Fictional (sub)atomic Particles
| Name | Source | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Bigon | Discover Magazine | A particle supposedly discovered by French scientists, which although it exists for just millionths of a second, it is the size of a bowling ball. "The Bigon" was an April Fool's joke article from issue no. 4/1996. |
| Bogon | Jargon File | In Quantum bogodynamics, a particle generated by politicians, used-car salesmen, TV evangelists and suits in general. Bogon absorption causes human beings to behave mindlessly and machines to fail (and may also cause both to emit secondary bogons). The antiparticle of the cluon. In Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, the galaxy that the titular characters are transported to is the Bogon Galaxy, most likely as a nod to the particle. |
| Chronon | The Fireclown by Michael Moorcock | The "atoms of time", used by the Fireclown to create the "Time Fire". |
| Cluon | Jargon File | In Quantum bogodynamics, a particle generated by those who Get It. Cluon absorption causes human beings to act reasonably. The antiparticle of the bogon. Sometimes called a validon. |
| Craptron | Instant Physics | A particle found in Washington D.C. A joke particle from the book. |
| Dust | His Dark Materials | An elementary particle that is the basic unit of consciousness. Not a constant; is generated by and confers sentience on animals in a positive feedback loop; in the context of humans, the human brain is a focusing mechanism for Dust. The more conscious the entity, the more Dust is around them. Permeates all universes and passes among dimensions. |
| Fat electron | Jargon File | In Quantum bogodynamics, an electron that gains weight via bogon absorption. Clogging the narrow micro-electronic pathways of microchips, it is believed to be the cause of microprocessors failing. |
| Goron | The Pearl Saga | A large atomic particle. Exposure leads to immediate fatality and complete organic disintegration into a yellowish powder. |
| GN Particle | Gundam 00 | Particles created by GN Drives which are generally of a greenish colour (except if produced by GN Tau Drives) and have a wide variety of uses, e.g. radio and radar jamming or even influence on human biology in various ways. |
| Gravioli | Futurama | A nonsense particle briefly mentioned in the episode Roswell That Ends Well, one of the forms of radiation emitted by a supernova. Presumably interacts strongly with microwave photons. |
| Kingon/Queon | Discworld | A particle hypothesized to exist by philosopher Ly Tin Wheedle. Particles that travel faster than light and transmit 'monarchy', since when a monarch dies, the successor is instantly the new monarch, with no gap or overlap between the two. The exception is when these particles are intercepted by their anti-particle, the republicon. The theory that this effect could be used for really fast information transmission (by carefully torturing a small king) was never fully developed, because at that point, the bar closed. |
| Kojima particles | Armored Core series (debut in Armored Core 4) | The Kojima particles named after his fictional creator are heavily radioactive particles used primary for shielding and defense but also for propulsion, weapons and energy source. The most common use is as a barrier that protects the gigantic mechs in Armored Core that also allows them to move at high speeds, giving them a huge advantage over other combat vehicles and weapons. These particles absorb the kinetic energy of projectiles and other weapons reducing the damage given to almost none. Depending on the weapon, the more power it fires, the more the kojima barrier stops, but of course draining the shield integrity. Another aspect of this particles is that they are extremely polluting and lethal due intense radiation and can cause heavy environmental damage. They are visible at high densities or upon impact with something and look greenish. |
| Nucleoproton | Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | The exact nature of this particle is never fully explained, but its applications are well-documented. Nucleoprotons appear as particles that are bright green in appearance and glow. Their application seems to widely vary. They apparently can be used as an energy source; a weapon, if nucleoprotons are directed to create a particle cannon; and a source of propulsion. |
| Oz | GURPS Technomancer | A particle that carries magical energy, found in places where boundaries between alternate possible realities are thin. Mages are able to control the flow of particles through spells, effectively reshaping the universe as they see fit. |
| Planetary Particle | Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds | A particle used to power the Ener-D reactor in New Domino City. |
| Pym Particle | Marvel Comics | Dr. Henry Pym originally discovered and isolated this rare group of subatomic particles, which could increase or decrease the size and mass of objects or living beings. |
| Reson | Discworld | Roughly translated as thingy, these particles combine to make up thaums. Similarly to real-world quarks, they come in five different flavours: Up, down, sideways, sex appeal and peppermint. They are considered to be the fundamental particles of reality (see Moving Pictures (novel)). |
| Snarks, Boojums | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan novelisation | The sub-elementary particles that quarks are made from, discovered by Drs. March and Madison, two Lewis Carroll fans involved with Project Genesis. Named after the creatures in The Hunting of the Snark. |
| Swivel | Caballo de Troya | This book gives a lengthy, detailed "technical" description of a time travel process by an "inversion of quantum swivels" which permits the supposed author "The Major" to witness the last weeks of Jesus's life through a time-travelling device sent back in time by the US military in an Israel base in 1973. |
| Tachyons | Numerous examples in sci-fi | A tachyon is any hypothetical particle that travels faster than light. In many fictional settings it is taken that this involves travelling through time and they are invoked as an integral part of, or even shorthand for, time travel devices. |
| Thaum | Discworld | A Thaum is the basic unit of magical strength. It has been universally established as the amount of magic needed to create one small white pigeon or three normal sized billiard balls. The thaum, hitherto believed to be the smallest possible particle of magic, was successfully demonstrated to be made up of /resons/ (Lit.: 'Thing-ies') or reality fragments. Currently research indicates that each reson is itself made up of a combination of at least five 'flavours', known as 'up', 'down', 'sideways', 'sex appeal' and 'peppermint'. The device that is used to measure the strength of magical fields is a thaumometer. |
| Thaumaturgon | Bas-Lag | A particle that mediates thaumaturgy or magic in the Bas-Lag novels of China Miéville. |
Read more about this topic: Bolonium
Famous quotes containing the words fictional and/or particles:
“One of the proud joys of the man of letters—if that man of letters is an artist—is to feel within himself the power to immortalize at will anything he chooses to immortalize. Insignificant though he may be, he is conscious of possessing a creative divinity. God creates lives; the man of imagination creates fictional lives which may make a profound and as it were more living impression on the world’s memory.”
—Edmond De Goncourt (1822–1896)
“O my countrymen!—be nice;Mbe cautious of your language;—and never, O! never let it be forgotten upon what small particles your eloquence and your fame depend.”
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