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In this world there is magic but it works on the basis on moving either a property or energy from/between objects. Hopefully I can have this make sense!

Using Matweb.com to get my numbers. Working with most properties makes sense to me, but the thermodynamic stuff gets a bit beyond me.

Working Mechanics

  • Think of it working like a Push and Pull. You have to write runes on the object that will be Pushing properties into the Pulling object. Multiple properties can be transferred, it just takes more complex runes, no worried about this for this problem, it can be complex.
  • Properties can't be looped, once the system is On the property will stick until it's Off (IE once it's blue, it's blue until you turn it off). Energy can be looped, so you could cycle heat between multiple things in a loop if need be.
  • The purer the element the better. Anything with a purity of less than 70% within an alloy or solution will have little discernible effect on the magic. Every 5% increase in purity will lead to 12.25% more effectiveness in property transfers. Example we'll transfer the Hardness of a Gold Ingot (25) into an Iron Ingot (150) :
    70% gold to 100% iron - Reduce the Hardness of iron to the average of gold/iron. So softer, but still greater than gold. (87.5)
    100% gold to 70% iron - Hardness of Iron only is reduced about 73.5% of the average. (46.33)
    70% gold to 70% iron - Attempting to push impure properties to an impure material will reduce effectiveness massively, instead of getting an average you'd get about 15% sway toward gold on the iron only. (148.29)

Transference of Properties based on purity

Hopefully, the chart makes my explanation make more sense.

  • Transfers can be done both ways or just one way, mechanics are the same but a two way would be two different calculations the double transfer would act as two singles using the non-altered material numbers.
  • Consider an altered item as a Magic Alloy, and normal Alloys can just be considered as normal but percents matter.
  • Using magic directly on a person will "probably" kill them, too many variables. Just assume they're dead if you directly change properties of their body.
  • Liquids can only have properties pulled from them, they can't push their properties. As you have to be able to write on the object to push properties from it.
  • To make the transfer of properties the objects need to be touching. Afterwards they can be separated but the magic will degrade over the course of 10-15min.

Problem to solve

What materials would create the best "magical alloy" to draw heat from a person?
or different wording
Magic can't just create cold in a hot environment, so how do I deal with the heat?

Scenario

Need something that can be carried by people and allows them to survive an environment that reaches 100+ Celsius. They can wear a full body suit, but need a way to control excess heat from killing them, using pre-industrial age tech and transference magics. It would be great if it's simple enough, figure it's being made my a town blacksmith/alchemist/weaver and you have 3-5 people that need to keep things in repair for 200-300 people.

  • People live in sheltered areas that can have large immobile more complex sinks, but they need a way to survive multiple hours in an extreme heat environment. Say 2+ hours, more is better.
  • Heat does not need to be stored, we just need to protect the bodies from accumulating too much.
  • The lighter the better, but if say it's heavy enough that only adult males could feasibly use it for extended times then it is what it is.
  • Mostly just worried about the elements I should use, actual configuration ideas are just a plus.
  • Honestly, if this doesn't require magic at all and something actually exists that I don't know about that would be cool also!
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    $\begingroup$ I'm not sure I fully understand your request. Your example transference is some limited and intrinsic property of a material (its "hardness"). Heat isn't really at all like hardness. If you can transfer heat magically, why does it matter what the transmitting material is made of, if it is magically transmitting all its heat away anyway? $\endgroup$
    – Starfish Prime
    Oct 31, 2019 at 15:02
  • $\begingroup$ Some materials have better ability to transfer energy through them, like heat. Thinking how like an iron spoon in a cup of boiling water will get hotter faster than a wood one and conduct the heat through it. So I need a material that can help gather heat from one space (inside the suit) and another that will be good for dispersing or holding heat away from them. $\endgroup$
    – Nymn
    Oct 31, 2019 at 15:07
  • $\begingroup$ Since magic can't directly effect the person or the air to grab the excess energy. I can't write on either. $\endgroup$
    – Nymn
    Oct 31, 2019 at 15:09
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    $\begingroup$ What's the relationship between thermal conductivity and magical heat transfer? The question does not say anywhere that magical heat transfer is a surface effect. And as for how to deal with the heat, since the question does not say anything about distance, I'd say that the best solution is to push it into Neptune. Nobody cares about the temperature of Neptune, so they can simply dump all their unwanted heat over there. $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Oct 31, 2019 at 15:56
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    $\begingroup$ Ah, and before you ask: Neptune is 80% hydrogen, so it's above the magic 70% threshold of purity. And, heat being heat, once you can push some of it without consuming energy you can push all of it in the same way. $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Oct 31, 2019 at 16:03

2 Answers 2

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Copper or gold passive/active coolers (exactly like we have at our processors - but times larger) would be ideal. Pull heat from, say copper hat/trousers to that cooler wich is placed in some cold water stream (ideal) or on top of mountain (through the relay chain) to be air cooled. You can even can overcool people with such a system!

  • You can achive almost 100% purity of materials and thus high magical efficiency
  • They do not requere any advanced technology (barbarian shamans can establish such a system)
  • They are one of the best solid thermal conductors at (around) normal conditions - you can transfer a lot of heat through them
  • They do not rust
  • They are soft metals - you can easely create any contraptions you want

Disadvantages are - relative rarity of this materials and there weight. If you want to build something huge (like cooled safehouse) you'd better use pure iron, but then you have to deal with rusting.

UPD: You can use copper wires to "extend" affected objects or have constant connection, so your people wouldn't need to return for reconnection every 10 minutes

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    $\begingroup$ And reminders for if you're using magic, you can replace properties of the metals also by Pushing another metal onto them. You could make anything as soft as gold or hard as chromium should you have it in availability, or say give aluminum some of the properties of copper so you'd have lighter material to work with. It's kind of a pseudo transmutation. $\endgroup$
    – Nymn
    Nov 1, 2019 at 11:40
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Basically, Air

So, if I understand your question correct, you can magic heat from one object into another object, and you want an object that can take the most amount of heat possible. This answer is assuming that's the question.

What you're looking for is pretty simple - something with a high specific heat, and I'd recommend hydrogen gas. Specific heat is the term for the energy needed to raise the temperature of something one degree. Metal, for instance, has a very low specific heat - it's easy to heat up to high temperatures. Hydrogen gas, on the flip side, has a specific heat of 14.3 j/g (compares to water's 4.3 and iron's .4). And, as a bonus, is lighter than air. So your characters wearing a backpack of the stuff should be fine.

Now, hydrogen gas isn't easy to get a hold of for a pre-industrial age tech, so use the next best thing - air. (Not joking.) Normal air has a specific heat of around 1.0 (so water is better) but there's an advantage to air - it's replenishable. Have a pouch of it, and once it gets too hot, pop it open, fill it with new air, and use that instead.

EDIT: By the way, the way to write on air is simple - have an engraving on the inside of the pouch that leaves an indent in the air. Same technique can be used for water.

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  • $\begingroup$ I like the take of writing on air/water, though technically I may say that would mean it's written on the pouch, but I could work with something along those lines. The air around them is already quite hot but that would not stop pushing extra heat into it. My main issue is that air in general is going to be a mixture and being a gas the molecules are going everywhere, may be difficult to pin down an exact element. Pushing heat into it would be simple, pulling from it not as much. $\endgroup$
    – Nymn
    Oct 31, 2019 at 19:06
  • $\begingroup$ Air is quite impure nitrogen (72%). Magic would barely work! $\endgroup$
    – ksbes
    Nov 1, 2019 at 9:38

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