Alloys Combined with other materials

[Rasann]

I was wondering if it was possible to combine an Alloy, such a steel, with a mineral/crystal resource such as Obsidian? I ask because in the RPG game I'm currently playing in, my character has what we have called "Dragonsteel" which is obsidian combined with steel to give it more unique properties.

I'm not sure what is the standing on it so I'd ask, I'm trying to figure out what resource(s) would stand out on my world (Falasine) but I was thinking perhaps being so heavily enriched with minerals etc...perhaps the locals have found a way to combine such an alloy with another material

[ShortenWeaponry]

I think it's not that hard. If You can have high carbon japanese steel, why wouldn't you combine obsydian with steel. Funny thing obsidian is mainly mainly alloy of iron
Sorry for my english It's late here and I'm sleepy

[Rasann]

thanks - that helps a lot

[Talusmouse]

I don't know about your planet but Gundam Wing had a pretty plausible idea for "Special Metals" The Gundiaum Alloy from the series came from materials on floating asteroids that were melted together by the sun's heat. As long as their is some sort of reaction from temperatures or chemicals you could right up an material you so desire.

[Foxfire]

[Rasann]

Got some ideas rolling in my frontal lobe here. Thanks

[Wordman]

Googling for "alloy metal and glass" yields as its first hit.

[Rasann]

thanks, I'll look it up

[A YATES INDUSTRIALS]

one of my materials is 'Foamed-Aluminum Silklyte' . . Silklyte is spider silk woven with Nylar ..Nylar is nylon and kevlar micro-strands. Foamed Aluminum is aluminum that is elctro-heated causing it to foam.
It is then sprayed over Silklyte panels when cured it creates a lightweight flexible armor.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Alloys are metals combined with other materials. Steel is iron and carbon. Bronze is copper and silicon. Titanium is usually actually titanium and iron.

Obsidian is a glass; that is, a silicate. Could you make an iron/silicon alloy? I don't know! Let's ask the Internet!

It's sure not a mighty industrial steel, though.

So, you want something amazingly flexible? Or you want a material that's super hard? Those are usually in opposition; speaking of Japanese steel, part of what makes it work (as well as some really neato Viking steel) is case hardening: that is, the edge (which has to be hard to keep an edge) is allowed to cool slowly (making coherent, rigid, well-formed crystals) while the rest of the blade is cooled quickly (making half-formed, flexible, amorphous crystals). Voilá! Hard and flexible!

Titanium's neatotude comes from its extraordinarily high modulus of flexibility; that is, many alloys can be bent waaaay out of shape before they will stop snapping back. It's not very hard, though; it's resistant to cutting because it has very low heat conductivity, which makes it sticky at high heat. It's also flammable, which is pretty exciting.

Where the real action is at is with composite materials; that is, materials with different characteristics bonded together on a macroscopic level. Carbon fiber, fiberglass, bamboo fiber, and other such materials work well because you put the fibers in the direction where they work the best (oddly, in compression most of the time) and then hold them in place by soaking them with a resin that keeps them from delaminating when they flex. You can then cover those with a piece of, say, titanium (flexy) and ceramic scales (hard and with a high specific heat) to get a hard, flexible, heat-resistant plate.

[Foxfire]

Just a quick nitpicky thing. Bronze is usually copper and tin.

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Yeah, or tin, or lots of other things that are considered bronze. Historically, it's meant a lot of copper alloys. It's not like there were ancient standards boards for this kind of thing.

By contrast, modern brass is copper with zinc and I don't know any other meanings for it.

[Foxfire]

[Joshua A.C. Newman]

Oh, brass is sometimes made with lead, but then it's called "leaded brass". It cuts really evenly because of the smooth, lubricating effect of the lead, which then makes your children stupid.

[Rasann]

Thanks!