Dysonium

> *You know, in astrogeology class I learned that there's lots of dysonium in the galaxy.*— Marcus Finn
>
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**Dysonium** was a transuranic element and the chief power source for space-flight vessels in the early 25th century. Dysonium was most commonly found in nature as microscopic crystals in rare minerals present throughout the galaxy.

## Description

Dysonium could be either naturally or artificially produced. In its natural state, dysonium was found as dysonium ore. Dysonium could then be refined for use as fuel, which was said to "flow." Refined dysonium was extremely dense.

Dysonium could be found in large deposits on comets, moons, and some planets, usually in the mountains. The element was present in Earth's mantle, which was discovered in the early 22nd century.

The concentration of a deposit largely determined its usefulness as a power source. For example, Isaac mined dysonium deposited locally on a distant moon, but its concentration was sufficient only to send a brief signal from a shuttle to the USS *Orville*. Mining Captain Pria Lavesque landed on a comet to collect enough dysonium to power her ship.

One of the most important uses of refined dysonium was in a ship's quantum engines, which enabled faster-than-light speed travel. In the Planetary Union, dysonium was used to power all systems on board ships and shuttlecraft.

Among the responsibilities of the chief engineer aboard a ship was an analysis of the dysonium field condenser, a task which was performed once every month. Though it was rather easy (one that could be done by even first-year cadets according to Kelly Grayson), chief engineers such as John LaMarr considered the task tiresome.

Because of its usefulness to space-capable civilizations, high-energy dysonium was the focus of extensive mining operations across many star systems by the Planetary Union, the Vega Mining Consortium, the Krill, and the Nazh. The element was a source of conflict, civilizations battled for control of mining colonies or even enslaved entire species.

## Production

The concept of dysonium as a "fuel" for the quantum drive arose from the supervising producer, André Bormanis. He envisioned dysonium as a transuranic element that hosts an exotic material found in its nucleus with anti-gravitational properties that allows the extremely massive element to remain stable. Creator Seth MacFarlane listened to Bormanis's proposal and approved it with a simple 'sure.'

"In my thinking, Dysonium is a weakly radioactive element somewhere on the 'island of stability' thought to exist on the Periodic Table, somewhere beyond what would be element 125 or 130," Bormanis has stated. "My conjecture .... is that in addition to 'magic' numbers of protons and neutrons, these elements might contain a shell of negative matter in their nuclei that helps render them stable."

The fictional element of dysonium replaced MacFarlane's originally intended fuel source for the Orville, thorium, a real element, but it could not produce the amount of energy necessary.

Bormanis also stated that he intended dysonium to have an atomic mass between 130 and 135.

## Trivia

* Pria Lavesque claimed to negotiate mining rights with civilizations located on the frontier of known space.
* During the break-up of the planet Nyxia, John suggested that by modifying a wide-range tractor beam, one could pick out planetary fragments of dysonium before hauling them into the Shuttle Bay.
* According to André Bormanis, dysonium is named in honor of the physicist Freeman Dyson
* Dysonium is roughly equivalent to dilithium of the *Star Trek* franchise, which is used to power warp drives.

## Appearances

* *Episode 1x05: Pria* (mentioned only)
* *Episode 1x08: Into the Fold*
* *Episode 2x01: Ja'loja* (mentioned only)
* *Episode 2x02: Primal Urges* (mentioned only)
* *Episode 2x13: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow* (mentioned only)
* *Episode 2.5x03: Heroes, Pt. 1* (mentioned only)
* *Episode 2.5x04: Heroes, Pt. 2* (mentioned only)
* *Episode 3x06: Twice in a Lifetime* (mentioned only))

## Notes

1. ↑ Kastra 4 is a Union mining colony. Episode 1x06: Krill.
2. ↑ The Krill lay claim to the resources of Chara 3. Episode 1x06: Krill.
3. ↑ The Krill attack Kastra 4 and Chara 3 for its resources as well as to extinguish non-Krill life. Episode 1x06: Krill.

## References

1. ↑ Into the Fold
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 @TomCostantino. "From the mind of our own Andre Bormanis and the design of Doug Drexler. A little @TheOrville 👽 “science” for y’all. #TheOrville @hulu @planetary\_union @NASA @JackatNasa @On2Mars\_Kayla". Twitter. Oct. 11, 2019.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Episode 2x01: Ja'loja*
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Episode 2.5x03: Heroes, Pt. 1
5. ↑ Episode 3x01: Electric Sheep
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 *Episode 1x05: Pria*
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 *Episode 1x08: Into the Fold*
8. ↑ Episode 2x06: Twice in a Lifetime
9. ↑ *Episode 2x13: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow*
10. ↑ "The Orville Fan Podcast “THINK”sgiving Episode w/ André Bormanis". Planetary Union Network. Nov. 21, 2017.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Oullette, Jennifer. "The Orville blends science fiction and science fact into a winning mix". *Ars Technica*. Dec. 29, 2018.
12. ↑ https://www.outerplaces.com/science/item/16774-orville-interview-andre-bormanis