Tylium (RDM): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:43, 24 February 2024

This article covers the Re-imagined Series fuel. For the fuel used in the Original Series, see: tylium (TOS).

Apollo destroys a Cylon base to win supplies of tylium ^{(TRS: "The Hand of God")}.

Tylium (pronounced "TILL-lee-um") is a material used to fuel the propulsion systems of Colonial and Cylon spacecraft. At least three forms exist: tylium ore, refined tylium precursor, and refined tylium (the fuel itself).

Typically, tylium ore is mined from asteroids and is apparently not found on the Twelve Colonies natively. Large tylium ore deposits can keep fleets fueled for years ^{(TRS: "The Hand of God")}. In its raw form, tylium is a relatively fine, powdery substance that is liquefied and refined by refinery ships. Care needs to be taken to not introduce impurities into the fuel, which can cause engine malfunctions ^{(TRS: "Dirty Hands")}.

According to Dr. Gaius Baltar, tylium has the following characteristics:

Tylium ore is rendered inert and unusable when exposed to nuclear radiation;
Refined tylium precursor is more unstable and much easier to ignite than the finished fuel itself;
Refined tylium has a tremendous enthalpy to the order of approximately half a million gigajoules per kilogram, or about 6 times greater than uranium-235 and 81% that of deuterium fusion;
A tylium detonation results in no radioactive fallout ^{(TRS: "The Hand of God")}

Pure tylium can be easily detonated by a conventional warhead. Moreover, igniting fuel lines on spaceships usually quickly result in their loss ^{(TRS: "Miniseries, Night 1")}. The fuel can also be used to construct improvised mines ^{(TRS: "The Eye of Jupiter")}.

Notes

Enthalpy describes the thermodynamic potential of a system (H), and its simplest definition is the sum of the system's internal energy (U), and the product of its pressure (p) and volume (V): H = U + pV.
The official series web page on the Sci-Fi Channel web site incorrectly spells the substance as "tyllium" in the description of the mining ship on the ships page. As the Original Series DVD material, as well as labels seen in "Dirty Hands," show the spelling as "tylium," Battlestar Wiki contributors should use "tylium" as the correct spelling.
The first usage of this term uses the "TIE-lee-um" pronunciation (q.v. Original Series' "Saga of a Star World") as opposed to subsequent uses of "TILL-lee-um" (q.v. Re-imagined Series' "Miniseries").

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-'''Tylium''' is the material used to fuel the propulsion systems of Colonial and [[Cylon]] craft. Three forms are known of: tylium ore, refined tylium precursor, and refined tylium (the fuel itself).
+{{Disambiguation|tylium (TOS)|the fuel used in the [[Original Series]]|This article covers the [[Re-imagined Series]] fuel.}}[[Image:HandofGod.jpg|right|thumb|[[Lee Adama|Apollo]] [[Battle for the Tylium Asteroid|destroys a Cylon base]] to win supplies of tylium {{TRS|The Hand of God}}.]]
-Typically, tylium ore is mined from asteroids ([[The Hand of God]]) and is apparently not found on the [[Twelve Colonies]] natively. Large tylium ore deposits can keep fleets fueled for years.
+'''Tylium''' (pronounced "TILL-lee-um") is a material used to fuel the propulsion systems of Colonial and [[Cylons (RDM)|Cylon]] spacecraft. At least three forms exist: tylium ore, refined tylium precursor, and refined tylium (the fuel itself).
-According to Dr. Baltar: ([[The Hand of God]])
+Typically, tylium ore is mined from asteroids and is apparently not found on the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] natively. Large tylium ore deposits can keep fleets fueled for years {{TRS|The Hand of God (RDM)}}. In its raw form, tylium is a relatively fine, powdery substance that is liquefied and refined by [[refinery ship]]s. Care needs to be taken to not introduce impurities into the fuel, which can cause engine malfunctions {{TRS|Dirty Hands}}.
-* Tylium ore is rendered inert and unusable when exposed to nuclear radiation.
+According to Dr. [[Gaius Baltar]], tylium has the following characteristics:
-* It is extremely easy to trigger a chain reaction in (compared to, say, uranium or plutonium), requiring only the heat and pressure generated by a conventional warhead exploding next to it.
-* Refined tylium precursor is much easier to trigger than the fuel itself.
-* Refined tylium has a tremendous energy density of approximately half a billion megajoules per kilogram, or about 6 times greater than Uranium-235 and 81% that of deuterium fusion. However, it's unknown how efficient Colonial and Cylon reactors are.
-* Tylium's detonation results in no radioactive fallout.
+* Tylium ore is rendered inert and unusable when exposed to nuclear radiation;
+* Refined tylium precursor is more unstable and much easier to ignite than the finished fuel itself;
+* Refined tylium has a tremendous enthalpy to the order of approximately half a million gigajoules per kilogram, or about 6 times greater than uranium-235 and 81% that of deuterium fusion;
+* A tylium detonation results in no radioactive fallout {{TRS|The Hand of God (RDM)}}
+Pure tylium can be easily detonated by a conventional warhead. Moreover, igniting fuel lines on spaceships usually quickly result in their loss {{TRS|Miniseries, Night 1}}. The fuel can also be used to construct improvised mines {{TRS|The Eye of Jupiter}}.
 [[Category:A to Z]] [[Category:Technology]] [[Category:Resources]]
-==Note==
+==Notes==
-The official series web page on the [http://www.scifi.com Sci-Fi Channel] web site shows the spelling of the mineral as <b>"tyllium"</b> in the description of the [[Mining Ship]] on the Ships page. ''Battlestar Wiki'' currently accepts the spelling of the mineral in either format.
+*[[w:Enthalpy|Enthalpy]] describes the thermodynamic potential of a system (H), and its simplest definition is the sum of the system's internal energy (U), and the product of its pressure (p) and volume (V): ''H = U + pV''.
+*The official series web page on the [http://www.scifi.com Sci-Fi Channel] web site incorrectly spells the substance as "'''tyllium'''" in the description of the [[mining ship]] on the ships page. As the Original Series DVD material, as well as labels seen in "[[Dirty Hands]]," show the spelling as "tylium," ''Battlestar Wiki'' contributors should use "tylium" as the correct spelling.
+* The first usage of this term uses the "TIE-lee-um" pronunciation (q.v. {{OS|Saga of a Star World|prose=Y}}) as opposed to subsequent uses of "TILL-lee-um" (q.v. {{TRS|Miniseries|prose=Y}}).
+==See Also==
+*[[Substances in the Re-imagined Series]], for a discussion on the nature of tylium.
+*[[Cylon Refinery]]
+*[[Refinery ship]]
+[[Category:Technology]]
+[[Category:Technology (RDM)]]
+[[Category:Terminology]]
+[[Category:Terminology (RDM)]]
+[[Category:RDM]]
+[[de:Tylium]]