Titanium: Mithral's real-life counterpart?

[Baloras]

I mean titanium is lighter and stronger than steel. *shrug*

[mrieder79]

And my titanium full-plate cost an absolute fortune!

[Charraj]

Until a bard composes a Forgotten Realms musical counterpart titled Mithral, I cannot accept your theory.

[Deathgrowl]

I'm no metalurgist and I don't really know what properties the D&D mithral have, but the original mithril that Tolkien introduced is likely even harder and lighter than titanium.

Further, there has been some discussions on how well titanium would do as swords and such, and most seem to think that it's not flexible enough. You can't temper it in the same ways. It's very hard, but it would be hard and brittle, not springy. I think mithril is supposed to be basically as versatile as steel, just better.

And actually, is titanium actually harder/stronger than some of the high-carbon steel?

[NeOmega]

I'm no metalurgist and I don't really know what properties the D&D mithral have, but the original mithril that Tolkien introduced is likely even harder and lighter than titanium.

Further, there has been some discussions on how well titanium would do as swords and such, and most seem to think that it's not flexible enough. You can't temper it in the same ways. It's very hard, but it would be hard and brittle, not springy. I think mithril is supposed to be basically as versatile as steel, just better.

And actually, is titanium actually harder/stronger than some of the high-carbon steel?

I work with titanium fairly often. It is not harder than steel, and it deforms easier. Titanium just has a stronger strength to weight ratio.

[MopKnight]

Carbon nanotubes are science's mithril. In fact, in many ways they are lighter and even stronger by orders of magnitude. Carbon nanotubes are thin carbon chains with a structure entirely bound by covalent bonds, rather than, for example, the Van Der Waals forces which serve to hold together the graphite in your pencil. The result is a material that can suspend thousands of tons with little more than a bunch of threads a few centimetres wide. To put it into perspective, a carbon nanotube is three orders of magnitude more resistant to tensile strength than the steel they threw into middle age armour and this is only the theoretical approach using basic tubes. It is likely that theoretical approaches will yield nanotubes with a much, much higher tensile strength.

Anything supported by carbon nanotube or graphene technologies would be magical to anyone from before 1900. There is a reason why graphene is considered a miracle material - it isn't far off, though difficult to reproduce.

Science does have other miracle materials too. Depleted uranium armour is staggeringly dense and resistant to shearing effects, as well as overpenetration. Kevlar has several times the tensile strength of steel though not as resistant to shearing.

There are also denser, strongly coupled materials in science such as neutronium and QCD matter, but which are effectively impossible to produce without scientific impossibilities at present such as mining neutron stars. However, a Kardashev Type 2 or 3 civilization would already be at the point where large scale carbon manufacturing would make the process effectively moot.

[Hoihe]

Carbon nanotubes are science's mithril. In fact, in many ways they are lighter and even stronger by orders of magnitude. Carbon nanotubes are thin carbon chains with a structure entirely bound by covalent bonds, rather than, for example, the Van Der Waals forces which serve to hold together the graphite in your pencil. The result is a material that can suspend thousands of tons with little more than a bunch of threads a few centimetres wide. To put it into perspective, a carbon nanotube is three orders of magnitude more resistant to tensile strength than the steel they threw into middle age armour and this is only the theoretical approach using basic tubes. It is likely that theoretical approaches will yield nanotubes with a much, much higher tensile strength.

Anything supported by carbon nanotube or graphene technologies would be magical to anyone from before 1900. There is a reason why graphene is considered a miracle material - it isn't far off, though difficult to reproduce.

Science does have other miracle materials too. Depleted uranium armour is staggeringly dense and resistant to shearing effects, as well as overpenetration. Kevlar has several times the tensile strength of steel though not as resistant to shearing.

There are also denser, strongly coupled materials in science such as neutronium and QCD matter, but which are effectively impossible to produce without scientific impossibilities at present such as mining neutron stars. However, a Kardashev Type 2 or 3 civilization would already be at the point where large scale carbon manufacturing would make the process effectively moot.

Wouldn't Non-newtonian liquid also fall into this category?

Non-newtonian fluid, barring logistics and design, can be a pretty sweet anti-gun armour. As long as you figure out containment, it's relatively light and hardens upon sudden preassure while returns to liquid without.

Sort of like how I imagine Shadow Shield, Shield and Improved Mage armour. (And explain how someone can go in and touch someone to heal, while slashing at them or stabbing at them is made difficult by the invisibile force field. Accelration/force behind the action)

[DM Echo]

https://youtu.be/AX67h1nxPZA?t=7m37s

I think that should answer some question...

[MopKnight]

https://youtu.be/AX67h1nxPZA?t=7m37s

I think that should answer some question...

He's only really describing standard alloys and doesn't take into account much more advanced materials or composites.

Materials science at the ultra high theoretical end has already produced and will continue to produce materials thousands of times more capable than carbon steel.

[NeOmega]

So, where I work, I read that some of our titanium products are made of a titanium alloy that is 5 times stronger than steel.

However, comparing alloys can be a tricky task.

Also, there are lots of different ways of measuring a metal's strength.

[Monnock777]

making armor or weqpons out of titanium is not a good idea, they are sub par to that of steel.