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--- tirades:2019-07-03 [2020/02/28 21:02] – shyriath
+++ tirades:2019-07-03 [2023/09/18 15:05] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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-[[chosen:magic:substance-magic|Substance]] magic is the second most common type among the [[chosen:|Chosen]], with a little under one-fifth of the population being either solely or primarily of this type.
+[[chosen:magic:substance|Substance]] magic is the second most common type among the [[chosen:|Chosen]], with a little under one-fifth of the population being either solely or primarily of this type.
-While both [[chosen:magic:element-magic|Element]] and Substance magic deal with the control of matter, the fundamental difference between them is that while elementalists control its movements in the aggregate, alchemists instead control its building blocks: to be more precise, their powers extend to the manipulation of first-generation [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermion|fermions]]: up and down quarks, electrons, and electron neutrinos. (They could probably also, in theory, manipulate the equivalent [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiparticle|antiparticles]], but since in a matter-rich environment those wouldn't last very long, the point's probably moot for the foreseeable future.)
+While both [[chosen:magic:element|Element]] and Substance magic deal with the control of matter, the fundamental difference between them is that while elementalists control its movements in the aggregate, alchemists instead control its building blocks: to be more precise, their powers extend to the manipulation of first-generation [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermion|fermions]]: up and down quarks, electrons, and electron neutrinos. (They could probably also, in theory, manipulate the equivalent [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiparticle|antiparticles]], but since in a matter-rich environment those wouldn't last very long, the point's probably moot for the foreseeable future.)
 Since [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_neutrino|electron neutrinos]] interact little with ordinary matter, and since they may indeed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino_oscillation|change into other types of neutrinos]], alchemists can "feel" them but not do anything useful with them. Some have likened it to the factor of air in working with one's hands; while the hand moves through the air, holding something or wielding a tool, this does not appreciably affect the motion of either hand or air. (Air elementalists, it must be said, often find this analogy hugely amusing.)
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 As for up and down quarks, alchemists cannot control them individually - the effort required to separate them is too great - but can control the particles they make up: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton|protons]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron|neutrons]]. Together with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron|electrons]], these make up [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom|atoms]], and alchemists therefore have wide leeway in their ability to manipulate atoms: to combine them, separate them from each other, and to alter them. It should be understood that alchemists are not consciously aware of the different particles, especially not on the individual level; they alter substances by what they describe as "feel" or "taste".
-The least strenuous tasks for an alchemist involve the movement of electrons, which are shared and moved relatively easily between atoms. In practical terms, this covers the realm of classical [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry|chemistry]]: the forming and breaking of chemical bonds, the building and restructuring of molecules, and the magical catalysis of reactions. (It also, in an overlap with energists' [[chosen:magic:spark-magic|Spark magic]], allows the formation of electrical charges and currents, though alchemists cannot do this on nearly the same scale.)
+The least strenuous tasks for an alchemist involve the movement of electrons, which are shared and moved relatively easily between atoms. In practical terms, this covers the realm of classical [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry|chemistry]]: the forming and breaking of chemical bonds, the building and restructuring of molecules, and the magical catalysis of reactions. (It also, in an overlap with energists' [[chosen:magic:spark|Spark magic]], allows the formation of electrical charges and currents, though alchemists cannot do this on nearly the same scale.)
 While a certain amount of the alchemist's mana must always be used to cause a chemical reaction, how much depends on the type of reaction, since the mana effectively substitutes for the reaction's energy requirements. Naturally [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endothermic_process|endothermic reactions]], which normally draw heat from their surroundings, require more mana, while [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exothermic_process|exothermic reactions]], which generate heat, can require a bare minimum (the alchemist is not, however, able to draw the generated heat back in to reuse as mana; only an energist can do that).