What exactly is Iso-8? A scientific analysis.

Bloody_Marvel
Bloody_Marvel Posts: 209 Tile Toppler
edited May 2017 in MPQ General Discussion
Iso-8 stands for Isotope 8. So that would mean an atom with a molecular weight of 8. And since there's an unstable version of Iso-8, that would mean there's another material with an 8 Isotope but which has a half-life.

It can't be any higher than Oxygen, since that's got 8 protons. It's also shown in a crystalline form at normal temperatures, so it can't be any of the gasses like Hydrogen (H), Helium (He), Nitrogen (N), or Oxygen (O). Which means that the only options left are Lithium (Li, 3 protons, Iso-7/6), Beryllium (Be, 4 protons, Iso-9), Boron (B, 5 protons, Iso-11/10), and Carbon (C, 6 protons, Iso-12/14)

Carbon-8 does technically exist, but having 6 protons and only 2 neutrons is an inherently unstable nuclear make up. Carbon-8 is highly radioactive (completely disintegrates through alpha and beta radiation) and has a half-life of less than 0.00000000000000000000199 seconds (that's 21 zeroes). So Carbon-8 is out as both stable and unstable Iso-8.

Beryllium-8 would seem a logical conclusion with it's even distribution of 4 protons and 4 neutrons. Beryllium is already rare in it's regular 9 isotope, but the Iso-8 variant is so unstable (decaying with a half-life of 0.00000000000000007 seconds into 2 Helium atoms) that it would be gone before you would even have a chance to pick it up. So Beryllium is also out.

Boron-8 is an unstable isotope with a half-life of 0.770 seconds. That is stable enough to exist, but likely not in great quantities. Boron can also only be found in chemically pure form in meteorites. So it's likely that this is the Unstable Iso-8 substance.

Which leaves Lithium-8 as the only possibility for "regular" Iso-8. With a half-life of 0.868 seconds it is slightly more stable than Boron-8, which would justify the name Unstable Iso-8 for Boron-8, but the difference is negligible. Lithium has widespread uses in nuclear applications (as in the production of Tritium or Hydrogen-3), electronics (the common Lithium Ion batteries), and medical applications (treating bipolar disorder). In the context of Iso-8 in the Marvel Puzzle Quest story-lines, Lithium fits best, cuz let's face it, who's more bipolar than The Hulk? However, what exactly the benefit would be of having an 8 isotope in particular, I have no idea.

TL;DR

So my conclusion:
Iso-8 = Lithium-8
Unstable Iso-8 = Boron-8

Comments

  • Magic
    Magic Posts: 1,199 Chairperson of the Boards
    Or this is a out-of-space element that doesn't fit into how we understand the chemistry and universe. Just saying....
  • Magic
    Magic Posts: 1,199 Chairperson of the Boards
    It's called anabolic steroids ;)
  • Starfury
    Starfury Posts: 719 Critical Contributor
    Midichlorians
  • JablesMc
    JablesMc Posts: 235 Tile Toppler
    Starfury said:
    Midichlorians


    No. Those things are LIES!


    #fanboiraaaawrz

  • zaku
    zaku Posts: 43 Just Dropped In
    Awwww yeah, droppin the science!
  • Spidurman27
    Spidurman27 Posts: 184 Tile Toppler
    or its just Isotope #8, a cousin to Love Potion #9
  • carrion_pigeons
    carrion_pigeons Posts: 942 Critical Contributor
    The 8 doesn't represent a mass.  It's an indicator of what iteration of the universe it's from.  A couple years ago they did a major reset of the Marvel universe (Secret Wars 2) and one of the minor plot points in the comics was that all the Iso-7 got changed to Iso-8 once everything was nominally back to normal.
  • JablesMc
    JablesMc Posts: 235 Tile Toppler
    carrion pigeons said:
    The 8 doesn't represent a mass.  It's an indicator of what iteration of the universe it's from.  A couple years ago they did a major reset of the Marvel universe (Secret Wars 2) and one of the minor plot points in the comics was that all the Iso-7 got changed to Iso-8 once everything was nominally back to normal.

    How dare you sully science with facts!
  • Jarvind
    Jarvind Posts: 1,684 Chairperson of the Boards
    Spidurman27 said:
    or its just Isotope #8, a cousin to Love Potion #9
    Which in turn is cousin to Funky Cold Medina.
  • Beer40
    Beer40 Posts: 826 Critical Contributor
    Its Superhero meth. Look at the way it makes Deadpool act.
  • TPF Alexis
    TPF Alexis Posts: 3,826 Chairperson of the Boards
    Beer40 said:
    Its Superhero meth. Look at the way it makes Deadpool act.
    Deadpool acts like that anyway. Heck, he didn't even want to use it himself, he was just going to sell it so he could buy more Mexican food.

    Actually, thinking about that a little more, it kind of reminds me of the bit with Miles and the Creme de Meth in The Warrior's Apprentice. "Wait. You mean he's like that all the time?" :D

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