[UT] [Fantasy] Adamantine/mythral weapons?

[Varyon]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Where does that mithral = aluminum idea come from anyway? Tolkien's version seems basically steel with an untarnishable mirror finish on it. It' feels closer to polished Essential Stainless Steel than Essential Aluminum.

I can't find it now, but for me it was something I read some time ago that made a pretty good case for mythril being an exaggeration of aluminum. Its low weight and similarity in appearance to silver are big parts of it, but the argument I read also made some historical points that escape me now.

[mr beer]

Originally Posted by Varyon

I can't find it now, but for me it was something I read some time ago that made a pretty good case for mythril being an exaggeration of aluminum. Its low weight and similarity in appearance to silver are big parts of it, but the argument I read also made some historical points that escape me now.

Aluminium was considered a wonder metal historically so it might have something to do with it's rarity and unusual properties at the time Tolkien was writing.

[tanksoldier]

You could make aluminum armor that was stronger than equivalent weight steel armor, the US military had a whole series of APCs that did just this, but not for equivalent BULK. Equivalent thickness of aluminum to steel is about 50% greater for the same strength... while also being about 50% lighter.

Bilbo’s mithral shirt could have been that light and thin made from aluminum but would have been worthless as armor.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by mr beer

Aluminium was considered a wonder metal historically so it might have something to do with it's rarity and unusual properties at the time Tolkien was writing.

Even for The Hobbit in the 30s aluminum was not particularly rare. It saw very extensive use in the aircraft industry.

Plus Tolkien was closer to being a technophobe than a technophile.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

Bilbo’s mithral shirt could have been that light and thin made from aluminum but would have been worthless as armor.

There are aluminum alloys that exceed a lot of steels for hardness and tensile strength. It's possible to have useful aluminum armor, should (for instance) your fae be motivated and knowledgeable enough to make the stuff. Certainly wouldn't be the most outrageous departure from reality in your average fantasy setting.