[ArM5] Destroying properties of metal

[Nick Simmonds]

On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 21:33:44 -0500, Andrew Gronosky
<agronosky at comcast.net> wrote:

> Now, here is the tricky bit.  Is the "strength" of a sword a propery
> that a sword can naturally lose?  That's important because according to
> p. 78, if the property can't be naturally lost, the Limit of Essential
> Nature means the property comes back at the end of the spell.  That is
> exactly what is desired in this case.  But, a sword can lose its
> strength if it rusts through, and it can lose some (not all) strength if
> it's overheated and literally loses its temper.  But to become as
> brittle as glass, I do not think that's natural.
> 
> Because of these questions, I won't be writing that spell in my column.
> But I'm interested in what others may think.  I'm intrigued by the
> possibilities of property-destroying spells in general.

Cast iron could, under the right circumstances, be nearly as brittle
as glass. Brittleness, though, is really a property of itself and not
the lack of a property.  Cast iron and forged steel are simply used
for different purposes.  The brittleness of cast iron is closely
related to its heat resistance, and that is what makes it good for
cooking pots and certain tools.

Brittle iron is actually quite *hard*, but not nearly so flexible as
forged steel, which is why you would use the latter for weapons
instead.  It absorbs shock much better, and is for that reason
"stronger" when struck with force.  Forged steels are also capable of
being sharpened to greater degree.  However, forged steel melts at a
relatively low temperature, and it deforms much more easily than cast
iron under steady pressure.

In other words, yes, iron can indeed be brittle, and it wouldn't be
out of the question for it to be too brittle to use as a sword.  If
you want such a spell to be temporary, I would suggest using Muto
instead of Perdo; all Muto effects are temporary.

BTW, I wouldn't consider Perdo making a sword brittle to be
"destroying a property" of the item, but rather making it a less
perfect version of itself.

--Nick