceeded the influx of other humans. I'll need to track down the actual WoB, though. For your point on Threnody, that was prompted by the questioner. There are two mass exoduses, but they can be for different reasons, and over different scales. Brandon wasn't comparing the two situations, he was agreeing somewhat that with the questioner's comparison, saying that there are similarities.

That's the consensus that's been reached in other threads, with the same objection over Densities for Sel. Personally, I'm hesitant to commit to anything, though, since I'm not sure that the star chart is from an appropriate point-of-view to match the Shadesmar map. And besides, it's very easy to stretch a word of phrase to match any Shardworld. Before we had the Scadrial/Vapors reveal, I thought that Vapors = Breath = Nalthis Vibrance = Dor's Light = Sel Broken Sky = Ash = Scadrial (the phrase was used multiple times in the original trilogy! I think it was even a chapter heading, once, for one of Marsh's POVs, IIRC) So, I'm hesitant in general, and not on board. But don't let me stop you, since I won't be getting on board with anything.

A couple of notes on Iyatil to clear the air: She is living on Roshar. Her heritage is from Scadrial. She was not born on Taldain or Threnody. (Or, by process of elimination, Roshar or Scadrial.) So, of the known Shardworlds, she could come from Sel or Nalthis. (Silverlight was my #1 guess, but it's not a planet. And First of the Sun wasn't a part of the worldhopping community at the time.) It's also possible she's from another Shardworld.

Yes, there is at least one non-Human Vessel. There were three races on Yolen: Human, Dragon, and Shodel. (Don't know anything about the Shodel, though, aside from their name.)

It's not actually blank - according to WoB, there was another expanse, the 'Expanse of Vibrance,' that was cut to add the name. I don't think there's an in-universe reason.

You know, it might be a possibility. I'd discounted 119 because it hasn't been synthesized IRL, it has an estimated half-life of less than a second (and the Shardic interaction should make it less stable), and Brandon has referred to it as super-cesium more than once IIRC (which indicates to me that it's a super-reactive cesium). But there are some good points to praseodymium and neodymium, considering both aren't found in their pure form in earth's crust and the former makes a green oxide when exposed to air (my big hang-up with cobalt, since I can't find an oxide that matches lerasium's greenish coating). So, without a good mechanism to rationalize a stable isotope of 119, I'll stick with cesium. (The same logic applies to francium twice, since it's not stable and it would cause lerasium to be technetium, which also isn't stable 'cause it's just screwy.) But it's a good question. EDIT: @Yata, all alkali metals have an odd number of electrons, so if those individual electrons are all quantized pieces of Ruin or Preservation, then there must be an imbalance in the atom. So, my logic wasn't trying to figure out how Harmony could balance out his extra piece of Ruin, it was trying to explain why there is extra Ruin in the harmonium atom. The titular 'Lost Metal' of the next book could easily be atium (actually, I don't see any other good candidates), and Harmony could have balanced himself out using a combination both methods (atium and harmonium). EDIT2: Also, @aeromancer, I did a little more research into both praseodymium and neodymium, and apparently their oxides don't form coatings, they flake off, so a bead will completely oxidize in less than a year. So, their chemical behavior is different than lerasium and atium, both of which can last for a long time (the lerasium bead was at the well for over 1000 years, and Marsh has had a bag of atium he's used to compound youth for 300).

Isn't Reya's Tear just the brightest star in Roshar's night sky? Since Roshar is on the map, they're obviously not Roshar's constellations, but it looks like all the other major Shardworlds could fit the bill. They're all roughly the same distance from Roshar on the map... which seems like a bit of an odd coincidence, now that I mention it. Anyways, since Taldain is around a giant (or a supergiant? I'm not good with astronomy), that would be my guess.

Here you go. I have a copy of this excerpt saved to my computer, since it took me so long to find in the first place, so I was able to search some specific gibberish to find the source.

Yeah, I'm the original source for that. I was asking about ettmetal's symbol at the recent signing (I was convinced it wasn't harmonium), and it sort of spiraled from there. I posted it over in the thread for the Hoboken signing. See, that's not the transcript, that's my retelling of how Brandon slipped up and confirmed E=H. It's not word-for-word, and it's not the entirety of the conversation. It probably shouldn't be on Theoryland; one of the Theoryland admins has the recording and is in the process of the actual transcription right now, so once he gets it done we'll have exactly what Brandon said. I just wanted to get this theory out there sooner, rather than later.

Not Kandra. Nothing exciting. More like how a council worker in England can be descended from Genghis Khan, yet "the only vestiges left of his mighty ancestry were a pronounced stoutness about the tum and a predilection for little fur hats."

Yeah, I considered that, and I don't remember enough of the exact wording from our conversation to officially debunk that, but the sense I remember is that none of ettmetal's properties we'd seen were nuclear in nature.

I went to my first signing ever on the Arcanum Unbounded tour, and when I went through the personalization line, Brandon and I had a nice conversation about the physical properties of ettmetal, otherwise known as harmonium, and how they were impacted by Realmatics. (Influenced in part, I assume, because when he was going through his opening talk, I fist-pumped when he said he was originally a chemistry major. He saw, and asked if I was a chemist, to which I replied I was a chemical engineer. So, I think he took the chance to share some details with someone who’d be able to fully comprehend them.) I’m still waiting to get the recording of the signing line, but I’ll paraphrase what I got out of it. Brandon said that it makes sense for ettmetal to be so volatile, because it has the power of both Shards in it, and the conflict associated with them. He also clarified that it’s not a nuclear reaction; it’s chemically reactive, it’s the properties of the electrons in Harmonium that make it so reactive. It’s like ‘super-cesium,’ reacting very quickly with water. I wasn't quite ready prepared to deal with the implications (I was there as a cosmere fan, not a scientist), but I've spent some time thinking it over, and I think I understand a little more exactly how the physics and the realmatics are interacting. I've come to several major conclusions, which are reliant on a college-level understanding of chemistry. If you’re not at that level, skip ahead to the next section, where I’ll try to build it up in layman’s terms. For those who feel knowledgeable, though: Overview of the Theory · I propose that the subatomic particles of harmonium (protons, electrons, and neutrons) are comprised of pure Investiture, but still functioning as normal subatomic particles. This Investiture would be still of each individual Shard, even though the atom as a whole would be of Harmony. · The reactivity of harmonium follows the trend of alkali metals, but would be enhanced due to an additional electron shielding factor that would come from the repulsion of Ruin particles and Preservation particles, lowering the ionization energy and increasing reaction rates. · The alkali-metal behavior of Harmonium would come from the imbalance between the two Shards, the extra piece of Ruin. It would follow the orbital structure of cesium (atomic number 55), with one electron in each filled orbital from each Shard. The single valence electron would be an extra Ruin electron. · I’d like to say that each harmonium atom (cesium-133, the only stable isotope) is a combination of a lerasium atom and an atium atom, which would make atium = nickel (28) and lerasium = cobalt (27). However, I can’t get the neutron math to add up. It’s possible that the nucleus looks different, that the stability of harmonium is different because of the competing Investiture in the nucleus. This gets into physics, not chemistry, so I’m not equipped to dig deeper into this idea. So, if you understand that, great. Head on down the page to my conclusions, to see what I’ve thought of as implications of this. If you didn’t (which I assume is the majority), let’s do a quick* chemistry lesson. (For those who have actually studied chemistry, be aware this explanation will be pop science. Like one of my professors used to say, all explanations of chemistry are lies, and we just learn slightly smaller lies the farther and farther we go.) Chemistry of Alkali Metals What are atoms? Elements (like copper, oxygen, or chlorine) are made of fundamental particles called "atoms." These atoms interact with one another, bonding together to form more complicated substances (from water to gasoline to medicinal compounds). Different atoms will behave in different ways, based on the number of subatomic particles they’re comprised of. All atoms have dense nucleus, made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The number of protons defines the element: any atom with one proton is hydrogen, any one with six protons is oxygen, any one with 55 protons is cesium. Chemical reactions are largely driven by the transfer of electrons from one atom or group of atoms to another. How do electrons behave? Electrons are attracted to the nucleus through the electromagnetic force, pulling together the negative charge of an electron and the positive charge of the protons. But electrons aren't like planets in a solar system, just floating wherever they feel like. When they surround a nucleus, they order themselves into levels, filling from the lowest level (closest to the nucleus) and going up. For chemical reactions, only electrons in the outermost level will be involved; anything in a lower level that has been completely filled will not react. In chemical reactions, atoms will trade or share electrons until every atom involved has a filled outermost shell (either by getting more electrons or getting rid of some of theirs), since a filled shell is the most thermodynamically stable. That's how the periodic table of elements is arranged; elements in a column all have the same number of electrons in their outermost level (called 'valence electrons'), so they will all behave in a similar fashion. If they have an almost-full shell, they will be very reactive, like chlorine and oxygen. If their shell is filled, they will be nonreactive, like helium. The reactive properties of ettmetal match the first column of the periodic table, the 'alkali metals.' They all have a single valence electron, and they want to get rid of it like none other, so they'll take any opportunity to do so. They are metals, but they will react very violently with water. Other alkali metals you may have heard of are sodium, lithium, potassium, which are not found in nature in their pure forms because of how reactive they are. How can we free up that electron? Pure alkali metals would like to pass off their single valence electron to another molecule or atom, which would be more thermodynamically stable with it. However, to get rid of this electron in the first place, there is some energy required to ‘knock it loose.’ It's sort of like trying to launch a rocket from earth; you need a bunch of energy to overcome gravity, but once you're out in space, you can go wherever you want. Unlike that rocket, though, there are many different forces acting on an electron. Each proton is pulling on that valence electron, trying to keep it there. But, believe it or not, as you take alkali metals with more protons, the total force on a valence electron electron goes down, and they get easier to remove. Why is this? Two reasons: first, the electron is farther away from the nucleus. But, more relevant to this discussion, the lower shells filled with electrons are also pushing the valence electron out. This concept is called "electron shielding.” Negative charges repulse other negative charges, so when there are a ton of electrons between the valence electron and the nucleus, they will cancel out some of the pull of the protons. Since the electrons in heavier alkali metals aren’t held as strongly, reactions happen faster, and release their energy much quicker. Harmonium reacts even quicker than cesium, the highest alkali metal that's not a pretend element (another of my old professor's fun sayings about transuranic elements). That means its electron is even easier to remove, and it reacts even faster. Realmatics of God Metals How does this play with Realmatics? Finally, we get back to what Brandon said about the opposite forces within the same atom. An atom with protons and electrons comprised of Ruin would behave like a normal atom; no unusual interactions. Same for an atom completely of Preservation. But mix and match, and Preservation electrons would push on the Ruin electrons, giving extra electron shielding. And the Preservation protons would also push on the Ruin electrons (partially countering their normal electromagnetic attraction), reducing the force holding them in. By making it easier to remove harmonium’s valence electron, the rate at which it reacts with other atoms will increase. Which is what we’ve seen. Why does Harmonium have 1 valence electron in the first place? Lastly, I think that harmonium needs to be an alkali metal and have that 1 extra valence electron because of the balance between Ruin and Preservation. In a filled electron shell, each electron has a pair. I think each electron pair contains one Preservation electron and 1 Ruin electron. But, here's the problem: there's extra Ruin. Some of Preservation is in mankind, so if he doesn't physically manifest this extra Ruin somewhere, he won't be in balance. So, he throws in an extra Ruin proton and Ruin electron; this very reactive valence electron. As long as he manifests enough harmonium, the extra Ruin is there in the environment. Brandon has referred to ettmetal as super-cesium. That could be interpreted as a magically stabilized francium (which isn't stable, and doesn't exist outside of a few moments in a laboratory), but I think he means it's a super-reactive cesiuim. Cesium has 55 protons and 55 electrons; harmonium would have 27 of Preservation and 28 of Ruin. The Invested protons, neutrons, and electrons change the atomic behavior of Harmonium, which is why it isn’t exactly cesium. In Conclusion So, I learned in my discussion with Brandon that 1) the pieces of Ruin and Preservation are distinct in harmonium and 2) the battle between them causes ettmetal to be highly reactive. I think I’ve identified the specific mechanism by which this happens. It does, however, carry some interesting implications that I’m still working out. Let me share some of them with you; feel free to comment. · If there’s a repulsion between electrons, there must also be one for protons and neutrons. This would make Harmonium’s nucleus more unstable. Although Brandon said it is not a nuclear reaction that we’ve seen, it may just require the proper catalyst, so I would not be surprised to see an ettmetal nuclear bomb at some point. · If harmonium is cesium made out of Investiture, then maybe it is a fusion (the scientific term, combining the nuclei) of a lerasium atom and an atium atom. That would mean that lerasium would have 27 Preservation protons, and behave like cobalt. Atium would have 28 Ruin protons, and behave like nickel. However, although the electrons add up, the neutrons will not. (The number of neutrons doesn’t affect how an atom behaves chemically, but it can make it radioactive, which will change it into a different element.) There’s only one stable isotope of cesium, and one of cobalt, and doing the math doesn’t yield one of nickel’s stable isotopes. It’s possible the stability of harmonium is different, because of the extra forces between Ruin’s and Preservation’s protons and neutrons, somehow requiring fewer neutrons for stability. But, this isn’t anything I’ve studied as a chemist; it’s in the realm of physicists. · Because there are individual elements of Ruin and Preservation, this doesn’t bode well for Harmony as a whole. Sure, on a macroscopic scale, there’s balance. But it could mean that, in each of his individual interactions with people, he might go back and forth between two extremes. It also makes me wonder how easily Harmony could Splinter back into two Shards (although we do know that at this point, if Sazed died, he would drop a single powerful Shard.) · Ettmetal reacts, which means its transferring part of itself to water. Once the electrons are gone, they ain’t coming back. Atium burns and regenerates; how would a harmonium oxide make its way back to continue the cycle? It seems like Investiture is lost to the environment when ettmetal reacts with water. · People have extra Preservation, but if ettmetal is Harmony’s way of sequestering his extra Ruin, then as it continues to react with water, the extra Ruin could end up transferring to the environment. Man vs Nature is a very big concept in sci-fi, so maybe it could come up in Mistborn Era 4, that the planet itself is of Ruin while its inhabitants are of Preservation. Just spitballing here. · How do other god metals work? If they’re elements made out of Investiture particles, then can Shardblades rust? Or maybe are they silver made out of Honor’s Investiture, which is why they won’t react? (Unfortunately, Element 10 is neon, which is not a metal.) But that wouldn’t give them the structural integrity they need (even if they don’t physically do the cutting, a pure silver sword would be deformed in a duel). Does each Shard make a different metal for its god metal, or could it make any metal it wanted? · Are all physical forms of Investiture (the mists, the liquid Shardpools, Stormlight) similarly constructed? Maybe the mists were composed of two Preservation hydrogens and one Preservation oxygen? Are Perpendicularities just Invested mercury? The reactivity of ettmetal shows that, at the very least, the solid form of one Shard’s power manifests below the atomic level; does every solid form of Investiture do so, as well? Uh… In Conclusion, Again Okay, I’m done for real this time. I know people have proposed similar things (like atium is Ruin’s electrum) based on allomantic behavior, and I didn’t like them at the time (the ideas and logic behind them, not the people), but the way Brandon spoke of Harmonium makes me think that approach was on the right track. However, it’s on a more fundamental level: the very protons and electrons are either of Ruin or Preservation, and when you combine the two, you get a very reactive metal. I’ve tried to completely explain the chemistry of the situation, but it does dive pretty deep at times. If you’d like to know more about that, please just let me know. I didn’t bring out any graphs to show exactly why electron shielding increases reaction rate, but I can if anyone’s interested. I will also try to get the actual transcript to post it. I’m confident in the broad strokes of my conversation with Brandon, that Harmonium is extra reactive because of the opposing Shards it’s made up of, but I do think that having his exact words would have preempted some objections that I’m sure are coming. I’m just not patient enough. 07/19/17 - Made slight changes to the text to (hopefully) clarify what is canon and what is supposition on my part. To emphasize, it is not confirmed that harmonium is unbalanced towards Ruin. What is canon is it behaves like an alkali metal. If my supposition is true, that each electron is either of Ruin or Preservation, then the idea of unbalanced harmonium naturally follows.

Great list. Two things to add: - I'm pretty sure you can get Mistborn Prime and Final Empire Prime, but Brandon doesn't send them out too often because they're bad (and no one really asks for them since everything good from them has been put into real Mistborn). It would follow the same procedure as Aether or White Sand, emailing him, but you'd probably need a convincing reason for having them. - Silence Divine hasn't been completed yet. Brandon has thought about 'demoting' it to a novella, and it's not on his unpublished history list, so it doesn't appear he has the whole thing. But he's worked on bits and pieces here and there, and it has a place in the overall cosmere outline.