What are Demimaterials?

Demimaterials are composed of molecules with atomic bonds that penetrate the outer valence electron shell forming much more powerful, deep bonds capable of withstanding extreme situations while sometimes exhibiting exotic behaviors and properties. Some demimaterials can be made with atomic bonds that penetrate several electron layers deep while others may only have a bond that consists of the outer valence layer for one atom and one additional layer of depth for another. These super-bonded molecules can then be structured together to create ultra dense materials or super lightweight, strong materials.

Most demimaterials are unstable and extremely dangerous or short-lived (decaying quickly or even explosively), but some stabilize and are resistant to impossibly high heat, impervious to impact, or can act as room-temperature superconductors. Many of the best high-energy fusion fuels are also demimaterials as their deep bonds contain an absurd amount of energy.

How Are They Made?

The first demimaterials were created in a laboratory with typical lab equipment. The atomic bonding process generally includes special chemical reactions (wet bonding), high heat (heat bonding), extreme low temperatures (cryogenic bonding), high pressure (forging), electrical stimulation (electron manipulation), or various combinations of the different methods. Once the environmental conditions are right, a catalyst (or multiple catalysts) can be used to trigger the atomic bonding process which introduces energy and forms the molecular structures. From there the molecules, like protein chains, can be coaxed to assemble into specific structures (sometimes with another catalyst).

Once the toolset was established, demimaterial labs became known as Quantum Chemical Forges and eventually machines were built by the same name that could automate much of the process.

Later, The Brotherhood perfected the Quantum Chemical Forge and introduced a new more compact and reliable method for working with demimaterials. They called it the Quantum Loom. These machines could often fabricate the base structure of a desired component or part using a non-demimaterial in an additive manufacturing process (advanced 3D printing) and then expose that structure to one or more of the reactive catalysts that would finalize the creation of the demimaterial. Though the reaction would sometimes alter the size and density of the object, these changes could be accounted for by the computer.

Availability

Demimaterials were originally produced in secret by Jon Corey in the early 2020s, but from 2028 through 2048 his friend Paul Smith learned to recreate some of his work and in 2048 he created the first known stable material with extreme heat and impact resistance, Iphrium. By 2050 Paul had sold the rights to his friend's technology to Saudi Aramco and after purchasing Google, they handed the demimaterial research over to former Google engineers and formed a business venture around the endeavor, calling the new spin-off Quantum Atomic Solutions (QAS).

Later, a few former QAS employees fled and created the Victoria Aconitum and a group they called The Brotherhood. These two organizations, The Brotherhood and QAS are the two primary sources for demimaterials, though the tech was licensed by QAS to at least one Chinese manufacturing firm as well. Most items made from demimaterials are affordable enough to be found in most of the world's transportation vehicles and power plants as well as in all quantum artificial intelligence processors and most weapons.

Appearance

Most demimaterials are naturally darker than natural metals, though some can be highly reflective based on the arrangement of the molecules. Some, when activated by the flow of electricity will emit light, mostly in the blue to violet range though some may emit lower frequency light such as red or even infrared light. Unstable demimaterials may glow gently with a variety of colors.

Due to their unstable nature, the majority of demimaterials require special containment and confinement systems.

Environmental Impact

Plants and animals are not affected directly by demimaterials, though some of the molecules, when ingested, can bond with biological molecules and become stuck in the organism for a long time. The process for creating demimaterials can sometimes create pollution (as with any industrial manufacturing process) though the main players (QAS and The Brotherhood) do a good job of mitigating the environmental impact, and some manufacturing processes are created eventually that produce little to no waste or byproducts at all.

Benefits

The effects of demimaterials on the lifestyle of the average human are hard to enumerate. Results include nearly unlimited clean power, advanced weaponry, flying vehicles, compact AI processing units, highly capable robots with long-lasting onboard batteries, and more. The implications of demimaterials include extremely powerful chemical reactions and explosions and greater energy density.

Examples

Examples include Blasium, Iphrium , Lensium, the Demiconductor, and the unknown components of the PKE diode and Demipower Batteries.