Ryanium

* See also Construction
* See also Real Physics
* See also Novel
* See also Technologies
Ryanium - A Fictional Material use by the Novel Author to try to explain what is seen in the game ( justify Rapture's structure at great depths - and possibly the most difficult - the windows ) - in a Sci-Fi way instead of Fantasy.
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Ryanium is similar to Reardon Metal (from "Atlas Shrugged") - a (fictional) convenient new technological material which one of the Main Characters invents to become wealthy ( and to show off capitalistic achievement ).
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Mentioned in the "BioShock:Rapture" Novel : Was supposedly developed by Ryan before Rapture existed, the Novel explains that material's use in early city construction.
Said to be a high strength material supposedly used in the construction of BioShock's Rapture, for construction required in the high-pressure environment, which required extreme strength to hold the water pressure out ( at just 600 feet down, the water pressure is ~ 280 lb/sq in )
The windows we see are supposed to be made out of a transparent form of it.   There still may be a significant thickness required for those windows ( 6 inches ? 1 foot thick ? ), and in the game they don't give the clearest view thru them.
Ryanium was supposed to be Expensive, so the whole city could not be made out of it.  Instead, Ryanium would be used in places where thinner/gracile construction was required.  Very thick reinforced concrete could work just as well ( and far cheaper ) for all the other more mundane structural uses.
Nothing says that different alloys of 'Ryanium' could not have different properties.
Apparently, from what we see in the game as windows, it is highly resistant to impacts, bullets and small explosions ( or the Players would very quickly kill themselves by shooting at/near the many ocean windows ).
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Ryanium - What Is It : 
Mentioned in the Novel as a material that made many of Rapture's technical achievements possible.   Possibly an outgrowth of Ryan's expertise in high power manipulation which allowed some advanced materials to be formed ( matrices of nano-tubes or somesuch - IF you can keep it all from getting too ridiculous ). To NOT be just 'Wave Of The Hand', we could assume that Ryan had been developing it for over 10 years before Rapture even started.
Used for : 
* Windows (optical Ryanium) which resist the huge ocean pressure thru tensile strength in a flat pane surface,  The unbreakable windows ( except when the plot conveniently requires it ... ). The window reinforcements would be deeply embedded in the surrounding building's concrete structure.
* 'Thin' structural tension/stiffness components for buildings (particularly window frames).
* Possibly useful for 'rebar' to add increased dimensional strength in large concrete matrices .  
* As a reinforcement additive to basic concrete/cement - fibers - its tensile strength combining with the compressive strength of the concrete. ( They actually once used Asbestos fibers and later plastic fibers. )
* Preferably subject to not much corrosion by saltwater/moisture, AND not have to be coated with something else ( like real-world Rebar is within corrosive environments -- which somewhat weakens the material's effective strength ). 
* Impervious materials those vending machines seem to be made out of. No real point for this, except no other way for the machines to be intact in the Chaotic environment. A detail maybe that would have made the game more interesting.  Those Rapture Tribune machine's glass facings were amazingly all intact after all these years ( even with a chronic 'TP' shortage in Rapture ).
In the MMORPG some of these things would no longer so invulnerable, and now are subject to damage/destruction ( and requiring repairs ).
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Ryanium May Be an Artificial Graphite ?? :
With Ryan expertise in high energy power technologies, this would fit into his area of interest. Mass production of such materials is done at very high temperatures ( vaporizing carbon in inert gases and precipitating them to grow a crystalline form ).
Unfortunately, real 'mass production' is not as HUGE an amount as the building of Rapture would require ( Bicycle frames are one thing and expensive at that ) .
Graphite (carbon fiber) was ignored for decades in the real world, but was already long known by the time of Rapture's inception.  Used in composites as an additive to cement/concrete, it would be very useful in providing the stronger reinforced concrete needed for the bulk of Rapture's construction. 
Graphite is not a Compression Strength type material, so no, there shouldn't be any Bathysphere shells made out of it.
It is possible that 'Ryanium' was a generic name applied to more than one advanced material - a Brand name.
Come to think of it, "Nano Tubes" is another related material with very useful properties.
Can't be 'see through' for windows then.
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Uses for Ryanium :
Ryanium ( as explained in the Novel ) is an expensive material to produce ( alot more than specialty steels ) but had useful properties for Rapture that made the cost worthwhile.
Clear sections of high strength windows is the best known use ( what would BioShock be like without those window views ?? ) It would have the same use on subs and Bathyspheres. The most expensive to produce was the large clear slabs. Fibers and construction grade Ryanium would cost quite a bit less to produce and was used in larger quantities for building sides and as a reinforcement material.
Some building shells were made with Ryanium structural wall components, which allowed them to be much thinner/graceful than the bulky reinforced concrete used on the majority of the City's buildings. Ryanium components still require the building have sufficient internal bracing needed to withstand the water pressure over all its surface.
Some diving suit components (joints, faceplates) were made using the material because of its high strength and precision fit (seal).
Clear tubes -- some sites like Hephaestus have 'see-thru' pipes to demonstrate to tourists what goes on inside them - those red glowing flows which are actually Bioluminescent algae, not hot lava.
Some Jet Postal Pneumo Tubes have sections of clear tube or windows ( usually in the Postal Stations where the 'public' can witness them in operation ).
Ryanium is also used as high strength 'fibers' for special composites ( a later generation of Bathysphere cables was made using Ryanium rope wires ).
One of Ryanium limitations is that it cannot withstand high heat as much as most metals.
Used for certain high-tech components that need the material's special attributes ( lighter than steel for same strength, transparency, electrical insulator ).
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