Bolofwitz substance
Bolofwitz substance, named after the twin siblings who engineered it, is heavily used in the clothing industry as it's very easy to recycle and, far more importantly, can be made to have pretty much any clothing features you like as the molecules can be shifted around into all sorts of formations and remain stable so that you can make it good or bad at keeping someone warm or cool and feel very comfortable in any case. This ability to change molecular formations also makes it possible to make the clothing any shape you like and so this, combined with it being easy to add dyes to, makes it possible to make pretty much any kind of clothing using this substance. This can even be combined with nanobotic technology to create clothing that can change in an instant to suit the situation or owner's preference as the nanobots quickly rearrange the molecules and absorb or apply dyes according to the owner's will.
Aside from clothing it's used in furniture, bedding, toys, some electronics and so on. There's a fairly low limit to how hard it can be and it breaks down at a mere 398 C so it isn't used in weapons or the outsides of vehicles. Overall it's used for anything that is not meant to be hard, withstand high temperatures or conduct electricity.
Properties
Material Characteristics
In its plain form it's light grey and just after being created it's basically a solid block but the ability to easily rearrange the molecules means that afterwards the softness and insulatory ability are up to whoever makes it into clothing or something else.
Physical & Chemical Properties
Most important is the fact that molecules are extremely stable, will cling to one another for dear life regardless of formation and the fact that said formation is easy to change. Due to its stability it isn't flammable but can easily be made so that it can soak up both oxygen and flammable liquids and when that happens...
Compounds
It's its own compound and is the pinnacle of what it does.
Geology & Geography
It's manufactured from other molecules and atoms that can be found pretty much anywhere so no specific locations can truly tie themselves to its production.
Origin & Source
The stuff is technically mostly made of air.
Life & Expiration
The fact that molecules stick together regardless of formation and that molecules are stable means you can leave a piece of clothing in the wilderness for thousands of years and then dig it up and it'll be fine. Which is actually a little bit of an environmental concern because the animal that tries to eat the clothing is super dead.
History & Usage
History
After 4 years of hard work, the Bolofwitz twins and their AIs were able to figure out the creation of this substance and immediately patented it, speeding through slow bureaucracy with non-wholesome "favours", monetary bribes, smooth talking, talk of how it would help humanity as a whole (tbf it did) and a suspected instance of blackmail, and quickly made tonnes of money as they got investors in the form of the elderly giving in their retirement money - very few of whom were able to read the fine print pointing out that the shares they bought would be inherited by the Bolofwitz twins rather than anyone they actually had down in their wills (although they did still get to keep the shares of the profits which was still enough to single-handedly pull the families of the investors from the Hard Knock Life right to Easy Street).
With production of tonnes of the stuff underway, they got involved in selling the substance as well as the equipment needed to change the properties to various clothing companies while keeping the method of production a secret. After some years they realised they could swap out their solid gold airplanes for solid gold space warships if they cut these businesses off and made the clothes themselves and made ridiculous quantities of money.
When the twins died their children (no they didn't do incest you sick bugger they each got married to different individuals and had children with said individuals... except that the individuals they married were also twins and it basically happened as a twin from one set met the twin from another set and that's how the remaining twins in each set met and so the "cousins" that are the children are really cousins x2) ended up getting equal shares of the company but only one of them could actually be bothered to run it and took advantage of the magical power of "umm no that money totally isn't going right into my pocket it's covering this expense here that totally isn't made up" to keep almost all of the money to herself. The others still didn't care because they were still getting enough to be hella rich.
After another generation the company finally collapsed but the patency remained and so the family revealed the method to the making but every company that used their knowledge and the Bolofwitz substance had to pay royalties to them which was still enough for them to spend all their time at home and at cinemas on Easy Street.
Discovery
The Bolofwitz twins, with the help of AIs, run tonnes of simulations with countless substances they'd engineered and found the one that ended up being used to be the best for the job.
Everyday use
Clothing, pillows, toys, the insides of vehicles, rugs, ropes, etc etc.
Cultural Significance and Usage
Over the course of a generation, almost everyone stopped using previous kinds of clothing like silk until not wearing clothes made of Bolofwitz substance is usually done as a form of tradition or a fashion statement. Except that Bolofwitz substance can be made to look and feel like any kind of clothing so plenty of people will just pretend they're making a statement while wearing Bolofwitz substance or wear traditional clothes made of Bolofwitz substance. Pretty similar events occurred with all the other stuff it's used for until non-Bolofwitz things in the areas are basically viewed as novelties like having a Star Wars figure from the 80s.
Industrial Use
It's molecular manouvreability has earned it a place in many manufacturing processes, including as covering over things people aren't meant to touch while being made painful to touch. The fact that molecules cling really hard together means you can make rope of this that is extremely difficult to cut and very durable.
Refinement
It needs to be changed from the solid block to different molecular formations using nanobots.
Byproducts & Sideproducts
The byproducts from the manufacturing process are extremely toxic but are burnt into CO2 and N2 while the ashes containing other things make good fertalizer. However some companies (illegally) don't even bother with burning it and so we get lovely toxic substances in soil and rivers due to production.
Hazards
It cannot be broken down by acid so if you eat it it's going all the way through the system unharmed and if it's been designed in a way that isn't digestive system friendly...
Otherwise there's the fact that this stuff is basically impossible to cut so any situation where you might need to cut it is a problem.
Environmental Impact
Those byproducts and the fact that the only way to break it down is with high temperatures.
Reusability & Recycling
Easy to recycle as you just throw the clothing into a recycling bin and it gets taken to a factory where nanobots turn it into another thing and the clothing itself is extremely durable (except in extreme heat) and so has near endless reusability.
Distribution
Trade & Market
It's used in pretty much anything that's meant to be soft, not conduct electricity or withstand high temperatures and extremely common.
Storage
Can be stored anywhere with a temperature lower than 398 C. With certain molecular formations you might wanna put it in a vacuum or something as other things in the air or water or whatever might be able to get between the molecules or things put between them that are meant to be there might seep out.
Law & Regulation
Royalties must be paid to the Bolofwitz family every single time something made of this is sold. Said royalties are at 1%. The stuff is taxed like everything else at varying rates depending on which year and place we look at but clothes made from it in particular get reduced taxing on them as clothes are considered a "necessary product" and kept cheap with low taxes. The selling must be registered and disposal can only be done by recycling it into something else or selling it on as reuse.
Type
Elemental / Molecular
Value
Depends on the form but the straight up solid blocks (which are wobbly like jelly) comes at an equivalent to $1 for 2 pounds and the stuff from this is usually made to be extremely light soooo yeah pretty cheap stuff simply due to sheer quantity.
Rarity
Everyone is wearing the stuff, children are hugging teddy bears made of the stuff and people sleep on mattresses and under blankets made of the stuff with their heads on pillows made of the stuff while their seats have pillows made of the stuff and so on.
Odor
None, but manufacturers will often add scents to it with substances that slowly seep out of the molecules for a smell that can last years before finally fading away completely.
Taste
None, but manufacturers are legally required to add substances to it that make it taste icky.
Color
Light grey, usually has dyes added to it.
Boiling / Condensation Point
NA: breaks down at 398 C
Melting / Freezing Point
NA: breaks down at 398 C
Density
Can be molecularly rearranged to you know what you get the point.
Common State
In simple uncomfortable light grey clothing that is bought by the poor, usually with either too little or too much insulative ability to encourage people to buy the more expensive clothes.
Related Locations
Related Species
Related Technologies
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments