“We will investigate Burnstone (Tone Mug), a familiar and mysterious substance that can be researched in Telek Port City!”
About a week after arriving in Telek Port City, Asahi declared this.
Until now, she had been moving around as she pleased, but it seemed she thought she needed to produce some kind of result.
The Commander (Onee-sama) would probably tell her to spend her time as she liked without worry, but it seemed her conscience bothered her about just playing around.
“What we know so far is that it generates heat when pressure is applied, and that its mass decreases when it generates heat. In other words, it generates heat while consuming mass!”
＜Ringo＞ also seemed to have investigated Burnstone to some extent, but apparently left it alone without investigating the detailed conditions.
It seems more accurate to say that she is perplexed by the lack of scientific approach.
“The constituent elements are unknown! It’s a mysterious substance!”
Contact is possible, so it exists materially. However, no matter what approach is taken, no scientifically explainable element seems to correspond.
To be precise, the elements identified differ depending on the approach method.
In one test, it may be determined to be carbon, but in another test, it may come out as Iron.
Moreover, it seems that the determination result may change even in the same test.
“It’s truly a fantasy substance!”
First, additional tests were performed on the material properties.
It was confirmed that it generates heat when pressure is applied by actually挟むit in a Vice.
The amount of heat generated is constant for a while. After that, the amount of heat generated gradually decreases and it stops generating heat.
During heat generation, the mass decreases at a constant rate.
Adjusting the applied pressure changes the amount of heat generated. Basically, it seems to be proportional to the integral value of the pressure.
If the crystal is small, it will eventually disappear completely while generating heat.
The smaller the fragment, the faster the disappearance rate. However, since the amount of heat generated is proportional to the applied pressure, the smaller it is, the easier it is to disappear, which means that the heat generation efficiency is poor.
“Hmm… I don’t really understand, but pressure, heat generation, and disappearance rate all seem to depend on mass. The results don’t change every time, so this result seems reliable!”
Unlike the investigation of constituent elements, the results do not change with each verification. Just confirming this was a major step forward.
“The larger the crystal, the slower the rate of mass disappearance. The amount of heat generated does not change. In other words, the larger the crystal, the more efficient it is. I can’t explain it scientifically, but let’s just accept it as it is! Really, ＜Ringo＞ needs to accept things as they are!”
While subtly dissing ＜Ringo＞, Asahi continues the verification.
By this point, 8 hours had passed since the start of the verification.
She is still full of energy.
This time, she exposed the Burnstone to flames.
When she stuck a fragment into the flame of a gas burner, it was confirmed that it also generated heat and then disappeared.
“Hmm, does that mean that burning it generates heat in the same way as applying pressure?”
As a result of various verifications, it was found that heat generation starts by applying heat.
Basically, the amount of heat applied determines the amount of heat generated and the duration of heat generation. This is the same as pressure.
“If you give additional Burnstone to Burnstone that is generating heat, you can use it to generate heat one after another. Well, let’s understand that it’s similar to ordinary fuel in that respect.”
Giving heat was fine even if it was heated with microwaves or laser light, in addition to being炙るwith a flame. It seems to be okay to soak it in high-temperature oil.
“Hmm, will this generate heat even underwater?”
Underwater, she挟むit in a Vice and applies pressure.
“…Oh? It doesn’t generate heat.”
After trying it several times, it was confirmed that it was generating a slight amount of heat. The water temperature is slightly rising.
“Hmm. It’s hard to generate heat underwater. It doesn’t seem like the heat is simply being taken away by the water.”
By repeating the measurements, it was possible to confirm a value of approximately less than 1/100 of the amount of heat generated in the air. To be precise, the value of 1/121.13 was confirmed.
“Is it some kind of constant? I checked the library, but there is no corresponding value. Is it a value unique to Burnstone, or something related to magic? Let’s just record it for now.”
The current equipment can only measure up to two decimal places, so this will be confirmed on another occasion.
“It generated heat without any problems in oil, so is water important?”
When it was half-submerged in water, the amount of heat generated was approximately halved.
As a result of measurement, it was found that the amount of heat generated in the part submerged in water was 1/121.
“It’s not enough to just wet it with water. Unless there is a certain amount of mass, it seems that it is not determined to be submerged in water.”
As a result of continuing the measurements, it was confirmed that this applies when the mass is heavier than the Burnstone mass that is determined to be submerged in water. To be precise, the surface of the water in contact seems to be the standard.
The determination of the water surface depends on the state of the water in contact. For example, if three drops of water are attached, the surface farthest from the center of gravity of the water drops is determined as the water surface.
I’m also interested in what would happen in a zero-gravity state, but well, I can measure that on another occasion.
The same was true for ice, and the same results were confirmed even after freezing it in a half-submerged state.
The phenomenon was not confirmed by simply pressing the ice, but when the contact surface of the ice melted due to heat generation, suppression by water occurred. There seems to be no distinction between ice and water, and the contact area seems to be important. If there is air in between, it is not determined to be submerged in water.
“Metal and oil are also no good. It seems that the state of being in contact with water is important.”
After that, she tried it with various liquids other than water, such as silicone oil and alcohol, and various aqueous solutions such as seawater.
As a result, it was found that the component of moisture is important anyway.
“Hmm, even if there are impurities, it seems that if water is the main component, it is determined to be water.”
It seems that if the content rate of impurities other than water exceeds approximately 25%, it will no longer be determined to be water.
“It may be surprising that it’s not 50%.”
It is unknown whether 25% is exactly 25% due to the accuracy of the equipment, but this will also be investigated in detail on another occasion.
“Water determination is not made with alcohol with a strength of about 30%. I wonder, in terms of fantasy, is it determined to be alcohol rather than water?”
Heat generation suppression was not dependent on the water content. Anyway, it seems that a certain heat generation suppression effect occurs when it comes into contact with an aqueous solution that is 75% or more water.
It’s a mysterious phenomenon, but we have no choice but to accept it as it is.
Now, the next verification is whether Burnstone can be cut.
“I was able to make scratches with a Hard Cutting Bit.”
When rubbed with a cutting tool (bit) for machine tools, scratches appear on the surface.
At the same time, a slight amount of heat was generated.
“It can be cut, but it also generates heat. Hmm, is this the same determination as applying pressure?”
While measuring the area of the cutting edge, she repeats the experiment.
It seems to be less than the pressure applied, but it was certain that heat was being generated by the pressure.
“Well, it’s good news that it can be cut. Is the hardness about the same as quartz? When cutting, it generates heat and the mass decreases, so you need to take that into account when processing it. If you process it underwater, you can process it relatively freely!”
At this point, 30 hours had passed since the start of the verification.
＜Ringo＞ directly complained that she was overdoing it, so Asahi decided to take a short sleep for the sake of the Brain Unit’s rest.