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<blockquote data-quote="Galethorn" data-source="post: 3933439" data-attributes="member: 7888">(Note: I'm not a 'card-carrying' scientist yet; I'm just starting my junior year of a geology major.)Bronze statues are expected to remain more or less intact for around a million years (IIRC), but I don't think they would really be helpful for, you know, weapons, if the 'standard' stuff in the fantasy setting is iron/steel.CeramicsI can definitely see those lasting for centuries, if not thousands of years, but not necessarily intact. The fact of the matter is that even super-ceramics are relatively brittle. I can definitely see them being used for serrated edges of things, but not being any more effective than bronze, iron, steel, or stone, except maybe in terms of how long they stay sharp.TitaniumOne thing to note about titanium is that while, yes, you can melt it if you have a hot enough furnace, it'll catch on fire a lot sooner if it's being heated in an uncontrolled environment. It burns like magnesium, only hotter.PolymersAs for plastics, it seems they don't last as long as was originally thought. Biological enzymes, solar radiation, and other destructive forces inherent to nature seem to be fairly effective at turning polymers into their constituent parts.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Galethorn, post: 3933439, member: 7888"] (Note: I'm not a 'card-carrying' scientist yet; I'm just starting my junior year of a geology major.) Bronze statues are expected to remain more or less intact for around a million years (IIRC), but I don't think they would really be helpful for, you know, weapons, if the 'standard' stuff in the fantasy setting is iron/steel. [b]Ceramics[/b] I can definitely see those lasting for centuries, if not thousands of years, but not necessarily intact. The fact of the matter is that even super-ceramics are relatively brittle. I can definitely see them being used for serrated edges of things, but not being any more effective than bronze, iron, steel, or stone, except maybe in terms of how long they stay sharp. [b]Titanium[/b] One thing to note about titanium is that while, yes, you can melt it if you have a hot enough furnace, it'll catch on fire a lot sooner if it's being heated in an uncontrolled environment. It burns like magnesium, only hotter. [b]Polymers[/b] As for plastics, it seems they don't last as long as was originally thought. Biological enzymes, solar radiation, and other destructive forces inherent to nature seem to be fairly effective at turning polymers into their constituent parts. [/QUOTE]

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