Elektia

Elektia is an iridescent, notable as a store of thermal energy. In nature, elektia releases thermal energy in an uncontrolled manner when exposed to air. Most contemporary uses of elektia take advantage of its so-called "elektic" properties to produce or store power. Its first recorded use was as heating element to boil water, which later evolved into closed-loop whereby pressurized air is forced through a tank of purified elektia to heat a boiler. This principle has since been refined and scaled up into elektic reactors which generator massive amounts of power. Additionally, the elektovoltaic effect was discovered in 1923, where the potential energy of elektia can be expressed as electric current as part of an elektovoltaic battery.

Elektic reactors
The most common type of elektic power generation is its use as the fuel for thermal power stations. Such power stations typically involve purified or synthetic elektia placed under pressure being exposed to a pressurized air stream, which generates heats at far higher levels than is found in unprocessed elektia. This heat energy is then transferred to a working fluid—usually water or a —which drives steam turbines to generate electricity. A primary hazard of elektic reactors is the elektic meltdown, which occurs when elektia rods produce more heat than is removed. This can result in the melting of reactor components and the rapid, uncontrolled heating of the area around the reactor. However, elektia is generally non-toxic and not radioactive. Thus, the dangers of elektic meltdowns are limited to the immense thermal energy generated by the reactor. In all incidents involving elektic meltdowns at power stations, the physically damaging effects—not including damage caused by power surges—were contained within the facility.

Elektovoltaic batteries
Elektia sees widespread industrial and consumer application as a component of elektovoltaic batteries. Such batteries work via the interaction between compressed elektia and a semi-conductor. Electric current generated from a non-thermal conversion process can be used to power a great many things, from consumer electronics to large vehicles. Heat generation is limited by the internals of the battery being placed in a vacuum, as elektia requires contact with air to react and emit thermal energy efficiently. Elektovoltaic batteries are among most prolific batteries on the market, although other alternatives—like lead-acid batteries—are cheaper and some under development—like —have potential to provide superior rechargability and lower costs at the expense of battery life and energy density. Currently, elektovoltaic batteries are usually recharged by professional services or on an industrial scale rather than by consumers. Additionally, elektovoltaic batteries are generally safer than most experimental lithium-ion batteries. When pierced, lithium-ion batteries can explode or violently catch on fire. Although elektovoltaic batteries can present a fire hazard when pierced, the thermal reaction between elektia and the air is not violent and requires ignition material to cause combustion.

Jewelry
Because of elektia's natural iridescence, it has some applications in designer jewelry depending on the country. Its natural thermogenic properties makes it one of the more popular jewelry materials at higher latitudes or altitudes due to being somewhat warm to the touch. This makes it the only practical option for wear in colder climates as elektia stays a comfortable baseline temperature and resists the formation of ice crystals.

Secret origins
Unknown to the inhabitants of Iridia, Elektia is an engineered material that was introduced to the planet by higher humanity millions of years ago as part of a terraforming effort. Iridia was seeded with elektia to later be used as a power source when the humans returned to colonize the rest of the solar system. This process of elektification would take place over geological time scales. Once properly seeded, elektia expands outwards from sources of geothermal energy as it consume the soul of the planet to cover the entire planets' surface. However, the seeding of Iridia was incomplete as the seeding parties that were deployed to Iridia became cut off from higher humanity following a celestial catastrophe. Over hundreds of thousands of years, humanity's knowledge of elektia's origins and their interstellar technology faded away, and all that was left were myths. Because of the premature cessation of the elektia seeding process, it is only present in quantities comparable to other minerals or metals. Additionally, elektia mysteriously only begins to show up geologically two million years ago, due to this being the starting point of the seeding process (although this is currently unexplained). Because of the loss of knowledge and elektia's fantastical power source, modern science is unable to explain why elektia can be used to store power, although it has been able to physically recreate synthetic elektia for this purpose.

Origins
The exact process by which elektia is formed is currently not known, although researchers have theorized multiple possibilities. One postulates that elektia forms from intense pressures imbuing crystals with electric energy via piezoelectric action. Another theory is that elektia originates in Iridia's mantle produces massive amounts of electricity via the friction from convection. The theory goes that elektia is evidence of this process, as elektia is commonly occurs in volcanically active regions, geothermal vents, and divergent plate boundaries.

Trace elements of elektia in the form of granules can be found throughout the world, particularly in high-altitude elektia deserts and plateaus and rivers which flow from alpine regions. Trace elements of elektia are present in the atmosphere as well, which can be seen in cloud cover which produces an iridescent glow. This effect is particularly strong around elektia mining sites where elektia dust is ejected into the atmosphere. This phenomenon is known to increase cloud cover, as elektia acts as a seed material that aids in cloud condensation and ice crystal formation. Such mechanics result in artificially overcast days near and downwind from elektia extraction sites. Because the particles of elektia that end up in the atmosphere are so small and in some cases charged with static electricity, electric charges emited by elektia in clouds can stimulate rain and even dry lightning. Additionally, because elektia particles are highly reflective of radio waves, an elektic overcast can seriously reduce the effectiveness of radio communications, global positioning systems, and radar.

Synthetic elektia
Elektia was first produced synthetically in 1948, mimicking the crystalline structure of elektia and matching other physical characteristics, such as conductivity. This led to an explosion of industrial development, miniaturization of computing technology, and rapid proliferation of consumer electronics as small, energy-dense batteries became cheap enough for the general population to own. Synthetic elektia, unlike natural elektia, is not naturally charged and thus need to be charged before it can be used as a power source. Charging and recharging can be done in several ways. The most productive methods are via direct exposure to geothermal energy and solar energy. Although power generation methods are also used to pipe energy directly into power grids, but for batteries it has been found that it is more efficient to produce synthetic elektia at the source rather than charge other types of batteries indirectly.

Synthetic elektia can also be charged as a byproduct of agriculture. This involves the capturing the soul of an animal when slaughtered, which in lore is analogous to the soul of the planet or a star (secret origins). This means that human souls captured on death can also be used to charge elektia, which in some countries is viewed as extremely taboo and in others as a civic obligation.