Drift (material)

> *"The discovery of Drift has been, without doubt, a turning point for humanity comparable to the discovery of electricity. Thanks to it, we now have a better understanding of the universe's working principles, we can manage feats previously thought impossible, and because of it, we were able to reach the stars."*
> - Professor Gabriel Fonseca.
>
>

**Drift** is a rare chemical compound which incorporates exotic matter within its structure. Found in Riberite deposits, Drift's properties mean that it can be used to generate artificial gravitoelectromagnetic fields. Drift is an essential commodity for space travel in the Tantalus Cluster, and its discovery allowed Humanity to expand from its homeworld of Centrum and colonise the rest of Tantalus by means of Drift Drives and Drift Gates.

## Characteristics

### Composition

The name *Drift* is used interchangeably for both its special hadron-carrying atom and for the compound material itself, though the atom is sometimes referred to as DriftA. DriftA incorporates exotic hadrons inside its nucleus, which gives Drift its gravitoelectromagnetic manipulative properties. Such exotic atoms, due to their non-mainstream composition, are excluded from the Standard Periodic Table.

The exotic hadrons that comprise DriftA are composed of six quarks as opposed to the normal three found in protons and neutrons. These exotic hadrons, known as "hexaquarks", grant Drift its unique property of being able to generate and manipulate gravitomagnetic fields.

### Properties

DriftA exhibits many properties commonly associated with metalloids, despite not being classifiable as one owing to its exotic nature. One such similarity is its tendency to form crystalline structures with other metallic elements. The Drift compound itself is one such crystalline structure: a combination of primarily iron atoms, equal parts DriftA, and a few trace elements. Drift does not display ferromagnetism, but does exhibit weak paramagnetic properties, which are exploited during the refinement process.

Drift's most well-known property is its unique ability to generate gravitoelectromagnetic (GEM) fields when an electric current is applied to it. When subjected to an electrical current, the exotic atoms in Drift generate GEM fields via the Nakayama Mechanism, subjecting forces upon masses inside the field. The intensity of the generated field is directly dependent on the current's amperage and the mass of Drift to which the current is applied.

Drift exhibits significant electrical resistance, which can complicate the generation of intense GEM fields: a current that is too strong is applied to Drift, it will generate heat faster than can be dispersed, causing the Drift compound to spontaneously decompose. It is theoretically possible to recapture Drift Atoms lost after sample decomposition, but this requires an extremely controlled environment and specialised equipment and so is a practical impossibility to implement outside a laboratory. Generating an intense GEM field therefore typically requires a smaller current passed through a larger mass of Drift, where the larger heat capacity and surface area of the sample, combined with the weaker resistive heating of the current, lead to more manageable heating. The drawback to this is a significantly increased material cost.

### Occurrence

Drift, like all mainstream elements, can be found in nature, though in infinitesimal, non-extractable quantities. Geological surveys in search of DriftA have yielded an abundance value of less than 0.02 parts per trillion on Centrum. This value may vary from study to study due to it being so close to the sensibility limits of the methods and equipment used.

The crystalline form in which Drift is most commonly found is Riberite, a dark and lustrous mineral that, at first glance, bears a striking resemblance to Hematite. This has given Hematite the unceremonial nickname of *Fool's Drift*. Riberite is only ever found in deposits, never in veins. The weak paramagnetic properties of Drift necessitate complicated storage arrangements when transporting raw Riberite ore: the ore must be electrically and magnetically insulated to minimize the possibility of generating an electric current, which could create unwanted GEM fields.

## Applications

Drift has influenced virtually all areas of life in the Tantalus Cluster, from scientific and medical applications, to industrial processes, to simple improvements in the quality of life. GEM fields generated by Drift allowed the development of Gravitic-Confinement Fusion Reactors, a significant refinement on earlier Magnetic-Confinement Fusion designs, while Directional Paragravity Circuits make use of Drift to generate artificial gravity aboard spacecraft.

Drift's most common use is in space travel. Drift makes it possible to create highly efficient reaction engines in the form of Drift-Accelerated Fusion Thermal Rockets, colloquially known as Drift Drives, which enable high-acceleration Brachistochrone transfers within star systems. Furthermore, the ability of Drift's GEM fields to generate exotic spatial topologies has enabled Humanity to achieve faster-than-light travel by means of Drift Gates, through which they expanded from the Centrum System to colonise the entire Tantalus Cluster.

## History

### Discovery

The first ever recorded deposits of Riberite were found on Lysara, Centrum's second moon, on Equinox 14th, 0005 BCU, by the scientists Juliana Anahera, Tan Lin, and Karl Aaberg of the 6th Lysara Southern Survey Expedition. The first deposit to be found and mined yielded less than a metric ton of Drift. Further Riberite deposits on Lysara have been found but are few in number, and, while richer than their predecessor, they are still incredibly scarce by other minerals' standards.

Riberite samples were returned to Centrum for study, and after a multi-national scientific effort, the Henshall Institute for Higher Learning published the paper "The Novel Relationship Between Exotic Hadrons and Gravitoelectromagnetism" in 0003 BCU, which confirmed Drift's ability to produce directional gravitoelectromagnetic fields.

### Impact

The discovery of Drift and its unique properties had immense scientific, economic, political, and social significance. Within three years of the Henshall Institute's publication, the nations of Centrum had unified into the Centrum Assembly, while three years after unification, Mathew Moura of the Centrum Multinational Aerospace Institute led the construction, testing, and flight of the first successful prototype of the Drift Drive, enabling the exploration and colonisation of nearby planets and moons in the Centrum System.

Drift's ability to produce exotic spatial topologies led to nearly a decade of intense study to reconcile Centrum's understanding of general relativity with anomalous behaviour of particles when in such topologies. Following Valentina Nakayama's discovery of the the Nakayama Mechanism, the means by which Drift produces gravitoelectromagnetic fields, Paul Bessa and Antonio Azevedo produced a new theory of universal relativity in 0007 PCU. Universal Relativity predicts that superluminal motion, the motion of an object at speeds greater than that of light, is allowed through exotic space topologies. This led to the construction of the Centrum-Pioneer Drift Gate, the first Drift Gate ever constructed by Humanity, allowing faster-than-light travel to the Pioneer System in 0017 PCU and permitting humanity to establish its first interstellar colony on the planet Storm, and from there, colonise the rest of the Tantalus Cluster.

### Drift and politics

The search for new sources of Drift has been a driving factor in Humanity's colonisation of the rest of the Tantalus Cluster. The Centrum Assembly requisitions at least 30% of the output of companies engaged in Riberite extraction for Drift Gate construction. This led to the first conflict in the Assembly's history, the Arasinian Commerce War, when companies engaged in mining the moons of Arasin Maxima attempted to declare independence rather than surrender Drift to the construction of the Centrum-Pioneer Drift Gate. If the Assembly government feels that requisitioning Drift is unnecessary in a given fiscal period, then extraction companies may sell it on an open market. This can lead to significant fluctuations in the price of Drift during Centran gate-building initiatives.

## Behind the Scenes

Drift is often used as an analogue for gold in *The Sojourn*, with phrases like "Fool's Drift" and "Hoping to Strike Drift" both being used.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Gabriel Fonseca, *The Science of Drift*
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Sojourn: Drift and Drift Gates - Avalon Archives
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Drift - Discovery and Properties | Official Lore Short | The Sojourn