So these are my observations about a new possible alloy that came to mind while I was in Gallia.
I temporarily returned back to Omicron Delta to get myself some samples for testing. The other material was obtained in rheinland. A friendly trader was so kind to get some for me.
I had to see if the theory is as good in my head as it is in reality.
Iridium and aluminium.
Let us first look at the properties of these substances.
Iridium Iridium is a very hard, but brittle metal. It belongs to platinum family and is extremely corrosion and heat resistant.
The problems of this metal are that it is a rare material and getting it in large quantities would be challenging.
Iridium is also one of the densest elements known. It has a density of around 22.56 g/cm3.
It will have to be used in moderate quantities or else the ship will suffer an extreme performance penalty due to the sheer weight of it. Iridium has about twice the density of lead.
Aluminium Aluminium is a common element. It belongs to the boron family and it is a light-weight metal, very flexible, excellent suitable for ship manufacturing.
The wide availability of this metal and wide variety of uses, makes this the perfect main metal for an alloy. And with a density around 2.70 g/cm3, it is the perfect metal for a light-weight ship.
Theory An alloy made from iridium and aluminium, could create a strong and durable hull that is both heat and corrosion resistant. The flexibility of the aluminium would be able to greatly reduce the brittleness of the iridium, while retaining the durability and hardness it possesses. The extreme density of the Iridium would be counteracted by the low density of the Aluminium.
Experimentation would need to provide data for the viability and the ratios needed to create the optimal properties for the new alloy.
Entry 2: Additional Element Data.
30 March, 825 A.S.
I did not have much time to properly document the elements in my last entry. I took some time to collect additional data. Also I am slowly figuring out what resources I will need to manufacture it.
New data. Iridium has a melting point of 2446 °C, which can be problematic. This is because aluminium has a boiling point of 2470 °C, which is only a 24 °C diffrence.
As for hardness. On the Mohs scale Iridium has a hardness of 6.5, Aluminium has a hardness of 2.75
Which confirms data of the previous entry.
Required resources I would need a furnace that can melt these metals at accurate temperatures. Too low and the Iridium will not melt. Too high and the Aluminium will evaporate.
Problem is that I own nothing like that.
The percentage of Iridium should be below 10% to prevent the loss of ship performance. At 10% the alloy would have a density close to titanium.
Calculations on the below 10% range I decided to focus on calculating the ratios under 10% Iridium. They would be suitable for a light hull version. From this point the alloy would be lighter than titanium. 91/9 = 4,4874
92/8 = 4.2888
93/7 = 4.0902
94/6 = 3.8916
95/5 = 3.693
96/4 = 3.4944
97/3 = 3.2958
98/2 = 3.0972
99/1 = 2.8986
Entry 4: An interesting find.
25th April, 825 A.S.
I encountered a wreckage of unknown origin... I salvaged what I could and retrieved whatever data I could find. The technology seems to be more advanced than what I encountered so far. Whatever this thing is, I will try to use it to my own benefit.
This analysis will be about the wreckage found in entry 4. Because I have no idea what the origins of the wreckage is, I will designate it as 'K-001' from now on. It has been transported to my lab at Brunswick.
Analysis of K-001 K-001 seems to be damaged beyond repair. It has both external and internal damage. The latter is possibly due to a self-destruct event.
Mapping the complete layout of the original seems to be challenging as few fragments could actually be recovered. What I did recover from it has been stored for future analysis on metal composition and the scanning for possible useful exotic materials.
A piece of cable that was found among the debris, has been stored separately pending further study.
![[Image: C0il8AV.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/C0il8AV.jpg)