diff --git a/Technology and Science/Materials of the Bluespace Age.md b/Technology and Science/Materials of the Bluespace Age.md index 9fd6d4b..4f722cc 100644 --- a/Technology and Science/Materials of the Bluespace Age.md +++ b/Technology and Science/Materials of the Bluespace Age.md @@ -27,6 +27,14 @@ Supermatter is a novel state of matter, initially found in trace quantities in t Despite the lack of understanding about what Supermatter is, a method of producing viable quantities has been established. Supermatter conglomerate crystals are made via the skimming of these neutron stars to obtain enough material to produce a "seed" crystal. This "seed" is then expanded via the introduction of massive amounts of material in a controlled environment, with particular care given to prevent catastrophic disruption of the lamina, and to avoid making the crystal so dense that it collapses into a singularity. Typically a hypernoble gas environment is used, which keeps the crystal at a safe energy level. Various materials can be used to alter the crystal's properties, though again care must be taken to not spike energy production too high (uranium and plutonium are common materials used to increase energy production) lest the crystal become unsustainably energetic and delaminate. -The crystal maintains stability via the creation of a thin layer of gas which is held by the crystal's gravitational pull. This layer, known as a "lamina", keeps the crystal stable, and also allows for the interaction of gases with the crystal superstructure. The decomposition of these gases via contact results in the release of radiation, which has allowed for some experimental power production methods to be set up utilising a large supermatter crystal- working on these prototypes, however, has proven to be a job for the brave or foolhardy. Different gases have different interactions with the crystal. +The crystal maintains stability via the creation of a thin layer of gas which is held by the crystal's gravitational pull. This layer, known as a "lamina", keeps the crystal stable, and also allows for the interaction of gases with the crystal superstructure. The decomposition of these gases via contact results in the release of radiation and arcs of electricity, which has allowed for some experimental power production methods to be set up utilising a large supermatter crystal- working on these prototypes, however, has proven to be a job for the brave or foolhardy. Different gases have different interactions with the crystal. -In the event that the lamina is allowed to completely dissipate, a delamination event will occur. In this event, the crystalline structure of the supermatter will collapse, resulting in a massive release of energy as the supermatter decays to regular matter. In the event that the crystal is sufficiently dense (due to the surrounding atmosphere being too dense, resulting in a catastrophic gain in density for the crystal that overcomes the stabilising effect of the lamina) it may collapse into a singularity. Needless to say, this is not good. High energy delaminations may result in a remarkable release of energy, including the potential for a release of a tesla-ball. +In the event that the lamina is allowed to completely dissipate, a delamination event will occur. In this event, the crystalline structure of the supermatter will collapse, resulting in a massive release of energy as the supermatter decays to regular matter. In the event that the crystal is sufficiently dense (due to the surrounding atmosphere being too dense, resulting in a catastrophic gain in density for the crystal that overcomes the stabilising effect of the lamina) it may collapse into a singularity. Needless to say, this is not good. High energy delaminations may result in a remarkable release of energy, including the potential for a release of a tesla-ball. Since even a regular delamination can explode with very high intensity, stations outfitted with experimental Supermatter engines contain a causality destabilization field, which can effectively "interrupt" a delaminating crystal for a short period of time. This serves to both dampen the amount of energy released in the following explosion, as well as to allow facility personnel to evacuate far from the crystal before the delamination occurs. + +While all common delaminations are known by scientists who study Supermatter, a rumor around a obscure, highly dangerous delamination has been spreading among those researchers working with, outside of (and against) Nanotrasen. The rumor itself can be traced back to the conspiracy of the Kruszewo site incident. The Kruszewo research site was a highly classified space station run by Nanotrasen that, among many other secret research tasks, attempted to find a more cost-efficient method of growing Supermatter crystals. Since Supermatter crystals normally require a lot of gas and grow very slowly, the Kruszewo research group was tasked with finding a way to "stimulate" crystals to grow more matter quickly and efficiently. They tried inducing heavily energetic resonating waves in a Supermatter seed in the presence of hypernoble gas to stimulate the energy within the crystal to transform the gas around the crystal into Supermatter more efficiently. + +However, one day, the site suddenly ceased all communications and the monitoring stations around the Kruszewo site were hit with a strong electromagnetic pulse. A recording station outside the region of the Kruszewo site had a camera aimed at the site's location, and minutes later, through the distorted footage you could see the Kruszewo site exploding in a massive blast, leaving a brilliantly colored dust cloud behind that almost looked like a small supernova, killing everyone on board. While Nanotrasen officials tried to chalk up the incident to an unauthorized activation of the station's self-destruct device by a rogue site manager, leaks of the footage led the public to reject the story, and people started to craft theories of what had actually happened at the Kruszewo site that day. + +One theory was particularly compelling among those remaining Supermatter researchers at Nanotrasen who didn't quit out of fear for their own life. It describes how a Supermatter resonance experiment at the Kruszewo site had accidentally triggered a delamination so incredibly energetic that a Supermatter crystal, along with the decay of the lamina, had transitioned into a hyper-energetic state where it could exist without immediately converting back into normal matter. Additionally, it still harbored the resonance during the experiment, and without the lamina shielding Supermatter from normal matter, the crystal began to immediately transform everything touching it into more Supermatter. This led to runaway crystal growth, and within minutes the site itself was consumed by a gigantic mass of Supermatter. Eventually the mass became so dense that the crystalline structure could not support its own gravitational force anymore, which led to the collapse of the crystal. Upon collapsing in on itself, the entire crystal mass immediately converted into normal matter and caused an explosion that was hundreds of times more powerful than the largest explosion created by mankind at that point, more akin to an actual supernova. This theory became colloquially known as the "Resonance Cascade", and it went on to inspire existential dread into all Nanotrasen workers who heard of it. + +Shortly after this incident, all stations that worked with research and power crystals were forced to adopt a "resonance filter device", which automatically counter-resonated against any resonance waves present in the crystals. The resonance filter by itself was a very robust preventative measure against anyone accidentally (or intentionally) invoking a resonance cascade, however it was theorized that a high enough concentration of hypernoblium along with its newly discovered counterpart, antinoblium, may cause fluctuations in a crystal that are strong enough to overpower the filter. There's also a rumor that a Department of Opposition agent infiltrated the Kruszewo exclusion zone and discovered remnant crystals of the mass that destroyed the Kruszewo site. These remnant are said to harbor the same resonant energy, and attaching them to normal Supermatter induces enough resonance to start the whole process all over again.