Book of Metallurgy

Sheesh, Orchan Alchemist of Morcraven Marsh
Note: All information with a (*) denotes real information about real plants. Any information that does not contain a (*) is fantasy based. All good alchemists are picky on the quality of the items they use, as a faulty raw ingredient leads to a failed product. Since the products we make often makes a difference between life and death, it is very important to know and understand the ores you use to make the finished product. Here are my notes on the various ores that will aid you here in Eternal Lands. Cinnabar* Cinnabar is Mercury sulfide. The chemistry is HgS. It is bright red, purplish red to brownish red. The streak is scarlet to brownish red. Cinnabar is formed at low temperature, usually near hot springs or where there has been volcanic activity. It also forms in epithermal veins, associated with opal, chalcedony and dolomite. Cinnabar is extremely POISONOUS! Do not use it for healing or magical purposes. Cinnabar is the principal ore of mercury. Native mercury, a liquid, is rare and usually occurs with cinnabar as heavy, tin-white metallic drops. Coal* Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). It is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. It is composed primarily of carbon along with assorted other elements, including sulfur. Coal is formed from plant remains that have been compacted, hardened, chemically altered, and metamorphosed by heat and pressure over geologic time. Coal was formed in swamp ecosystems which persisted in lowland sedimentary basins similarto the peat swamps. These swamp environments were formed during slow subsidence of passive continental margins, and most seem to have formed adjacent to estuarine and marine sediments suggesting that they may have been in tidal delta environments. Copper* Copper is a reddish-coloured metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (among pure metals at room temperature, only silver has a higher electrical conductivity). Copper has its characteristic color because it reflects red and orange light and absorbs other frequencies in the visible spectrum, due to its band structure. Influences flow of blood. Supplies strong energy to body/mind. Aids metabolism. Helps detoxify body. An aid for exhaustion and sexual imbalance. Aligns physical/emotional bodies. Raises self-esteem. Strong conductor of energy. Dvarium Dvarium is a godly ore that is chemically formed by the blood, sweat, tears, and body parts of dwarves that have lost their lives in cavern collapses. When the dwarf chants during their mining activities, they summon the dwarven god to watch over them as they work. When they become injured, tired, or die from such activities, the dwarven god transforms their remains to Dvarium. This ore is stout in nature, and although small in size, it is quite possibly one of the strongest ores known. Gold Ore* Gold Ore is found underground and one can pour cyinide on the ground surface to draw the gold to the surface. Purifies and energizes the physical body, improves circulation, strengthens nervous system. Balances and develops heart chakra. Balances hemispheres of brain. Aids tissue regeneration. Attracts positive energy into aura. Amplifies thought forms. Aids personal illumination. Hydrogenium Hydrogenium may exist. Little is known about this ore, aside that it may be created by mercury becoming enchanted by the gods to alter its chemical composition in such a way that it cannot be created by any other means known to man. Others speculate that it is Metastable metallic hydrogen (MSMH) is a hypothetical degenerate state of matter, where after being exposed to a very high temperature and pressure, the hydrogen becomes metallic, and it retains it's metallic form even after the pressure and temperature returns to normal. Hydogenium may be found in caves near water, but throughout my journeys, I have yet to find such an ore. The rumors of such an ore may be just that, a red herring of all ores. Irilium Irilium is a greeinsh purple ore which can only be found in Irilion, due to its magnetic properties only found in that continent. Even though I have seen this ore on occasion, little is known about it and currently the scientists are working around the clock trying to isolate a special use for such an ore. Iron ore* Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. They vane in colour from dark grey to rusty red. The iron itself is usually found in the form of magnetite (Fe3O4) or hematite (Fe2O3), both of which are iron oxides. Hematite is also known as "natural ore". The name refers to the early years of mining, when certain hematite ores contained 66% iron and could be fed directly into steel-making blast furnances. Iron ore is the raw material used to make pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials to make steel. Iron ore cargoes may affect magnetic compasses. Although iron does not occur in its pure form in nature, some kinds of iron ore contain up to 70% iron atoms. Iron ore consists of oxygen and iron atoms bonded together into molecules. To create pure iron, one must deoxygenate the ore, leaving only iron atoms behind which is the essence of the refining process. Coaxing the oxygen atoms away from the iron ore requires heat and an alternate atomic partner for the oxygen to bond to. Carbon fills this role nicely and the carbon atoms bond with the oxygen in the ore to create carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which escape out a chimney. Because iron ore typically contains silicates, which do not bond to the carbon, these remain in the iron after it is refined, creating wrought iron, a malleable and strong form of iron used by blacksmiths throughout history. Seridium Seridum is an ore that is yellowish blue in colour. There is a slight fruity essence when doing a sniff test. This ore can only be found in Seridia and I once took some ore with me Irilion and it vanished from my inventory. In fact, all my Seridium does not show in storage there as well. I must try to take some to the scientists in Seridia and have them investigate this ore further. Silver Ore* Silver enhances mental functions, aids circulation, strengthens blood, physically and etherically, strengthens pineal and pituitary glands. It also relieves stress, relates to the moon, subconscious, female aspect. Emotional balance, speech improvement, and an excellent energy conductor are also properties of silver ore. Sulfur* Sulfur is an abundant, tasteless, odorless, multivalent non-metal. Sulfur, in its native form, is a yellow crystaline solid. In nature, it can be found as the pure element or as sulfide and sulfate minerals. It is an essential element for life and is found in two amino acids. Its commercial uses are primarily in fertilizers but it is also widely used in gunpowder, matches, insecticides and fungicides. At room temperature, sulfur is a soft bright yellow solid. Although sulfur is infamous for its smell - frequently compared to rotten eggs - the odor is actually characteristic of hydrogen sulfide (H2S); elemental sulfur is odorless. The burning of coal and petroleum by industry and power plants liberates huge amounts of sulfur dioxide SO2, which reacts with atmospheric water and oxygen to produce sulfuric acid. This causes acid rain which lowers the pH of soil and freshwater bodies, resulting in substantial damage to the natural environment and chemical weathering of statues and architecture. Fuel standards increasingly require sulfur to be extracted from fossil fuels to prevent the formation of acid rain. Tin* Tin is a silvery-white metal, is malleable, somewhat ductile, and has a highly crystalline structure. Due to the breaking of these crystals, a "tin cry" is heard when a bar is bent.White tin has a tetragonal structure. When tin is cooled below 13.2°C, it changes slowly from white to grey. This change is affected by impurities such as aluminium and zinc, and can be prevented by small additions of antimony or bismuth. Titanium ore* Titanium is a light, strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant (including resistance to sea water and chlorine) transition metal with a white-silvery-metallic colour. Titanium is used in strong light-weight alloys. One of titanium's most notable characteristics is that it is as strong as steel but is only 60% its weight. Titanium is well known for its excellent corrosion resistance being able to withstand attack by acids, moist chlorine gas, and by common salt solutions. Pure titanium is not soluble in water but is soluble in concentrated acids. This metal forms a passive but protective oxide coating (leading to corrosion-resistance) when exposed to elevated temperatures in air but at room temperatures it resists tarnishing. Experiments have shown that natural titanium becomes very radioactive after it is bombarded with deuterons, emitting mainly positrons and hard gamma rays. Wolfram* Wolfram is a very hard, heavy, steel-gray to white transition metal. Its corrosion resistance is excellent and it can only be attacked slightly by most mineral acids. Wolfram metal forms a protective oxide when exposed to air but can be oxidized at high temperature. When alloyed in small quantities with steel, it greatly increases its hardness. Wolfram Carbide has recently been used in the fashioning of jewelry due to its hypoallergenic nature and the fact that due to its extreme hardness it is not apt to lose its luster like other polished metals.