Name: Karonium, a substance in a class of sub-erchioids, which are substances similar to erchius, sharing traits such as its different phase allotropes, but are not true Erchius isotopes. Description: Karonium is most commonly known as a luminescent blue or purple crystalline compound, its center emitting radiation within 400-500 nm wavelengths (visible violet and blue light), which is believed to be a side product from one of its abilities. Karonium is heavy and fragile, with a smooth, glassy surface. The crystals also generate a small amount of thermal energy. Despite being very similar to erchius, even going so far as to inspire a new order of crystals to be named, so called "sub-erchioids", the crystals CANNOT be used within FTL drives. Its crystal form features a few abilities that its other forms lack, one being its strong, unexplained superparamagnetism. This makes Karonium unique, as it exhibits superparamagnetism on a macro-scale. The crystals are capable of growing like normal crystals. On certain karonium rich moons these crystals have been known to reach heights rivaling that of earthen redwood forests. One explorer described it as the following: "As I wander 'thru the luminescent, towering spires to my sides, I can't help but feel baffled by the sheer age of these massive crystals. Oh how I wish they could speak, who knows what wondrous tales they would share?" (A sample of some freshly extracted crystalline karonium.) (A picture of an asteroid, filled with raw karonium just waiting to be extracted.) In general karonium hates being in any of its allotropic forms apart from solid, however there is only so much you can do with this substance when it is a solid, and it's at its most useful when liquid. Liquid karonium is extremely volatile, and emits some lethal radiation. It frequently sees use within power plants and as spacecraft fuel, however it doesn't end there. Liquid karonium is used everywhere. However, since karonium prefers being a solid, it'll often crystallize unless pressurized massively. (Some liquid karonium in a pressurized canister. The canister is however not perfect, and some of the karonium has crystallized, giving it that flawed appearance.) Gaseous karonium isn't much to speak about, save for the allotrope's behavior to rapidly snap back to its solid allotrope and crystallize. This had led to certain military applications however, such as gasses that suffocate people who inhale it by crystallizing in their throat and lungs. Abilities: -Capable of being used as effective nuclear fuel. -The solid crystal has many uses within areas where anomalous magnetic properties are necessary. Conditional Abilities: -Can be grown, therefore providing a reliable power source. Limitations: -In its liquid allotrope the substance is difficult to handle, and will not only rapidly crystallize when not pressurized but is also immensely volatile. -The gaseous form is practically useless. -Karonium as a whole is practically useless outside of areas where either strong anomalous magnetism is necessary, or safe and efficient power generation is necessary. Conditional Limitations: -Karonium has dangers associated with its extraction. These come in the shape of ionizing radiation from the stars they orbit, along with the dangerous wanderers which consume the crystals. How does it work?: Karonium is a complicated substance, not only because of it's immensely strange properties, but also because of its multitude of uses, and karonium's inner workings are widely unknown, however a few theories have cropped up, the biggest one being as follows. Karonium is immensely dense and fairly heavy. Due to its density the molecular structure near the core is partially forced into the liquid allotrope form. This is what makes them emit their glow. This density and constantly active center is also assumed to be the reason behind its strong, anomalous magnetic properties. Karonium, just like normal crystals is capable of growing, although its way of growing is a bit more like that of a plant instead of a normal crystal. As it sits around it absorbs things like x-ray radiation from its host star along with surrounding minerals, gases and dust. The crystal utilizes this in order to very slowly grow outwards. The nearby materials which are not properly incorporated will be stuck inside the crystal as small imperfections. The growth procedure can however be sped up through artificial means. The substance, although very docile and harmless, has the capabilities of being quite volatile. If either solid or liquid karonium is struck with a powerful enough beam of neutrons it'll set off a powerful nuclear reaction, the solid requiring a bigger hit and being easier to stop than the liquid but in turn of radiating slower and generating less energy. The gaseous allotrope is useless for energy production. Since liquid karonium doesn't usually appear naturally it has to be manufactured. This is done not by melting karonium, since such a process would destroy the molecular structures that make it up. Rather, it is done by applying immense amounts of pressure, forcing it into an allotrope that exists in a liquid state. Often a large cube of solid karonium is cut out and slid into a perfectly fitted compartment lined with tungsten alloys and sponge lead. A large press then starts pushing down on the cube and slowly applies more and more pressure. At 250 psi, the crystal begins to shatter and small droplets of liquid form in the cracks. At 300 psi the crystal starts to liquefy at the bottom and at 400 psi the entire thing has become a liquid. At this point it will start emitting small amounts of radiation. The liquid is then pumped into a highly pressurized canister, which will keep it liquid through the pressure. Liquid karonium canisters often feature a syringe-like system of transfer, as they cannot let go of any pressure and let the karonium crystallize. Flavor Text: Karonium is typically found around neutron stars (although there are a few exceptions). Here the karonium is known to grow on asteroids very close to their host star. However if the radiation isn't enough of a hazard to the extraction of karonium there is another obstacles. Karonium wanderers. These are massive, crystalline beasts which wander the asteroid fields and consume the crystals for sustenance. These beings are known to singlehandedly be capable of reducing entire facilities to mere scrap metal. In some cases these karonium asteroid belts are known to form small, karonium rich moons. These moons will then often start housing erchius, and in turn, erchius horrors. Often karonium wanderers will confuse erchius for karonium, and consume it, which will cause erchius ghosts to seek them out. Luckily karonium wanderers are equipped to deal with these foes. In certain cases they will even seek out and destroy the horror on the moon in order to steal all the moons fuel for themselves. Attainability: Open Tags: [Industrial] Category: [Materials]
