Materials Science (probably w/ some physics and chemistry)
May 9, 2015 3:15:25 GMT
Post by Andrew on May 9, 2015 3:15:25 GMT
I have no idea how much of this is common between worlds and how much is not. Since there’s a lot to cover, I’ll talk in broad terms and let people ask questions. Since I already have questions about metal, I’ll describe that in more detail.
My world has several types of materials. They come in three phases: solids, liquids, and gases. Solids, like rocks, wood, and most metal, generally keep their shape and size unless you push them pretty hard, in which case they might bend or break. Liquids, like water, stay about the same size but change shape and flow to fill the bottom of whatever you put them in. Gases, like air, generally disperse to fill the available space (and the shape of that space), but the same amount of gas will be “thinner” or “lower pressure” if it needs to fill a larger space; they are also affected by gravity, so large planets can have an atmosphere without the gas spreading out to fill the whole universe.
Naturally-occuring materials include air, water, wood, rocks, dirt, and metal. Materials we’ve made ourselves include glass, plastic, ceramic, cardboard, paper, ink, graphite, and paint. There are many other types of both, but I can’t list them all here. Many or all of these come in different types.
Now, for the comparison: do you not have any of these? Do you have any of these, but not fitting the categories I put them in? Have something I didn’t mention that you think I don’t have or that should be discussed?
I started this thread because of questions about what metal is. Metals are (usually) solid, (usually) natural materials, although they often need to be refined before they can be used. They are usually hard, relatively dense, somewhat reflective (shiny), and opaque. Different types of metal often have different colors or other properties, although a lot of them are various shades of gray (usually called “silver” if it has the metal’s shininess, although that word is also the name of the metal). This shininess makes them useful decoratively, especially for metals with unusual colors, and allows some metals to be made into mirrors if they are flattened and polished correctly.
Because they are hard, but at high temperatures can be softened or melted (made liquid), metal can be used to make hard objects in a variety of shapes. Among other things, this is useful for building various sorts of tools; pretty much every tool can currently be made in metal, including axes, eating utensils, hammers, screwdrivers, nails, and screws. Other things, such as walls, boxes, and pipes, are also often made of metal (although walls and boxes are more commonly made of other materials). Metal is also useful for weapons and armor, because it is hard, heavy, and can be made to be sharp; I hope that if I give metalworking technology over this forum it won’t be used to hurt people, but I expect anybody with access to this forum could get better weapons than just metal ones anyway.
Some metals, such as iron, can also be made magnetic. I’m not sure how this is done, but I think it sometimes happens naturally. Magnets look like nonmagnetic versions of their metal, at least to human vision, but they behave differently from most other materials. They have two ends, traditionally called “north” and “south” (for reasons that apply to my planet in my world but might not apply elsewhere). I believe that it is impossible to make magnets that are only north or only south, though I don’t know why. If two magnets get close to each other, they will try to move around so that the ends of each of them with the same type are far from each other and the ends of each of different types are close together (where “try” does not indicate any sort of intelligence or sentience, merely that they will pull in such a way but it’s possible to hold in place or push against that force). Thus, if you have two magnets, it is difficult to put them next to each other with the north end of one touching the north end of the other or with the south end of one touching the south end of the other, but easy to put them together with one magnet’s north end touching the other magnet’s south end. Additionally, magnets (either end) are attracted to some non-magnetic metals.
Magnetism and electricity are related, and metals are also good conductors of electricity. Electricity is sort of like contained lightning, and can flow along metals kind of like liquids flow in pipes. This is used for powering all of the various devices which run on electricity, most of which were invented within about the last hundred years. If you want to know more about magnetism and electricity, I can try to find good references, but I don’t really know that much more than what’s already been said.
My world has several types of materials. They come in three phases: solids, liquids, and gases. Solids, like rocks, wood, and most metal, generally keep their shape and size unless you push them pretty hard, in which case they might bend or break. Liquids, like water, stay about the same size but change shape and flow to fill the bottom of whatever you put them in. Gases, like air, generally disperse to fill the available space (and the shape of that space), but the same amount of gas will be “thinner” or “lower pressure” if it needs to fill a larger space; they are also affected by gravity, so large planets can have an atmosphere without the gas spreading out to fill the whole universe.
Naturally-occuring materials include air, water, wood, rocks, dirt, and metal. Materials we’ve made ourselves include glass, plastic, ceramic, cardboard, paper, ink, graphite, and paint. There are many other types of both, but I can’t list them all here. Many or all of these come in different types.
Now, for the comparison: do you not have any of these? Do you have any of these, but not fitting the categories I put them in? Have something I didn’t mention that you think I don’t have or that should be discussed?
I started this thread because of questions about what metal is. Metals are (usually) solid, (usually) natural materials, although they often need to be refined before they can be used. They are usually hard, relatively dense, somewhat reflective (shiny), and opaque. Different types of metal often have different colors or other properties, although a lot of them are various shades of gray (usually called “silver” if it has the metal’s shininess, although that word is also the name of the metal). This shininess makes them useful decoratively, especially for metals with unusual colors, and allows some metals to be made into mirrors if they are flattened and polished correctly.
Because they are hard, but at high temperatures can be softened or melted (made liquid), metal can be used to make hard objects in a variety of shapes. Among other things, this is useful for building various sorts of tools; pretty much every tool can currently be made in metal, including axes, eating utensils, hammers, screwdrivers, nails, and screws. Other things, such as walls, boxes, and pipes, are also often made of metal (although walls and boxes are more commonly made of other materials). Metal is also useful for weapons and armor, because it is hard, heavy, and can be made to be sharp; I hope that if I give metalworking technology over this forum it won’t be used to hurt people, but I expect anybody with access to this forum could get better weapons than just metal ones anyway.
Some metals, such as iron, can also be made magnetic. I’m not sure how this is done, but I think it sometimes happens naturally. Magnets look like nonmagnetic versions of their metal, at least to human vision, but they behave differently from most other materials. They have two ends, traditionally called “north” and “south” (for reasons that apply to my planet in my world but might not apply elsewhere). I believe that it is impossible to make magnets that are only north or only south, though I don’t know why. If two magnets get close to each other, they will try to move around so that the ends of each of them with the same type are far from each other and the ends of each of different types are close together (where “try” does not indicate any sort of intelligence or sentience, merely that they will pull in such a way but it’s possible to hold in place or push against that force). Thus, if you have two magnets, it is difficult to put them next to each other with the north end of one touching the north end of the other or with the south end of one touching the south end of the other, but easy to put them together with one magnet’s north end touching the other magnet’s south end. Additionally, magnets (either end) are attracted to some non-magnetic metals.
Magnetism and electricity are related, and metals are also good conductors of electricity. Electricity is sort of like contained lightning, and can flow along metals kind of like liquids flow in pipes. This is used for powering all of the various devices which run on electricity, most of which were invented within about the last hundred years. If you want to know more about magnetism and electricity, I can try to find good references, but I don’t really know that much more than what’s already been said.