Dilithium Crystals (#600) by afugatt
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Description
Dilithium is an extremely hard crystalline mineral, which occurs naturally on some planets. When placed in a high frequency electromagnetic field, magnetic eddies are induced in its structure which keep charged particles away from the crystal lattice. This prevents it from reacting with antimatter when so energized, because the antimatter atoms never actually touch it. Therefore, it is used to contain and regulate the annihilation reaction of matter and antimatter in a starship's warp core, which otherwise would explode from the uncontrolled annihilation reaction. Though low-quality artificial crystals can be grown or replicated, they are limited in the power of the reaction they can regulate without fragmenting, and are therefore largely unsuitable for warp drive applications. Due to the need for natural dilithium crystals for interstellar travel, deposits of this material are a highly contested resource, and as such, dilithium crystals have led to more interstellar conflict than all other reasons combined.
The streams of matter and antimatter directed into crystallized dilithium are unbalanced: there is usually much more matter in the stream than antimatter. The energy generated in the annihilation reaction heats up the excess deuterium gas, producing a plasma that is used to power the warp drives that allow starships to travel faster than light. In addition, most starships use this plasma as a power source for the ship's systems. This is referred to as an electro-plasma system.
Dilithium's chemical symbol is Dt, its atomic weight is 87 and it is a member of the hypersonic series of elements. The dilithium crystal structure is 2(5)6 dilithium 2(:)l diallosilicate 1:9:1 heptoferranide.
Dilithium crystals are rare and occur only naturally (can not be replicated). A method of re-crystallizing dilithium that allows regeneration of the crystals on board a Klingon Bird-of-prey vessel has been discovered. This involves using 20th century fission reactors that generate high-energy photons that will cause the crystals to regenerate. This technique was not used earlier because fission reactors have long been replaced by cleaner and more efficient technology.
uf
Comments (28)
CarolSassy
Oh! You saw 'Star Trek' this weekend too! lol q-: Awesome crystals! (:
pops
Beautiful render and work
Eleandras
Beautiful!
XoxoTree
Very pretty, love the flow
npauling
Out of this world, with those fabulous colours.
magnus073
This one is so cool Anne and what a spectacular way to celebrate your 600th image.
luoyx2008
Beautiful！！！ ：）
amota99517
This is absolutely gorgeous!
3x3
lovely and original fractal Anne x 5+
zmarek
Like a cosms :-D area. I like that!
Juliette.Gribnau
vibrant !
algra
Interesting information and a cool picture, with fantastic colors.
claude19
Great thanks for the description of the Dilithium !!! I am very happy to learn that thing !!! Great picture for this ! fav immediatly
bloodnok
Gorgeous image, which on a far more mundane level to your description, reminds me of surfin' the tube!
annie5
Absolutely splendid (again) Congrats! :)
Dindin
An interesting sci-fi spiral and information about the Dilithium Crystals ,but please dont try this experiment at home .
carlx
Very cool composition!!! Congrats Your 600th post and gallery!!!
Lenord
She can't take much more Captain, LoL. splendid fractal Peace
kepp
lovely work Anne
farmerC
Fantastic colorfestival.
KaToFel
Yes, we are matter, the stars are matter, but it doesnt matter... Cool picture with lots of information on that matter.
philiplopezjr
Cool.
bpclarke
Amazing! Gorgeous creation and design. Who would have thought that this kind of energy would be so beautiful. :o)
luvjoyjoy
Nice molting effect on the boarder :)
daffodilbaggins
reads description, and keels over laughing, after already grinning at the title, being a big Trek fan herself! Yeah, yeah--and if you really believe all that......big grin.....I might have some swampland in Western Colorado to sell to you....rofl! Nicely done, the title fits the image, all right, and you made me grin from ear to ear at the reference!
mel841
Beam me up, Anne!!!
iceberg5
Incredible iridescent sheen to your splendid spiral !
tresamie
Congrats on 600! Great choice for a milestone :)