Episode 174: Burnstone Technical Verification (2)
Burnstone looks like pink Crystal. Its surface has many irregularities, and the light is diffusely reflected, giving it a slightly dull color.
Its most significant characteristic is that it generates heat when pressure is applied.
And its hardness, though not precisely measured, is about the same as quartz.
So, what happens when pressure exceeding its hardness is applied?
“Let’s start by trying it.”
I set the Burnstone on the hardness tester and apply force.
“Oh? It deforms, doesn’t it?”
As the pressure is gradually increased, the tip of the blade is seen to slightly bite into the Burnstone.
However, after that, the Burnstone shatters with a dull sound.
“Whoa!”
The shattered Burnstone emitted high heat and quickly diminished in size.
“That’s amazing heat, but it disappeared in an instant.”
The shattered Burnstone rapidly generated heat, losing its mass and disappearing.
Presumably, all the generated fragments were determined to be under high pressure, causing them to generate heat. Because they shattered, the individual mass decreased, and the mass loss likely accelerated.
“Hmm, it does undergo plastic deformation to some extent. Oops, the hardness tester broke. That’s a lot of heat.”
The heat emitted by the Burnstone completely destroyed the heat-sensitive parts of the hardness tester. Resin parts and wire coatings melted away, and the metal parts seemed to have become rickety due to thermal expansion.
“Let’s do it underwater! We’ll need underwater-compatible equipment.”
So, I immediately asked ＜Ringo＞ to manufacture an underwater Pressurizer.
Since it will take some time, I decided to continue the verification manually until it’s ready.
First, I’ll conduct an experiment to crush it with high pressure in water, just like before.
I clamp it in a Vice and apply force.
“Hmm. In water, the heat generation is minimal. Most of the shattered pieces remain. The small fragments disappeared! Crushing it is possible in water!”
In water, the heat generation phenomenon is suppressed.
If you want to create fine fragments, you should crush it in water.
Also, since I applied pressure underwater, I could clearly confirm plastic deformation.
The contact surface with the Vice is slightly deformed into a flat shape.
“Once the Pressurizer is ready, let’s do some precision measurements! If it’s not just about cutting but also has plasticity, we might be able to shape it to some extent!”
The amount of heat generated by Burnstone varies depending on the applied pressure.
However, with the naturally mined, rugged shape, uniform pressurization is difficult.
Heating starts from the contact surface, and the amount of heat generated varies depending on the location.
“Well, eventually the entire Burnstone will generate heat due to the heat generated…”
It seems that some loss occurs in the process, and Burnstones with poor shapes tend to be less efficient. This is just a prediction since I haven’t collected any statistics yet.
“If we can flatten the end faces, the heat generation efficiency should increase!”
For the time being, to measure the efficiency, I decided to mass-produce Burnstone chunks with flattened end faces.
Since the work needs to be done underwater, general machine tools cannot be used.
It will take time, but I have no choice but to use a robot arm to shave them one by one.
“Hmm… I’ve ended up with unexpected waiting time. Okay, let’s analyze the material property records during heat generation a bit!”
I analyze the data recorded after pressurizing and heating the Burnstone chunk until the heat subsides. It includes records of various material properties such as infrared rays, visible light, radar points, weight, and Electromagnetic Waves.
“Pressurizing by clamping the sides. Oh. Heat generation starts at the pressurized surface!
Heat generation transitions to the entire chunk in about 0.1 seconds. I see, does this heat propagation depend on mass?
I’ll check with another one later.
Haha, it seems that the heat propagation speed changes if the shape of the chunk is not uniform!
Let’s add it to the verification items!
After the start of heat generation, mass loss is… basically decreases uniformly. However, only the heating location decreases at the start of heat generation.
Mass loss is linked to heat generation. As expected, mass is directly converted into heat!
Mass turning into heat without matter-antimatter annihilation doesn’t make sense…”
By the way, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion also involve the phenomenon of mass being converted into heat. Roughly speaking, according to the law of conservation of energy, the sum of mass and thermal energy before the reaction is equal to the sum of mass and thermal energy after the reaction.
“But this Burnstone isn’t undergoing nuclear reactions or nuclear fusion. In the first place, the amount of heat generated is too small for the constituent molecules to have disappeared.
As expected, we can assume that Burnstone does not have a normal molecular structure!”
The elements of Burnstone cannot be identified, and consistent results cannot be obtained no matter how many times it is tried.
This means that it is not an atom composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons.
“I did observe it with an electron microscope, but it looks like a normal substance. For the time being, it looks like single atoms are lined up.”
As far as I can see, atoms are arranged regularly, and it is certain that atoms, or something close to them, gather to form it. But its true nature is unknown.
“In terms of physical properties, it doesn’t conduct electricity at least. I applied quite a bit of voltage, but there’s no sign of dielectric breakdown. Could it be used as a high-quality insulator?”
Leaving the details to ＜Ringo＞, Asahi thinks.
“From a Magic (Fantasy) perspective, it looks like something made up of Magical Power, like an atom. Since it’s not an atom, it doesn’t conduct electricity, and therefore there’s no dielectric breakdown. Hmm, just wishful thinking. Well, that’s fine.”
Since I have made several Burnstones with trimmed end faces, I will continue the experiment.
“Now, it’s the perfect size for this Vice. Let’s apply pressure!”
Then, Asahi recorded various pressurization and heat generation data.
The structure that is lost due to heat generation is from the surface. The internal structure is not lost, so it does not become porous.
Also, when high pressure is applied, the pressurized surface collapses and rapidly generates heat. In this case, only the pressurized surface becomes ultra-high temperature, and the inside maintains the same heat generation as during normal pressure application.
However, the heating due to the high temperature of the pressurized surface seems to promote heat generation, and as a result, the entire chunk rapidly disappears while generating heat.
While trying several such combinations, Asahi discovered an important phenomenon.
“Huh? Both ends are generating heat… huh?”
In a purely impromptu combination, I clamped and pressurized two Burnstone chunks with a Vice, but it seemed that heat generation started only at both ends in contact with the Vice.
“Hmm… Let’s try it underwater.”
I clamp two Burnstones together and apply pressure. There is nothing strange about the reaction itself.
However, even after stopping the pressurization and removing the Vice, the two Burnstones show no sign of separating.
“Wow, is this a great discovery? Let’s investigate a bit.”
When two chunks are pressurized from both sides, pressure is generated not only on both sides but also on the central contact surface. In other words, the expected result from previous observations is that heat generation would start on both sides and in the center.
However, that was not the case.
Heat generation occurred from both sides, and the central part did not generate heat.
“Hmm… They’re perfectly stuck together!”
The contact surfaces of the Burnstone chunks with their end faces in contact were beautifully fused. Such a phenomenon does not occur with ordinary substances. If all impurities are removed and the surfaces are matched at the atomic level, they may be bonded, but it is abnormal for them to fuse so much in such a casual environment that the joint cannot even be observed.
“My, my! Will they fuse if you simply press them together?”
As a result of continuing the verification while changing the conditions in various ways, the conditions for Crystal fusion were determined.
When pressure is applied to Burnstones in contact with each other, the contact surfaces fuse.
When more than 1/12 of the surface area has fused, it is treated as the same Crystal.
If pressurized outside of water, heat generation and mass loss occur, making fusion virtually impossible.
When pressurizing in water, the mass lost is almost zero if the size is above a certain level.
The contact surfaces must match, but if the surface irregularities are about 1/100th of a millimeter, they will completely fuse due to plastic deformation.
“I see. It seems difficult with sand, but if it’s a chunk of a few centimeters, it seems like it can be fused cleanly if combined well!”
In this way, Asahi’s investigation established a method for manufacturing giant Burnstones.