Polycarbonyl Explosive: REF 1.9 at TL8

[John_A_Tallon]

Originally Posted by evileeyore

Not really considering that the diamond market is a monopoly and De Beers has more diamonds than they could sell in 100 years.

A gem quality synthetic will sell for about what I was citing, depending on the size, clarity, and color. It wasn't too hard to get prices for those.

[Fred Brackin]

The thing that impressed me was that it was a away to make an advanced explosive without anything like an advanced knowledge of chemistry.

Then there's the possibility of magic/tech cross-fertilization. A TL 3 Enchanter who knew Measurement and Shape Metal and could make Permanent Force Walls could build something that makes one of those Russian anvils look like a garlic press.

Then he could mass produce this fascinating stuff that's 4x as powerful as Chinese Fireworks Powder. At least as long as he doesn't have a critical failure. :)

[Flyndaran]

Way back in my youth, I wondered about making a curious alchemist that used "simple" heat spells to grow gem crystals like ruby.
Careful/lucky experimentation with magic could allow amazing things that would normally take concerted scientific focused efforts to invent.