Photothermic Powder

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Revision as of 21:50, 15 April 2022 by Ghosthands (talk | contribs) (Swapped back to Substance category, added some clarification re history in different locales)



Photothermic Powder
Substance
Photothermic Powder.jpg
A small bowl of the powder
Also Known As Najin Dust, Stralix Powder
RPG BZPRPG III
Type Substance
Technology Level Native Tech
Properties
History
OOC Information
Creator Ghosthands


Photothermic Powder, more commonly known as Stralix Powder (on Mata Nui) or Najin Dust (on Zakaz), is a powerful explosive. Although it has been in common use on Zakaz and Seprilli for quite some time, it was unknown on Mata Nui until it was developed by the inventor Stralix, following which its manufacture and use have become widespread.

Composition

The powder is made by separately mixing powdered Heatstones and Lightstones with soot, and then mixing these together. It is black-grey in appearance, due to the crystals being covered in soot.

As the ingredients are inexpensive, Photothermic Powder is cheaper to produce than traditional Madu gunpowder, and also safer and more effective than Madu Cabolo products.

Effects

When a Heatstone and a Lightstone are held together, the Heatstone will give off greater heat, due to energy transfer from the Lighstone. If the crystals are powdered, however, then there is a much greater surface area for energy transfer, so more energy is transferred, much more quickly. This causes rapid expansion and ignition of the surrounding air: an explosion.  This is known as the photothermic effect.

In Photothermic Powder, the crystal grains are coated in soot, which prevents the energy transfer. However, if the grains are compressed (by an impact, for example), then the soot is ground off to reveal the surfaces of the grains, which then cause an explosion. The same will happen if the grains come into contact with a naked flame.