Treatise on Otherworldly Material

Authors: Drodd, Emmanuel D and Stelman, Dirius et. al

Document Type: Report

Currently unpublished

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS TO BE VIEWED ONLY BY AUTHORIZED MEMBERS OF THE ACS. INTELLECTUAL TRESPASSING MERITS LEVEL Ω DISCIPLINARY ACTION.

This is a codex of all extradimensional materials hitherto discovered by the Aquilan Chemical Society. Drodd et. al will analyze the appearance, composition, and behavior of a number of vexing compounds and discuss their applications in Aquilan civilization. Additionally, the ACS plans to explore methods of synthetically producing these materials. As a footnote, there will be explorations of potential introductions of these materials to the world economy and pricing recommendations.

Entry 1 - Codanium

Author: Drodd, Emmanuel D.

Date: undocumented

Codanium, formally named Aetherium by the ACS nomenclature wing, is one of the more mystifying substances found in our lifetimes. It is obsidian in color, with a deep purple hue in intense lighting or when used as a conductor. It has been found in the liquid and solid state in Emanation, and there are small projects underway to store it as a gas. This process is best relegated to our highest-level chemists and physicists, as I believe excessive heating of this substance may beget enormous catastrophes.

Author's Note: It is vital that this entry and its contents are not released to the public before we understand and monopolize codanium completely. I dread the ramifications of failing to accomplish this.

In this entry, I will first explore the physical properties and then the chemical properties of codanium. To further expound on what I daresay are the near-magical properties of this compound, I will be providing visual and mathematical representations of some of its properties in different conditions.

Let's begin with a listing of the compound's physical properties throughout its multiple discovered states, and discussing the findings.

• Color: Jet black, deep violet when excited [1]

• Odor: None

• Density: 0.04 g/cm³ [2]

• Luster: Virtually none; 1.4E-7 refractive index

• Hardness: Scratch resistant; crystals moderately hard to crack

• Freezing Point: Slightly lower than quintessence due to colligative properties; 36.3K

• Viscosity: Practically nonexistant: 1.37E-12 pascal seconds at 0 degrees Celsius. [3]

• Solubility: Miscible with all solvents; dissolves all tested solutes. [4]

• Conductivity: Unimaginably high; 853.8 kilosiemens per meter at 0 degrees Celsius. [5]

[1]: The intensity of its purple hue is directly proportional to its energy content. Therefore, an untrained eye could reasonably guess the level of activity of solid and liquid Codanium. Will likely be usable by less trained scientists in the future.

[2]: Not much denser than air at any temperature. I am particularly intrigued and alarmed by this, as it is an indication that it can easily be centrifuged from any solvent and smuggled. More in 3.

[3]: Practically nonexistant at most temperatures; test masses dropped into the substances displayed practically no mechanical energy loss as they reached the bottom of the containers. Simply put, the liquid did not impede the movement of the test mass at any temperature. For reference, note Figure 1:

Figure 1: Inverse proportionality of viscosity and temperature.

As measured by over a thousand test mass experiments, the viscosity of the liquid nears zero at temperatures as low as 40K, or approximately -233C. The liquid flows with an almost unimaginable grace. I am still apprehensive as to the criminal implications of it being so easily mixed and then separated from other substances. I will elaborate in the conclusion.

[4]: The liquid form integrates itself perfectly with all tested solvents despite the intermolecular forces of the latter; liquid codanium was found to be miscible with water, hexane, and chloroform, to name a few. However, any solutions of it retain the strongly black color of codanium. A bypass to this criminal "downside" is to immerse the codanium in concentrated triiodide solution (similar jet black color), but it is almost certain this will remain undiscovered for centuries.

[5]: The golden property here. The conducting power of codanium far surpasses any known metal. For reference, note Figure 2:

Figure 2: Direct exponential proportionality of codanium conductivity and Kelvin temperature.

The conductivity of codanium is about 308000 kilosiemens per meter at room temperature, and increases from that point with monstrous speed. For reference, the most artifically pure redstone circuits display a tenth of this conductivity at the same temperature. Because of this, I predict Codanium's primary application in the future will be powering mechanical constructs. I am petitioning the nomenclature wing of the ACS to have it labeled a superconductor. This bodes extremely well for us and we may use it to power our operations here on Aquila and our forays into other dimensions. However, I worry the Aquilan leaders will use it to wage war in the future. Due to the particular importance of this factor, I will provide important equations below. Note Figures 3, 4 and 5:

Figure 3: General experimentally determined formula for codanium conductivity

Figure 4: Rate of change of codanium conductivity with respect to time.

Figure 5: Simple integral for calculation of conductivity increase given temperature change. See Figure 4 for reference.

I will submit these experimential equations to the ACS applications wing before this is published.

Now, we will discuss the chemical nature of codanium. Before we do so, it is key that we understand the material that comprises 99.94% of codanium by mass: quintessence. We initially believed this ethereal substance to be the work of interdimensional occult practitioners. Over the centuries, we have come to the opposite conclusion that it is instead the undying biomass of deceased gods, forever flowing in the interdimensional cosmos. In it we have found vitamins and amino acids both similar and wildly different to those found in Aquilan humans. Henceforth, visualize codanium as you would salt water: a solution inhabited by tiny particles.

Because codanium itself is not a chemical unit, it has no chemical properties of its own.

What intrigues me the most is the ions present in codanium in minute molarities, or minimal concentrations. Our team has found nuclei of vastly differing weights and stability, and there are efforts underway to isolate these as elements.

So far, we have succeeded in separating and identifying two:

The first, α-Progenium, was separated from codanium as part of a precipitate using gravimetric analysis to form an α-Progenium salt, which was then redissolved and electrolyzed to recover the element in metal form. A number of basic tests have been conducted on this first offspring of codanium, revealing:

1. A rainbow-colored flame test.
2. Extremely high ionization energy (does not lend itself to ionic bonding)
3. Unimaginable sturdiness; easily the hardest metal uncovered to date by the ACS.
4. Surprisingly low density.

I predict the foremost use of this to be in the battle armors of the future. It is incredibly light yet far more impenetrable than modern diamond armor. Even so, producing it in large quantities seems logistically and financially unfeasible and we would gain most from reserving it for Society use.

The second, β-Progenium, was yielded by distilling codanium; we heated a retort flask to unimaginably high temperatures until all but jet black crystals remained. How it remained as a pure solid is currently unknown. Analysis of this second offspring revealed:

1. No existence of a liquid or gas phase; extreme heating and depressuring did not cause a phase change.
2. Near-perfect insulator; almost no heat is transmitted over tiny lengths.
3. No flame; does not react with oxygen at any temperature.

I predict the use of this one will be mostly obscure, relegated mostly to hot lab work. Comically, we may use it to sail in the nether someday. Simiarly to the alpha variation, mass production does not seem feasible at this time.

In consideration of existing and ongoing research on codanium, I will instruct the Board of Procurements to rapidly capture as much codanium as possible, and for the Board of Dissemination to keep its existence and properties our top-level secret for the foreseeable future. This technology is not to be usable by Aquilans so long as we do not understand it; I am particularly afraid that some of the dissolved elements can be extracted and weaponized by a well-developed state. For that reason, my recommendation for pricing is that we do not introduce it to the world economy at all.