Dilithium is a naturally recurring member of the hypersonic series, primarily taking the form of a crystalline mineral. It is an essential component of several faster than light propulsion methods, the most notable being warp drive.
History[]
By 2050, Humans officially discovered Dilithium in Antarctica which was believed to have come to Earth on a meteor. Scientist's were puzzled with it and eventually discarded it into a astronomical museum.
In later decades after Zefram Cochrane's low warp success, they discovered the element on the fifth moon of Jupiter only now their Vulcan allies revealed to them that it could be used in Matter x Antimatter power sources.
By the 31st century, Dilithium resources in the galaxy had began to dry up. This was partially due to over extensive mining. This led to the Federation producing a mandate to trial Dilithium alternatives but little to none were successful except the Vulcan/Romulan proposed design.
When the first test trial for the Ni'var project was underway, the "burn" occurred and a huge portion of the Galaxy's remaining supply was vaporised leading to the near fall of galactic society.
In 3189, the USS Discovery-A discovered Theta Zeta, a planet composed of dilithium, in the Verubin Nebula while investigating the cause of the Burn. The large repository gave Starfleet the means to distribute dilithium to planets and systems around the galaxy, reigniting the Federation.
Overview[]
Under certain rare circumstances, dilithium deposits could form in such a way that the crystals grew into perfectly aligned lattices. If enough dilithium was present, it began to form "generator strata". A piezoelectric effect occurred when the crystals took the radiant heat of the planet and converted it into seismic energy. This mechanical energy could increase tectonic stresses in a planet's crust to the point where the planet literally tore itself apart.
It is believed that this element exists in more than three dimensions at the same time and this is somehow related to its properties. When placed in a high-frequency electromagnetic field, eddy currents are induced into its spiral structure which keep charged particles away from the crystal lattice. This prevents it from reacting with antimatter when so energized, because the antimatter particles never actually touch it. Therefore, it is used to contain and regulate the annihilation reaction of matter and antimatter in a starship's FTL core, which otherwise would explode from the uncontrolled annihilation reaction.
After long enough used as a power converter/regulator, Dilithium burns itself out becoming a hollowed shell which is basically worthless. Unless re energised by high-energy photons or recrystallized.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Unlike in other media, dilithium appears blue rather than red.