Titanium-58 is a superstrong titanium isotope. Originally believed to be unstable due to the low amount of the material, the metal was eventually found in great quantities in galactic cores. Formed when Titanium gained neutrons rapidly, the isotope could only be produced in the collisions of neutron stars.
Properties
From the Core Expeditions Log 2249:
This material is silvery grey. It resists all attempts to melt it, and cannot be damaged by any member.
Titanium-58 is produced in the cataclysmic events that are the collisions of neutron stars and the collapse of supergiants.
History & Usage
Titanium-58 was originally believed to be a seperate element because of its unusual properties. The metal thus gained an extraordinary air that persisted even after it became widespread. The Metal soon became a symbol of strength, resilience, and power, as empires battled over the precious metal. Planets rich in Titanium-58 became vital to military efforts, and were important politicaly. Notably, the jungle planet Saltu in the heart of the Milky Way hosted the bloodiest and most brutal battles of the First Civil War.
The Metal was quickly used to shield the most valuable ships in the Imperial Navy against the Bellaris plasma weaponry during the Bellaris War. The INV Platinum, the flagship of the Imperial Navy was, in an act of irony, plated with Titanium-58, which ensured its survival throughout the war and even allowed it to see combat against the Parvus Empire. The INV Platinum was retired in 2688.
Later in the Empire's history, Titanium-58 was used as armor for the Ender Police Force, and for commando forces. Eventually, during the hight of the Second Empire, the metal was used for almost all ships.
Titanium-58 was discovered on a 2249 mission to the Core of the Milky Way. There, the researchers found a strange silver substance that could not be cut or melted. They initially recorded the metal as almost supernatural. Samples brought back to Earth were eventually classified as a Titanium isotope 6 months after the discovery. The Atomic Weight would be discovered 2 months later. Despite the banality of the metal, the reputation of invincibility grew around the metal, and it was not stopped even by the succesful melting of the samples in 2251.
The Metal remained almost exclusively as a rare and precious substance up until the advent of Molecular Forges. Before that point, the metal was used primarily as an armor for important vessels and people.
When the metal became common, it was first used for extremely high temperature uses, for example, as an ingredient in the SuperAlloy that made hyper-fast sublight engines. Eventually, due to the metals supernatural air and beliefs in mystical health benefits made the metal popular for jewlery.
The Metal was believed to be made by one of the Five Cheons, and so aided the supernatural air around the metal. Titanium-58 was used in small amounts in rituals throughout the Empire and beyond, with primitive civilizations being recorded on multiple seperate occasions as worshipping the metal as a gift from the Gods.
The Metal, due to its scarcity and military monopoply was almost non-existent before Molecular Forges. However, it soon became a metal of choice for high-temperature applications as it did not need complex and expensive treating processes for high-temperatures.
The metal can be found in pure metallic form in almost all galaxy cores. Refinement was tricky, as few, if any, crucibles could hold or withstand the temperatures needed to melt the metal. However, magnetic containment fields allowed for the metal to be melted and thus forged into useful forms, though these objects invariably contained iron impurities. These iron impurities came from iron mixed into the molten Titanium to allow it to be manipulated.
Distribution
The Metal, due to its high strategic value was banned from being owned by civilians. However, black markets for the stuff sprung up, with absurdly high prices. However, worshippers in the Church of the Cheons bought lots of the metal for worshipping purposes.
Shortly after the discovery of the Metal, the Empire passed strict laws on the metal, banning civilians from posessing the material on penalty of death. Because the metal was needed in high quantities for the military, the laws were harshly enforced, with some cases of people owning even trace amounts of the metal being executed.
These laws were highly unpoplular, and had a small part in the various rebellions and revolutions that plauged the Empire. Those executed for posessing Titanium-58 became martyrs, as rebels remembered them as people unjustly punished for a trivial offense.
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