Materials Critum

Discussion in 'Approved' started by TrIpTiCuS, Aug 2, 2018.

  1. TrIpTiCuS

    TrIpTiCuS Galactic Enforcer

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    Name:
    Critum, the second known substance in the order of sub-erchioids, which are substances similar to erchius, sharing traits such as its different phase allotropes but are not true erchius isotopes.

    Description:
    [​IMG]
    A dull orange crystalline substance of variable luminosity, going from barely visible red to dim yellow. Critum, similar to karonium is a dense and heavy substance, but with a generally quite rough and “stringy” surface texture. It grows a natural internal structure very reminiscent of millions of tiny, tightly packed electrodes composed of different minerals, resulting in the aforementioned colours but generally sits at a faint orange. Inside the crystal forms a resin of similar acidic strength to battery acid, though this is kept safe inside due to how tightly packed the electrodes are and how scarce the resin is, so critum is safe to hold. Critum as it's primary anomalous feature seems to have an almost insatiable hunger for any kind of energy, going so far as to absorb heat straight out of the air and storing it within its electrode-like structure. This makes critum horribly cold to the touch. Only a tiny fraction of the energy will leave it's structure as light, making it a battery of comparable capacity and versatility of industrial atomic batteries. Better yet, it can even store energy whilst liquid. Being acidic and dangerously hot, a properly protected hyperdrive can utilize charged liquid critum as a highly potent fuel source, only held back by it's rarity and the fact that, generally you're better off using it as a battery or as temperature control.


    Abilities:
    + Energy absorption: Amazingly efficient and agile at both absorbing and storing any type of energy- be it thermal, electric or otherwise -it has its uses within batteries and temperature control.
    + Incredible insulator: Critum will barely change its thermal footprint even if it is jam packed of energy when compared to uncharged critum.
    + High melting point: Critum has a very high melting point, leading it to be (potentially) used in anything from averting thermal weaponry to being used as ship reentry shields or reactor casing.
    + Energy recycler: Waste heat emitted by standard reactor procedures among other things can be absorbed by critum and then reclaimed as electric energy.


    Conditional Abilities:
    + Energy dense hyperdrive fuel: If liquid critum is energised it can be pumped into a hyperdrive, leading to a ridiculously energy dense fuel source. In addition it’ll only get stronger as the hyperdrive engine gets hotter. Critum fueled starship hyperdrives, rare as they may be, are known to disconnect all failsafes in order to crank it up to the absolute max. This is generally not a good idea.

    Limitations:
    - Liquid combustion: Liquid critum will, without hesitation, violently combust when introduced to oxygen.
    - High melting point: A high melting point makes working critum difficult and dangerous.
    - Rampant absorption: Critum will violently absorb any and all energy it can reach. This could leave rooms unbearably cold or atomic batteries without charge.
    - Insatiable energy lust: If not properly controlled critum can do anything from short circuiting electrical systems to completely shutting down the power supply of entire cities.


    Conditional Limitations:
    - Boils into nothing: If boiled, critum will break apart into its most basic components, making it impossible to reclaim.

    How Does It Work?:
    With a borderline microscopic, repeated battery structure along with elements of the anomalous common within erchius and it's counterparts it carries an unrivalled capacity of absorbing and storing energy, only reflecting between 25-30% of all light that hits it. Critum can be directly charged by hooking it to an electric wire, but coaxing the energy back out is another ordeal entirely...

    Critum juicing:
    The process known as “juicing”, is by far the most common way to extract energy from critum. The idea is to let critum more or less naturally exude the energy trapped within. The easiest way to do this is by putting critum in a pneumatic press and forcefully pressing the energy out by letting it surge through connected wires, thus the name juicing.

    Critum tapping:
    A rarer approach to extracting critum stored energy is known as “tapping”, where wires are drilled into the crystal. The hope is to, by introducing a spark of energy followed by shutting off the power could draw the stored electricity out and into the desired processes. Oftentimes critum will need between 5 and 10 sparks before it’ll let any energy out and poorly constructed designs can see an entire ships reactor yield be suddenly drawn out of the standard capacity banks and absorbed into the critum.

    Critum boiling:
    By far the easiest method it is exclusive to liquid critum, which not only houses a far lower storage capacity but is also a lot more volatile, combusting if exposed to oxygen. Liquid critum, produced by introducing solid critum to high temperatures in vacuums, is heated to great degrees, producing a ton of power as it boils. This isn't sustainable however as the critum gets broken apart into its composite minerals as it boils. Additionally, for an extra boost of energy, liquid critum can be manually infused with additional electrical energy. This will greatly boost the speed at which it boils away, increasing the energy gain for things such as warp drives.

    Whilst theories exist, critum is not wholly understood as of right now. As with most erchioids, we know how they work just not why they work.


    Flavour text:
    Critum is the rarest currently known sub-erchioid, so far only having been found on a few rogue planetoids or asteroids. Why this is the case is simply unknown. In addition, extracting critum is a pain as not only are their veins unbearably cold but improper equipment can see their batteries drain just by making contact with their drills.

    Referenced Technologies:
    Erchius, Karonium

    Attainability:
    [Open]*
    *If used by characters as batteries or starship fuel. If you want to create a planet where this type of resource is extractable please approach me first.

    Tags:
    [Industrial]

    Category:
    [Materials]
    Sprite:
    [​IMG]
    Properties:
    Weight: ~0.4 lbs per cubic inch.
    Durability: 4
    Flexibility: Critum is fairly good at absorbing and dispersing kinetic energy, but too much too suddenly or just bending it will have it shatter.
    Thermal conductivity: Amazing at absorbing thermal energy, not so much on passing it along, so poor.
    Electrical conductivity: Again, amazing at collecting it however it's tricky to get it back out.
    Melting point: ~8000 °F

    Average price: 15 px / in^3. Highly sought after for its energy storing capacity and efficiency at reprocessing waste heat.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2018
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  2. 9K

    9K Galactic Officer Staff Member Administrator Diamond Donator

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    Most of the material's properties speak for themselves and are likely comparable to others within the material lore, but if you could, I just have two questions. Due to its rarity could you perhaps give it an average price in the same format as those stated within the materials lore? I know not all of them are completed, but referencing the stellar metals segment should be enough. Secondly, given the frequent mentions of its high melting point, could you give me an estimate of where it melts? I don't imagine it would ever really be used in armor given its properties and weight, so I don't need much else and we can suffice to say it's just really heavy. If you feel like going to extra mile and filling in the rest of that format though, feel free.
     
  3. TrIpTiCuS

    TrIpTiCuS Galactic Enforcer

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    Added a small section underneath labeled "properties". Hopefully this is what you were looking for! Drop a message if you have any further questions.
     
  4. 9K

    9K Galactic Officer Staff Member Administrator Diamond Donator

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    That works perfectly, thank you. I don't see any issue with it.

    I'm giving it a pass.
     
  5. WowGain

    WowGain Bara King Staff Member Administrator Bronze Donator Event Builder

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    Another interesting piece for Materials lore. Pass. @TrIpTiCuS