A question for super science geeks!

[HeavenShallBurn]

Technically speaking, under the proper conditions, anything burns very well.

Yes but the key is that when doing so Titanium burns SPECTACULARLY well.

 

[pbd]

My thoughts would be that any cataclysm that left human survivors would also probably leave enough of our "technical resources" such as scientists, engineers, text books, etc. that many basic technologies would not be irrevocably lost.

So smelting, creating polymers and ceramics, heck even electricity would not be out of the question. These things would just be hard to find and require the correct mix of materials and knowledge.

Many advanced materials/technologies, such as nanoscale materials or nuclear power, or other materials/techniques that require a large collaborative effort to produce would likely be unable to be produced (although the basic knowledge might still exist), but the knowledge would still be there.

Essentially, a lot of our current materials and abilities to work those materials would survive, however, availability would be proportional to complexity, with the more complex materials only available in large well organized communities that have a significant knowledge base (such as around a large univerisity).

 

[ephemeron]

I'm a historian-in-training, not a scientist, but I have one suggestion: after a culture collapses, a lot of the stuff it left behind will be reused for very basic needs. A lot of Greek and Roman monuments were taken apart and used to build houses and fortifications; bronze statues were melted down and cast into tools. For centuries, when Egyptian peasants found ancient papyri in the desert, they used them as fertilizer.

When PC's in this campaign find ancient high-tech materials, they may have to recognize that the local ruler's insignia of office or one small part of the city wall or something else that seems unimportant is made of something that can be much more useful than it currently is. (And maybe the occasional supposed ancient relic is merely an imitation of real ancient work?)

 

[Pell-Mell]

For those metals or alloys that are extremely resistant but hard to work with, perhaps the only current way to mold them into useful things is through magic. The spell fabricate could be helpful here, although finding the wizard that knows both the spell and is skilled in metalworking might be an adventure on its own.

 

[Nadaka]

Titanium is also a horrible, horrible metal for making any kind of armor or weapon.

It is nearly as strong as steel, but significantly lighter and much more ductile. A titanium weapon will hold an edge only slightly longer than a copper blade and it doesn't have the mass to make a good bludgeoning weapon.

Aluminum is even worse. Its almost as soft as lead, and even less dense than titanium.

Also note that titanium actually doesn't burn that hot, at 600 to 800 c, it won't even melt copper.

Whats real fun is where aluminum and steel have had a few centuries to rust next to each other in large quantity. It would be crude and impure, but it would still be thermite.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Thanks, everyone- good suggestions and info all around! I knew someone around here would be able to help me. You've manage to make me ask myself questions I hadn't even considered before...not the least of which is pondering the question of just what would happen if someone started slinging fireballs & flamestrikes around a "deposit" of thermite...

ephemeron, I was thinking of that myself- though I hadn't decided exactly what would be findable.

pbd, there wouldn't be much prep time against the Illithid's attack. As things are today in the RW, we only observe a small percentage of the sky. The Illithids intentional redirection of asteroids would likely go unnoticed, and they'd be able to choose targets around the world. And just like a nuke, you only have to get close with a meteorite to take down your target...

However, as you correctly point out, unless the surface was completely blanketed, SOME old-tech would survive. My thought on that was that the various tiny communities would retain some kind of old knowledge or tech, and that would be part of the basis for rebuilding trade routes. Almost everyone in the "Brave New World" will be familiar with hunting or some kind of agriculture, but only the Inheritors of West Bouldershire would have a working plastics factory and plastics mine (actually, a pre-ELE dump site) in a 5000 mile radius. OTOH, 300 miles from them is one of the few places that can still do pre-ELE level artificial silicate, corundum and diamond crystals- all integral to the creation of new Inheritors...

And so forth.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Aluminum is not likely to last very long in a post apocolyptic world. It does very well against enzymes and water, and can survive okay against salt and brine, but it is lousy when it comes to caustics. When the first acid rain starts to fall, aluminum is going to dissolve like a sand castle. Aluminum that is hard anodized will last a lot longer, but the anodization process also means that it will be horrible to work with; it will be much less maleable, and not suitible for metalworking.

Just piping up to verify this information regarding aluminum and hard anodized aluminum. I live in Hawaii, along the coast. Aluminum anything rusts lickety split in the salt air. Like in about two to three months. Hard anodized aluminum items show no rust damage after living out here in the salt air for 12 months or so.

 

[pbd]

Thanks, everyone- good suggestions and info all around! I knew someone around here would be able to help me. You've manage to make me ask myself questions I hadn't even considered before...not the least of which is pondering the question of just what would happen if someone started slinging fireballs & flamestrikes around a "deposit" of thermite...

ephemeron, I was thinking of that myself- though I hadn't decided exactly what would be findable.

pbd, there wouldn't be much prep time against the Illithid's attack. As things are today in the RW, we only observe a small percentage of the sky. The Illithids intentional redirection of asteroids would likely go unnoticed, and they'd be able to choose targets around the world. And just like a nuke, you only have to get close with a meteorite to take down your target...

However, as you correctly point out, unless the surface was completely blanketed, SOME old-tech would survive. My thought on that was that the various tiny communities would retain some kind of old knowledge or tech, and that would be part of the basis for rebuilding trade routes. Almost everyone in the "Brave New World" will be familiar with hunting or some kind of agriculture, but only the Inheritors of West Bouldershire would have a working plastics factory and plastics mine (actually, a pre-ELE dump site) in a 5000 mile radius. OTOH, 300 miles from them is one of the few places that can still do pre-ELE level artificial silicate, corundum and diamond crystals- all integral to the creation of new Inheritors...

And so forth.

Ah, but remember each University (even small ones) will have a library chock full o' books and journals that will contain much of the knowledge we possess and professors and students that will know, at least to some degree, how to apply that knowledge.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Ah, but remember each University (even small ones) will have a library chock full o' books and journals that will contain much of the knowledge we possess and professors and students that will know, at least to some degree, how to apply that knowledge.

Yes, but what doesn't burn is usually the useless stuff, like the manuals for the copiers in the basement. "What's toner?"

Brad

 

[Umbran]

, but only the Inheritors of West Bouldershire would have a working plastics factory and plastics mine (actually, a pre-ELE dump site) in a 5000 mile radius.

Nitpicking on what may just be a typo - note that North America is about 3000 miles across. You are positing a circle 10,000 miles across - almost halfway around the Earth. Basically, you're saying that there isn't another such site in the entire hemisphere.

And, in North America, at least, dump sites you could mine for plastics and metals are common - every municipality has one.