Duranium

Duranium is a new type of metal that was found once Corneria had the technology to actually explore other planets. It was first found in the asteroid belt that seperates Corneria from the Lylatian core by Duran Metallurgy, Inc., one of the companies that had begun to mine the planetoids for iron and titanium. In its raw form, duranium is very similar to raw iron; it is approximately the same hardness, is magnetic and conducts electricity (although it does not react to form oxides). It has a very high melting point and is a solid at room temperature. Refining duranium is very difficult and costly, as it requires the use of free electron lasers in order to produce the necessary heat.

Refined duranium is considered a wonder metal. It is lighter than steel and stronger than titanium. It is electrically conductive but is non-magnetic and non-ferrous. Once it has been refined, it becomes extremely resistant to heat, remaining very solid up to 9,000 degrees Celsius and actually melting at 10,984.3 degrees Celsius. It can be alloyed and often is. When mixed with iron and carbon, the resulting "durasteel" becomes the perfect armor plating. While depleted uranium is actually better, that metal is both extremely heavy and very radioactive, so the more expensive durasteel is prefered for outer and inner plating, often with layers of lead and a thin DU sheet in between. When duranium is properly mixed with silica, a material commonly called "glasteel" is produced. Glasteel is naturally transparent like glass but has a hardness closer to cast iron without being brittle, and will crack and break instead of shattering. It is used in starships and military vehicles for this reason.



This information was not written by JWolfman.