#thank u for ur explanation i truly find this stuff so fascinating

[definitelynotshouting]

I adore your comparison of a crafting table to a catalyst because it’s not only great world building, it’s also got some really funny implications.

When studying an IRL chemical reaction, broadly speaking the two things we care about most are 1) how energetically favorable is this reaction (do I have to input energy to make it do the thing) and 2) how fast does it go. These are thermodynamics and kinetics, respectively. You can have a really fast reaction that actually isn’t energetically favorable, and you can have super slow reactions that are actually SUPER energetic, and everything in between. Catalysts actually only change the kinetics (speed) of a reaction - if something isn’t going to happen naturally on its own over time, adding a catalyst isn’t going to help. Biological systems are a great example - cells mostly function on their own over time, but you NEED enzymes (natures catalysts) in order for your body to function on a relevant time scale.

You mentioned that a player could whole-sale code, say, planks into steps on their own, but that the crafting table just makes it faster and easier. However, by definition of a catalyst, just placing planks in the correct configuration would EVENTUALLY make steps over a REALLY long time, and that’s hilarious.

I suspect that Grian’s use of his natural catalytic abilities in upcoming chapters will be much less hilarious 🥲. Actually wait brb heading to the combined wall/google doc to check—

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CHEM ANON YOURE RIGHT THATS THE FUNNIEST UNINTENTIONAL IMPLICATION IVE EVER ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED ON. IM GOING TO BE THINKING ABOUT THIS FOREVER NOW