tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue Feb 28 16:48:31 2006

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Re: quadrotriticale {loSpev}

MorphemeAddict ([email protected])

• From: [email protected]
• Subject: Re: quadrotriticale {loSpev}
• Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 19:48:13 EST

In a message dated 2/28/2006 6:13:14 PM Central Standard Time, 
[email protected] writes:

> I don't think Li2 is possible. Lithium has three electrons: two in the 
> inner 
> shell and one in the outer shell. To make a stable compound, it needs to 
> have eight electrons (or none) in its outer shell. However, lithium only has 
> one free electron to donate. As well, lithium has a tendency to donate 
> rather than accept electrons.
> 
> There have been a couple of fictitious chemical formulas for dilithium 
> postulated. The simpler is Li2Te, or dilithium telluride. The more complex 
> is Li2Fe7Al2Si8O27. Both are hypothetically possible, but it's unlikely that 
> either actually has the fantastic properties that are ascribed to dilithium 
> in Star Trek.
> 
> >But neither substance (quadrotriticale nor dilithium) really appear
> >to have any practical purpose in spending bilions of dollars in develpment.
> 
> Of course not. They're fictional substances used to further plots. I 
> seriously doubt, for instance, that dilithium telluride is likely to be able 
> to regulate a matter-antimatter reaction. (For more information on this, 
> read "The Physics of Star Trek", by Lawrence Krauss.)
> 

Dilithium could also refer to a transuranic element that resembles lithium in 
some way, such as outer shell configuration.  "Dilithium" would have to be a 
nickname, though, I think, because we have numeric syllables to create 
arbitrary chemical element names, such as unipentihexium, i.e., element 156.

lay'tel SIvten

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