Naturally occuring Takenium-218 has a purple hue and is slightly phosphorescent, emitting most of its light in the UV spectrum. It has no remarkable thermal, physical or electrical property compared to more commonly available materials. The only notable property of Takenium-218 is its constant crystallization, leading to the creation of objects made of Takenite that can repair cracks and scratches, given enough time. It is found in fairly large ore veins, with some crystals being as large as a forklift. Most of it, however, is found shattered into stone and other metal ores, requiring some further extraction to recover the Takenite crystals themselves. These raw crystals are often ground into a powder to be more easily transported and reshaped. Takenium-218 is mined by various private corporations all over the star cluster. The mined Takenite is then sold to other companies for refining or to resellers to be used in jewelry. Nearly 99.2% of the star cluster's Takenite supply is bought by industrial corporations to be refined into Takenium-208.
Takenium-208 has not been found naturally and is believed to be a purely artificial isotope. This isotope is created by bombarding Takenium-218 with high-energy protons to remove the stabilizing neutrons. It is an energy-intensive process, now mostly performed in industrial particle accelerators. The unstable Takenium-208 isotope is mainly used to produce what are called Ostrom Condensates, an exotic form of quark-gluon plasma. This is done by subjecting Takenium-218 to a flow of hydrogen gas, which would decompose into condensates. These condensates are then recovered through the use of magnetic fields for further processing.
In the meantime, the resulting exotic quark-gluon plasma also reforms into neutrons to return the unstable isotope to its natural state, giving Takenium-218 a relatively short half-life of 21 years. This whole process gives a distinctive purple glow to the crystal, indicating the creation of Oström condensates. For transport, Takenium-208 is stored in pressurized containers deprived of hydrogen atoms (such as gases like methane and water vapor) and constantly monitored for optimal storage conditions.
Takenium is hypothesized to originate from a very specific combination of natural decay of heavy elements and bombardment from solar radiation. This theory is now the widely accepted origin of Takenite, as the crystal is only found on the surface of heavy asteroids or in ancient asteroid craters. There is currently no definite explanation as to its abscence from the Solar System, with theories ranging from insufficiently strong solar radiation to lack of another undiscovered element. Takenium was first discovered 8 months After Planetfall by a geological survey team led by Dr. Takenada Izuma. The first samples were analyzed shortly afterward, revealing the common Takenium-218 isotope. While the crystal was a new element of the periodic table, it surprisingly offered nothing new to the scientific community except its self-assembling property. With mankind struggling to expand in the first years of the Colonial Age, Takenite research was quickly phase out of most agendas in favor of more applicable research.
It was only decades later, in the last days of the Colonial War, that Takenium-208 was first synthesized in an Astrelan military lab. It was quickly exploited for nuclear weapon manufacturing, but after the war, civilian application also emerged. In the meantime, civilian and military labs continued to study Takenium-208 and eventually led to the discovery of Oström condensates. Since then, the exploitation of Takenite deposits is regulated by the Federal Ministry of Natural Resources. Many laws are in place to prevent the rise of a Takenite monopoly, which could cause chaos in the energy industry. Takenium-208 is heavily regulated and can only purchased by licensed corporations, with constant controls and audits in regards to its uses. Takenium-208 is known to fetch an extremely high price on the black market, with various crime syndicates having a high demand for "lost" and "mislabeled" shipments, and is one of the priorities of Vestan authorities.
Takenite dust produced by industrial mining has been proven to be dangerous for both living creatures and mechanical constructs. In its dust form, Takenite can easily be inhaled and sucked into air intakes. The dust would then settle in small cavities and slowly reform into crystals, leading to potentially lethal injuries and severe damage of mechanical components.
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