History Main / MinovskyPhysics

* Unexpected as this trope may be in a Creator/MichaelBay film, ''Film/TransformersAgeOfExtinction'' goes in this direction with [[{{Unobtainium}} Transformium]], providing an explanation of how transforming robots, which seem to have traits of both machines and biological entities, can exist. The short of it is that Transformers are built out of "living metal" protoform forged by alien creators out of organic matter, whose "genome" was in turn was cracked, reprogrammed, manufactured, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and trademarked]] by a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive corrupt human corporation]] as Transformium, allowing them to create stuff that transforms into whatever they program. Note that it exists in limited supply (if it can't be created outright, it must be [[HumanResources harvested from other robots]]), and the fact it requires organic planetary matter to exist provides brings implications of HostileTerraforming that form up part of the movie's conflict.

[[folder: Toys]]
* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
** Energized Protodermis is the catalyst for the events of the series due to it's ability to change whatever it comes into contact with depending on the object's destiny. Krana and Rahkshi are consistently created when their original ingredients are exposed to it, but sentient beings of the same species will experience drastically different mutations. If something has ''no'' destiny at all, Energized Protodermis will outright destroy it. It can also be used to consistently create Rahi (and implied to also be able to create other sentient beings, but only Artkha and the Great Beings know the actual recipe). Finally, when exposed to atmosphere, it acts as a terraforming agent [[spoiler: which is how the island of Mata Nui was formed.]].
** Antidermis is a gaseous compound that is the focus of the Inika series. It's most prominent property was mind controlling Matorans while also boosting the power of "strong" species like Brutaka or the Pirakas. Notably it is destroyed on contact with Energized Protodermis while also protecting any infected by Antidermis from the rest of the Energized Protodermis's effects. [[spoiler: Later on it's revealed that Antidermis was not always gaseous and most of it's effects are likely a subversion; Antidermis was created by the Great Beings in a mimicry of Energized Protodermis and is what's used to create the Makuta, who are comprised of the stuff. They eventually evolved into a gaseous state where their consciousness is now tied to their antidermis. The stuff the Inika encountered? ''It was Teridax'', who had a penchant for manipulating people via mind control or faustian deals.]]
** Normal Protodermis is also this. It seems to hold a wide variety of properties depending on how it is forged, ranging from being able to act like cells in a body to being industrial construction material to being nanotech computers and everything in between. It is divided into different forms such as metalic, liquid, organic, and unrefined, each with their own properties, but in general it acts like a type of soft metal that can safely contain a lot of energy. It can be forged into Armor (most notably, Protosteel) or it can be found growing on most rahi. [[spoiler: There's a reason it has so many properties; the entire Matoran Universe is made up of Protodermis as the Matoran Universe ''is'' Mata Nui's body; the normal Protodermis is literally the cells that make up his body.]]

[[/folder]]

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has a [[http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Materials_and_substances very long list of fictional substances and their properties.]] Very rarely is any material given new abilities to fill a plot need: instead, the writers invent entirely new materials.
** Star Trek's [[AllThereInTheManual technical manuals]] all try to provide consistent explanations for the science and technology of the series.

The {{Trope Namer|s}} is the {{anime}} series ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. Creator/YoshiyukiTomino wanted to write a RealRobot anime. However, anyone remotely familiar with either engineering or military tactics will tell you that such devices are almost impossible to use effectively; a bipedal platform is needlessly complicated, hard to properly armor, and the easiest thing to shoot at on a battlefield. Enter the Minovsky Particle: an entire branch of science that provides humanity with powerful energy generators and AntiGravity technology. It is also an EMP-like, sensor-jamming, delicate-electronics wrecking PlotDevice that not only renders all ranged targeting and guided missiles useless, but requires [[{{Unobtainium}} Helium-3]] to produce. Consequently, humans had to [[IWantMyJetpack go to space]] to get Helium-3, fight old-school, close-combat battles using systems capable of tricky microgravity maneuvering, and eventually standardize the technology to simplify maintenance. The result? A world full of HumongousMecha -- which, far from being contrived, seems like a natural evolution of military technology ''in light of'' the Minovsky Particle. And what's truly elegant is the metafiction: from a {{Doylist}} view, Mobile Suits made the particle necessary; but from the {{Watsonian}} or InUniverse view, it's ''the particle'' that made ''Mobile suits'' necessary.

[[folder:Comic Books ]]

* The ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' universe has smart atoms, atoms that are physically identical to regular matter but programmed to siphon background radiation from the universe to perform amazing feats under specific circumstances. It's applications are potentially limitless but actually implementing them is so complicated even advanced civilizations can barely scratch the surface. On Earth they're generally used as either an incredibly powerful battery, to make durable supersuits, or to give people superpowers. The [[HumanAlien Viltrumites]] were advanced enough with it to biologically modify themselves into flying bricks capable of living thousand of years and [[NoBiochemicalBarriers interbreeding with wildly different, alien species]].

** Adamantium, a (nearly) indestructible metal, only the strongest/most powerful heroes or villains can begin to damage it. It's a compound which is liquid until it sets, then stays in the given form forever. The robot villain Ultron (see below) is made of it.
** Pym particles, named after [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]] which allow matter to be shrunk or enlarged at will, ignoring the square cube law and drawing extra mass (in the case of growing) from or shunting excess mass (in the case of shrinking) to another dimension; it's later explained that Pym Particles specifically adjust an object along three axes. [[SizeShifter size]], [[SquareCubeLaw strength]] and [[HollywoodDensity density]]. They illustrate this with Ant-Man, Wonder Man and Vision whose powers applied Pym Particles on those other axes.
** Unstable Molecules, invented by [[ReedRichardsIsUseless Reed Richards]], which can be tailored to 'snap back' from one form to another on command or in response to superpowers, [[MySuitIsAlsoSuper used to make superhero costumes]];
** Vibranium, an alien metal with two subtypes: Antarctic vibranium, which can destroy any metal by touch (even Adamantium) and Wakandan vibranium, which absorbs all kinetic force (including sound).

Aside from pure flavoring, having some strict mechanics behind the {{Verse}} prevents it from easily slipping into pitfalls full of MisappliedPhlebotinum and thus helps to keep the setting to that of a hard sci-fi; in fact, settings with Minovsky Physics can be LikeRealityUnlessNoted, especially if the particles are worked into the {{Anthropic Principle}}s underpinning the story. For authors, this may be viewed as a SelfImposedChallenge or a way to defuse the temptation of sneaking in NewPowersAsThePlotDemands and/or PlotInducedStupidity.

* In ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'', the properties of saecelium are remarkably well-defined: As Solomon says in his third message, it exists in the "when properly refined, [it] exists in a liminal space between realities", and as such is fixed in spacetime relative to other saecelium; it outputs a fixed amount of power for a stable crystal of a given size; and fallout from unstable saecelium has (for the most part) known effects.

* In ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'', the properties of saecelium are remarkably well-defined: it exists in the "liminal space between realities", and as such is fixed in spacetime relative to other saecelium; it outputs a fixed amount of power for a stable crystal of a given size; and fallout from unstable saecelium has (for the most part) known effects.

* [[http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-view-article&egart_uid=48630634d2591 Magmatter]] from ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' is an incredibly detailed version heavily based on real scientific speculation. It's a type of exotic matter that's super-strong, super-dense and (depending on the type) converts normal matter into energy and is a perfect reflector for electromagnetic radiation. It's used to make nigh-indestructible cables, braces, rocket nozzles and military armour, and as the key component in conversion reactors and conversion drives (which generate power and propel spaceships, respectively).

** In addition, [[ShownTheirWork a ''lot'' of effort is put into making this incredibly fictional material believable]], including (but not limited to): [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_effect Doppler shifting]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation Cherenkov radiation]] by mass effect fields, the effects of overexposure to eezo, which range from fatal tumors to {{Bizarre Baby Boom}}s of "[[MindOverMatter biotics]]", and regular static discharges when eezo cores are used in space. The end result is the most consistent world Creator/BioWare has yet made. A lot of thought went into the resulting implications of the technology -- for example being unable to use [[StealthInSpace stealth systems]] at FTL speeds because of the effects blueshift would have. It even points out how the ability of mass effect fields to reduce an object to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter negative mass]] negates TimeDilation. Throughout all this, conservation of energy is strictly enforced, but the internal consistency is not perfect: conservation of momentum is not always enforced, and some of the telekinetic effects that biotics are capable of shouldn't be possible even by the principles of mass effect fields.
*** Interestingly, the originally planned but abandoned story for 3 would have taken this "research" further and revolved around the above mentioned negative effects of playing around with physics like this. Some of the groundwork for this story can be seen in 2. Specifically over use of the Mass Effect wreaks havoc with Dark Matter, ultimately leading to low mass stars going supernova at a "young" age. The Reapers knew this but didn't have a way of preventing it, so would periodically wipe out advanced civilizations as a stopgap measure to restrict the use of the Mass Effect and thus stave off the eventual damage.
* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' utilizes an alternative periodic table of the elements to help with worldbuilding. Nothing much has been ''established'' on how it works, but it is known that it will help with making the {{procedural|Generation}}ly-generated worlds unique due to how much or how little a planet has of an element.

The {{Trope Namer|s}} is the {{anime}} series ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. Creator/YoshiyukiTomino wanted to write a RealRobot anime. However, anyone remotely familiar with either engineering or military tactics will tell you that such devices are almost impossible to use effectively; a bipedal platform is needlessly complicated, hard to properly armor, and the easiest thing to shoot at on a battlefield. Enter the Minovsky Particle: an EMP-like, sensor-jamming, delicate-electronics wrecking PlotDevice that not only renders all ranged targeting and guided missiles useless, but requires [[{{Unobtainium}} Helium-3]] to produce. Consequently, humans had to [[IWantMyJetpack go to space]] to get Helium-3, fight old-school, close-combat battles using systems capable of tricky microgravity maneuvering, and eventually standardize the technology to simplify maintenance. The result? A world full of HumongousMecha -- which, far from being contrived, seems like a natural evolution of military technology ''in light of'' the Minovsky Particle. And what's truly elegant is the metafiction: from a {{Doylist}} view, Mobile Suits made the particle necessary; but from the {{Watsonian}} or InUniverse view, it's ''the particle'' that made ''Mobile suits'' necessary.

A kind of InternalConsistency. A device which ''utilizes'' the particles that follow Minovsky Physics is a SchematizedProp. The fantasy equivalent is MagicAIsMagicA, which is less about plausibility and more about remaining consistent in depiction. Contrast GreenRocks, which will do anything required of the plot, and BlackBox, which is [[LostTechnology technology that simply works but no one understands]].

Any instance of a fictional subatomic particle, molecule, element or form of energy which has [[MagicAIsMagicA rigidly-adhered-to]] but [[AppliedPhlebotinum useful]] physical properties. This kind of [[{{Unobtainium}} unobtanium]] is quite rare in fiction, as having more rules to follow tends to make things harder for the writers. It is essentially a [[JustifiedTrope justified]] [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Acceptable Break from Reality]], aiding WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief by back-engineering in explanations for the weird bits.

A kind of InternalConsistency. A device which ''utilizes'' the particles that follow Minovsky Physics is a SchematizedProp. The fantasy equivalent is MagicAIsMagicA. Contrast GreenRocks, which can do anything the writer wants.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has its own version in the form of GN ("Gundam Nucleus") Particles. Basically they do all the same things as Minovsky particles (produced via an exotic type of reactor, jam radar, allow non-aerodynamic machines to fly, and make beam weapons possible), along with a few new tricks (increasing the strength of armor and the cutting power of physical blades when they're impregnated with the particles). In the second season, GN Particles go from Minovsky Particles to [[GreenRocks magical pixie dust]], capable of performing such feats as [[EvolutionaryLevels evolving a person]], magically healing dying people, and {{teleport|ation}}ing mobile suits at will. While these changes are essentially unexplained the series drops hints of it in absolutely every episode, and some of the more "ridiculous" effects are simply extrapolations of previously observed properties. [[spoiler: Basically, the 'true' (green colored) GN Particles had always been magical pixie dust in a sense but humans and technology didn't catch up for all of fifty-two episodes. Aeolia's convoluted Master Plan was intended to facilitate this catching up before his created assistants decided to go off on their own tangent.]]

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' has the Ahab particles, generated from Ahab reactors used for spacecraft and mobile suits. Unlike most examples in other series, they are mostly harmless and used for artificial gravity. What is not harmless is the Ahab Waves which can disrupt communications, guided weapons, and such. Thus usage of Ahab reactors is generally not allowed in urban areas due to the waves causing blackouts.

* The FTL/STL drives in David Weber's Literature/HonorHarrington universe, which also have a secondary function as impenetrable shields over certain aspects of a ship's hull (as well as parts of the hull that ''can't'' be shielded when accelerating), and the limitations thereof, have repercussions in the design of ships, styles of space combat, weapons used, and customs of war that have show up constantly in the series. The technology is basically designed around making spaceships have to adopt "ship of the line"-style tactics InSpace.

*** Played amazingly straight in most of the "Three Laws" stories which centered around robots apparently breaking one of the Three Laws but, in actuality, they were just taking logical extensions or interpretations that they humans didn't think of when they wrote them (or were failing to see circumstances that were obvious to the robots). [[AuthorsSavingThrow Robot saving throw?]]

The TropeNamer is the {{anime}} series ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. Creator/YoshiyukiTomino wanted to write a RealRobot anime. However, anyone remotely familiar with either engineering or military tactics will tell you that such devices are almost impossible to use effectively; a bipedal platform is needlessly complicated, hard to properly armor, and the easiest thing to shoot at on a battlefield. Enter the Minovsky Particle: an EMP-like, sensor-jamming, delicate-electronics wrecking PlotDevice that not only renders all ranged targeting and guided missiles useless, but requires [[{{Unobtainium}} Helium-3]] to produce. Consequently, humans had to [[IWantMyJetpack go to space]] to get Helium-3, fight old-school, close-combat battles using systems capable of tricky microgravity maneuvering, and eventually standardize the technology to simplify maintenance. The result? A world full of HumongousMecha -- which, far from being contrived, seems like a natural evolution of military technology ''in light of'' the Minovsky Particle. And what's truly elegant is the metafiction: from a {{Doylist}} view, Mobile Suits made the particle necessary; but from the {{Watsonian}} or InUniverse view, it's ''the particle'' that made ''Mobile suits'' necessary.

** He's gone quite a bit further with the trilogy ''Orthogonal'', which takes place in a universe where spacetime follows the Riemannian rather than the usual (Minkowski) metric. (A minus sign is changed to a plus sign in one fundamental equation.) This leads to a raft of changes--light travels at different speeds depending on its color, and plants generate energy by emitting it, for one thing--and [[http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/ORTHOGONAL/ORTHOGONAL.html#CONTENTS Egan has written a veritable physics textbook]] as a companion piece.

[[folder:Live Action TV ]]

** In [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]], the first and second laws of thermodynamics are actually plot elements and not simply handwaved. Mass is conserved and the energy comes from [[spoiler:death on the other side of the gate]].

** [[{{Unobtainium}} Gundanium]] also merits a passing mention here, being an unspecified alloy that can only be manufactured by the Space Colonies. This sounds unlikely, but [[AluminiumChristmasTrees in actual fact is quite plausible]], as liquid metal behaves very differently in microgravity.

Any instance of a fictional subatomic particle, molecule, element or form of energy which has [[MagicAIsMagicA rigidly-adhered-to]] but [[AppliedPhlebotinum useful]] physical properties. This kind of [[{{Unobtainium}} unobtanium]] is quite rare in fiction, as having more rules to follow tends to make things harder for the writers. It is essentially a [[JustifiedTrope justified]] NecessaryWeasel, aiding WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief by back-engineering in explanations for the weird bits.

* A.K. Dewdney's novel ''{{The Planiverse}}'' is about a two-dimensional universe. In addition to discussing some of the expected technological issues (how do you build things when driving a nail through a plank necessarily divides it into two pieces?), he goes so far as to work out what impact having only two spatial dimensions would have on ''chemistry'' (the periodic table is different).

* Wiki/TheOtherWiki has plenty of details on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Century_technology#Minovsky_physics how the Minovsky Particle works.]]

* ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' embraces this trope in a way that stands out from the rest of the [[Franchise/{{Digimon}} franchise]]. In this series, there are only two fundamental changes to reality: Digital information can realise (i.e., literally become real in mid air) and actual artificial intelligence is not only possible, but has been achieved in the eighties. Furthermore, there is a great amount of detail put on explaining the working principles behind both (like the necessity for a converter algorithm). Otherwise, everything that happens in the series either obeys the rules of physics (especially because many of them ''did'' happen in RealLife) or is a consequence of the application of the Minovsky Physics.

* Both the Marvel and DC Comic universes have plenty of examples. From Marvel:

** Adamantium, a (nearly) indestructible metal, only the strongest/most powerful heroes or villains can begin to damage it. It's a compound which is liquid until it sets, then stays in the given form forever. The robot villain Ultron (see below) is made of it.
* From DC Comics:
** Inertron (see below).
** Promethium is a metal invented by Steve Dayton. When alloyed with titanium and vanadium, depleted promethium forms a near-invulnerable metal. Volatile promethium is also capable of generating near-limitless amounts of energy, and so can be used as a power source for many gadgets.
* The ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' universe has smart atoms, atoms that are physically identical to regular matter but programmed to siphon background radiation from the universe to perform amazing feats under specific circumstances. It's applications are potentially limitless but actually implementing them is so complicated even advanced civilizations can barely scratch the surface. On Earth they're generally used as either an incredibly powerful battery, to make durable supersuits, or to give people superpowers. The [[HumanAlien Viltrumites]] were advanced enough with it to biologically modify themselves into flying bricks capable of living thousand of years and [[NoBiochemicalBarriers interbreeding with wildly different, alien species]].

* Ectoplasm in the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''/''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' {{crossover}}, ''FanFic/SayItThrice''
** The [[AnotherDimension Ghost Zone]] and everything in it (especially the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghosts]] who originate there) are composed of it. Ectoplasm mimics more traditional molecular structures, but is not composed of any recognizable atoms or atomic particles. The structures and forms created by ectoplasm are stable while remaining malleable. The ability for the ectoplasm to mimic and interact with objects from the real world is imperfect (i.e. "phasing" through solid objects, turning invisible), but is effective enough to allow entities from the Ghost Zone to exist outside it. The ability for ghosts to enter the real world, be seen by humans, and affect it without being destroyed is due to the relative stability of the ectoplasm they are composed of. Destabilization of the ectoplasm takes a lot of energy (either added or taken out) and will eventually lead to complete collapse of the structure. The flexibility of ectoplasm and its ability to mimic normal forms of matter is also probably why it is possible for [[WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom Danny]] to be half ghost.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Chaos}}'' (which has varying degrees of sci-fi hardness; one section will seem to be trying to adhere ''almost'' rigidly to {{real life}} laws of physics, the next will be almost unmitigated fantasy—though this is most likely [[{{hand waved}} explained away]] by its nature as a {{scrapbook story}} with each section being [[DirectLineToTheAuthor ostensibly]] written by a different {{unreliable narrator}}) has the "scalon", the carrier particle (really particle-wave…okay, just wave) of a fifth fundamental force called the "divine force", or more commonly, the "chaotic force". The setup here is sort of similar to the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' example below: the Chaotic Force is a fundamental force, it's sort of like a mixture of electromagnetism [[{{this is your premise on drugs}} on steroids]] and [[{{anti gravity}} gravity in reverse]]. It conveniently answers a few of the questions plaguing physics today, such as, what is dark energy? It's the chaotic force! What gives matter its mass? It's the chaotic force! Because scalons (the ''Chaos'' counterpart of the [[{{magical particle accelerator}} Higgs boson]], also known as ''scal''ar waves or torsion waves) can [[{{FTL Travel}} move at superluminal speeds]] and [[{{reality warper}} warp up space and time themselves]] (in fact, they essentially ''are'' just quanta of warped spacetime), there are [[{{sufficiently advanced technology}} really very few limits placed upon what they can do]], and the various types of powers they enable, referred to collectively as "[[{{shout out}} chaos bending]]", [[{{clarkes third law}} for all intents and purposes, are simply functional magic with a sci-fi technobabble explanation]].

* The phrase "''Franchise/MassEffect''" is not just the title of the franchise, but an [[TitleDrop in-universe term]] for the Minovsky Physics surrounding the myriad properties and uses of an exotic matter called "Element Zero," which is the critical resource that makes interstellar civilization possible. Element Zero, or "Eezo" for short, increases the mass of nearby matter when positively charged (allowing for things like [[DeflectorShields kinetic barriers]] and ArtificialGravity), and decreases their mass when negatively charged, potentially even to a ''negative mass'' (hence the name "''Mass Effect''"), enabling [[{{Flight}} anti-gravity vehicles]] and a perfectly researched form of FasterThanLightTravel.
** In addition, [[ShownTheirWork a ''lot'' of effort is put into making this incredibly fictional material believable]], including (but not limited to): [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_effect Doppler shifting]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation Cherenkov radiation]] by mass effect fields, the effects of overexposure to eezo, which range from fatal tumors to {{Bizarre Baby Boom}}s of "[[MindOverMatter biotics]]", and regular static discharges when eezo cores are used in space. The end result is the most consistent world Creator/BioWare has yet made. A lot of thought went into the resulting implications of the technology -- for example being unable to use [[StealthInSpace stealth systems]] at FTL speeds because of the effects blueshift would have. It even points out how the ability of mass effect fields to reduce an object to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exotic_matter negative mass]] negates TimeDilation. Throughout all this, conservation of energy is strictly enforced, but the internal consistency is not perfect: conservation of momentum is not always enforced, and some of the telekinetic effects that biotics are capable of shouldn't be possible even by the principles of mass effect fields.
*** Interestingly, the originally planned but abandoned story for 3 would have taken this "research" further and revolved around the above mentioned negative effects of playing around with physics like this. Some of the groundwork for this story can be seen in 2. Specifically over use of the Mass Effect wreaks havoc with Dark Matter, ultimately leading to low mass stars going supernova at a "young" age. The Reapers knew this but didn't have a way of preventing it, so would periodically wipe out advanced civilizations as a stopgap measure to restrict the use of the Mass Effect and thus stave off the eventual damage.
* In ''Videogame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'' there is a futuristic technology called "Direct Energy Air Defense" which renders air-to-ground and long range attacks useless as they accurately shoot down missiles and air-to-ground bombs, returning foot soldiers (human or [[{{Cyborg}} otherwise]]) and ground combat into the spotlight.
* In ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarUniverse'' and other games set in its continuity, photons work ''very'' differently than in the real world. Similar to ''Franchise/MassEffect,'' much of the technology as well as ''{{magic|AIsMagicA}}'' found in the games depend on the unique properties of photons. Information about how they work, and how [[SchematizedProp Photon and A-Photon based technology]] utilize them, is found scattered throughout dialogue in the games and the UniverseBible.

* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'': Tiberium, in the early games, was well defined, but the third game in the series took it up a notch:
-->For the development of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberiumWars'', Electronic Arts decided to radically alter its composition, and commissioned scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to provide a white paper describing the biophysics of Tiberium, its atomic structure, its method of transmutation, the form of the radiation that it emits, and the way to harness it for powering machinery and weapons—giving it the same treatment as would be suitable for a scientific journal article on a real substance.
* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' utilizes an alternative periodic table of the elements to help with worldbuilding. Nothing much has been ''established'' on how it works, but it is known that it will help with making the {{procedural|Generation}}ly-generated worlds unique due to how much or how little a planet has of an element.

* Tratons in ''Webcomic/UnicornJelly'', Tryslmaistan's equivalent of atoms. Instead of mass-attraction gravity, there's Linovection and Planovection, the Electanic Charge. She keeps up the habit in ''Webcomic/PastelDefenderHeliotrope'' with an entirely different dynamic system of Chatoyance.

* Pattern theory, in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. Used in order to explain where the energy for mutant superpowers comes from, and how mutants use it. It also limits the strength and scope of the possible superpowers, so a flying brick who can lift five tons is a really big deal.

* The ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries'' has Tiberium, in the early games, was well defined, but the third game in the series takes it ''Main/UpToEleven'':