Fictional chemical substances, N-Z

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Fictional chemical substances are compounds or minerals that exist only in works of fiction (usually fantasy or science fiction). Some of the materials listed as elements below may indeed be elements, but fictional works are often vague on such distinctions. Grouping is done by what seems most likely.

Other fictional chemical substances can be found in the following lists:

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Fictional compounds and alloys

Name	Source	Uses
N-26	Spacehounds of IPC by E. E. Smith	This exceedingly high explosive is crystalline pentavalent nitrogen, i.e., it is a large molecule composed of twenty-six nitrogen atoms. It is only stable at temperatures far below zero.
Naqahdah	Stargate SG-1	A highly explosive, superconductive material found on many planets throughout the galaxy. Is the majority material of the stargate. Can be used to enhance the effectiveness of an explosive device.
Naqahdriah	Stargate SG-1	An isotope of naqahdah which is even more volatile than normal naqahdah. Does not occur naturally, and only exists due to Goa'uld experimentation on Langara, the homeworld of Jonas Quinn.
Necrodermis	Warhammer 40k	"Living" metal made by the Necrontyr, it appears that it may heal and grow like it was part of a living organism, therefore it makes very good armour, and is what Necrons are made of.
Nara	Myst Novels	A super hard material made by compressing rock with very high pressure and heat. Used to coat tunnels and mine shafts to prevent their collapse.
Nitrowhisperin	Get Smart	A silent explosive invented by Albert Pfitzer.
Noct. Vest.	The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones	This chemical appears in a strange chemistry set. When heated and then cooled it causes things to become invisible.
Noburpolene	Three Stooges episode Sing a Song of Six Pants	"The only gasoline with added bicarbonate of sodium"
Notum	Anarchy Online	A rare element found exclusively on the planet Rubi-Ka, where the game takes place. Its discovery made large-scale nanotechnology and resurrection technology possible.
Nth Metal or Ninth Metal	DC Comics	The Thanagarian metal that is used to construct the armor and weapons of Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Having anti-gravity and anti-magic properties, Nth metal gives Thanagarians the ability to fly and combat magic-wielding enemies. The metal is refined from transuranic iron ore (See entry in fictional elements.)
Nucleon	Transformers	An alternative fuel source to Energon that can make a Transformer 'faster, stronger and more alive'. While it does indeed make them faster and stronger it also removes their ability to transform and slowly kills them as long as it remains in their system. It can also be used to revive dead Transformers.
Obdurium	Dungeons and Dragons	Very rare material, harder and more durable than adamantine (hardness 30, 60 HP per inch).
Octocellulose	Moving Pictures, Discworld	The transparent, highly unstable, and inflammable substance used by the alchemists of Ankh-Morpork as film for Moving Pictures. Compare real-world nitrocellulose.
Omega	Star Trek	A crystallized substance that is very difficult to control, and, theoretically, if under control, can be used as an extremely powerful energy source. The Borg designates the particle "Particle 010" and sees this as a substance of perfection and has made unsuccessful attempts in stablizing it. Explosion due to its instability caused by a very tiny amount of the substance can destroy a large area of subspace, rendering warp travel impossible. Therefore, the substance was prohibited by the United Federation of Planets, and Starfleet has issued a top secret Omega Directive directing its personnels to seize and destroy the substance whenever and wherever they encounter them. The substance is considered so dangerous that the Omega Directive supersedes the Prime Directive.
Omnium	The Third Policeman	The energy which expresses, by various wavelengths, everything in the universe - light, sound, and solid objects. Characters in The Third Policeman can harness omnium from one source and contort it into another (e.g., capturing sounds and using them to light a room). In its concentrated form, omnium can be used to manifest anything.
Orichalcum	Shadowrun;Star Ocean 2; Earthdawn; Exalted; Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles; Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis; Irregular Webcomic; City of Heroes	An alloy of copper, gold, silver, and mercury, a "metallurgical nightmare" that can only be created through magic. It is orange-red in color, and extremely useful in the creation of magical foci. Similar to the orichalcum of myth. In the Exalted universe, Orichalum (also known as Sun-gold), is one of the Five Magical Materials. Gold, when mixed with steel, creates a powerful alloy that can withstand everything.
Parv. Pulv.	The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones	This chemical appears in a strange chemistry set. It causes one to shrink.
Petr. Philos.	The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones	This chemical appears in a strange chemistry set. It turns out to be Philosopher's stone, which causes base metal to turn to gold.
Phazon	Metroid Series (esp. Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes)	A highly toxic and radioactive glowing blue or orange chemical. Extremely mutagenic, it is used by the Space Pirates to alter their own stock and that of other creatures, such as Metroids. The Chozo recognize it as the "Great Poison," as it ultimately leads to madness and death in all living things that come in contact with it for extended periods.
Phrik	Star Wars	Hard, dark blue metal. Somewhat like cortosis, has the ability to deflect lightsabers.
Plasteel	The Dune books; also appears in Shadowrun and Heavy Gear Role-playing games; Also in Warhammer 40,000 and Anarchy Online.	Hard yet moldable, this material is used frequently as armor.
Plasphalt	The Muller-Fokker Effect	A paving material.
Polydichloric Euthimal (PDE)	Outland; Terminator 2: Judgment Day	Used in Outland as an amphetamine with psychotropic side effects; in Terminator 2 as a high explosive.
Polymascottfoamilate	Homestar Runner	a, "flame pro-tardant" [sic] substance with the chemical formula (Ms^ct-)+(Fm⁸⁺); It was used as baby food and "[a] topping on soured cream". It is also used (as the name suggests) as a material in college mascott costumes.
Powder of Life	First appears in The Marvelous Land of Oz.	A substance once sprinkled on an inanimate object and magic words uttered brings the object to life.
Porkanium Alloy	The Muppet Show	The material the SS Swine Trek is made of in Pigs In Space. Parody of Duranium.
Promethium	Warhammer 40,000	A Napalm-like substance used for flamethrowers in the Imperium. It can burn in space and underwater, and is used effectively against large swarms of small or badly armored foes. If properly blessed, can prove to be especially dangerous to Daemons (in a capacity akin to Holy water). It is also military grade fuel for tanks and airplanes, and is used like gasoline. Do not confuse with the real element promethium.
Protoculture	Robotech	Protoculture is an energy source, distilled from the Flowers of Life. Originally found on Optera, the homeworld of the Invid, it has become a major source of power for Robotechnology and genetic engineering.
PyrE	The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester	PyrE is a Misch Metal, a pyrophoric alloy, a metal which emits sparks when scraped or struck. PyrE emits energy, which is why E was added to the prefix Pyr. It is a solid solution of transplutonian isotopes, releasing thermonuclear energy on the order of solar Phoenix reaction. PyrE can only be detonated by psychokinesis. Visually it resembles compressed iodine crystals.
Puppeteer Hull Material	The Known Space stories spawned by Larry Niven	A material produced commercially by the Pierson's Puppeteers for the hulls of General Products spacecraft. A huge artificial macromolecule whose atomic bonds are artificially strengthened, it is impervious to all forms of impact and to any radiation, save that in the visible spectrum (defined as visible to any of the species who are General Products customers). It is not impervious to gravity, and is slowly degraded by antimatter. Its integrity is guaranteed by the manufacturer.
Quantum Refractor	Mega Man Legends	Synthetic crystals that are found in underground ruins. Large refractors are used to power machinery. Refractor shards are used as a form of currency known as zenny.
Quicksilver	The Invisible Man TV series	A liquid that bends visible light around its surface; a thin coat of it, however, can shift UV into the visible spectrum. Also acts as a drug when in the bloodstream (see below). Not related to the chemical element mercury except by its similarity in appearance when visible. The word "quicksilver" has several other meanings, including being an obsolete name for ordinary mercury: see quicksilver.
Rearden Metal	Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged	A greenish alloy stronger and lighter than steel. Synthesized by fictional industrialist Henry Rearden. Created by Rand as a literary symbol evocative of money, industry, success, and life.
Reisburg Helices	Star Control II	In Star Control II, one of the resources you can mine on planets is Reisburg Helices. It is a form of exotic matter, and seems to be found on only one or perhaps a few planets. It is valuable, but what for isn't known.
Rethban	World of Warcraft	Rethban ore is named after the man who first found it, Bart Rethban. When smelted it's not as strong as iron, but its ore has a dark, flat color that some scribes use in their dyes. Primarily used as a quest item.
Runite (or Rune)	RuneScape	Runite is the third strongest material in the game, but the strongest material for freeplayers. Free players can only mine it in one area of the map, in the northern wilderness. While members can mine them in Heros Guild as well.
S (short for Essence of Life)	Outer Limits Episode 4614 "ESSENCE OF LIFE"	A chemical that is distilled and refined from dearly departed's DNA. One drop is breathed in and it creates an illusion of a lost love one. May become addicting.
Scrith	The Ringworld novels	A grey metallic substance of incredible strength, suitable for construction on a cosmic scale. Conceived by Larry Niven for the base structure of the Ringworld. Stops aprox. 40% of passing neutrinos. Fans have calculated that the tensile strength of scrith must be on the same order as the strong nuclear force, however it is not infinitely strong or rigid as a large asteroid impact was able to severely deform and then puncture the Ringworld from the outside, creating the mountain called "Fist of God".
Seastone	One Piece	A substance that robs devil fruit users of their strength when touched. The Navy commonly makes shackles and other restraining devices out of this material.
Shine-metal	ElfQuest	A durable, silver-like metal used for making weapons and armor by the Trolls.
Shyneum	Starflight 2: Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula	Replacement fuel for Endurium, as the use of Endurium was banned after the events in Starflight.
Slow glass	Bob Shaw's The Light of Other Days	A form of glass through which light takes a long time to travel, as much as days or years depending on how it is crafted.
Smithore	M.U.L.E. video game by Electronic Arts	A mineable ore that is used for commerce and for creating the "mules" that make the terraforming of planet Irata possible in the game.
SNOW-9	Hideo Kojima's SNATCHER	Genetically engineered pollen that disrupts radio transmissions, once thought eradicated but found again in areas where SNATCHERs are or have been. The name may be a reference to Ice-9 (also listed here).
Sulphate of Thanatol	"The Man Who Knew How" by Dorothy L. Sayers	A lethal substance which, when added to an intended victim's bath water, causes death within hours or days. A doubly fictitious substance.
Suspendium	Shazam! series, DC Comics, Fawcett Comics	An alloy that is impervious to time and creates an automatic time capsule, it was used by Dr. Sivana to capture the Marvel Family and transport them into the future of Earth-One in the pre-Crisis era. The material was actually created by Fawcett during the original Captain Marvel run but never used; it was used as a plot device to move the Marvels to the modern (1970s) era of heroes.
Taranium	Doctor Who serial "The Daleks' Master Plan"	Extremely rare mineral only found on the planet Uranus. The Time Destructor, a Dalek superweapon, was powered by a core composed of pure Taranium.
TDX	Cities in Flight by James Blish	TDX or "Two Dimensional Explosive" has the property of exploding only in a flat plane at right angles to the local gravity field. It is useful for cutting trees. It is a piperazohexynitrate composed of gravitationally polarized carbon atoms. Such atoms cannot move in any direction except normal to the gravity gradient. TDX also appears in the Traveller role playing game.
Tegnoid	Dirty Pair, DC Comics	A silvery reflective metal designed so that its "ions are rearranged to be at the edge", it is nearly indestructible and incredibly sharp. In Dirty Pair, Yuri's throwing cards are made of this material. A metal of a similar make appeared in a storyline of the 80's Captain Atom comics, though it is never named.
Terbinium	Total Recall	A rust colored ore mined on the planet Mars. It was an important ore for some unshown war on Earth. Was eventually discovered to be the catalyst in melting the ice core of Mars and creating its atmosphere.
Terkonit	Perry Rhodan	A gray-blueish composite material, used mostly for shipbuilding and other big structures. Often referred to as a "steel", it really is an organo-metallic-ceramic material, made from iron and organic molecules. Molecular bonds are strenthend by an energetic effect. Does not react to thermal change (no expansion or shrinking), does not melt, but sublimes. Normal Terkonit withstands temperatures of 81,000 K, if laced with other elements and treated, this can be raised to 120,000 K and more. Tensile strength is never mentioned, but should be several hundred times higher than the best known steel.
Terrigen Mists	Marvel Comics	Mutagenic catalyst discovered by the Inhuman geneticist Randac sometime between 21,00 and 15,000 years ago. It can grant most any Inhuman of human being superpowers, but leaves approximately 75% of Inhuman subjects with radical physical deformities as well; it also occasionally induces amnesia in both Inhuman and human subjects.
Thasarine	Underworld: Evolution	Used to prevent Lycans from returning to human form upon death.
Thiotimoline	Isaac Asimov	Conceived and described in a spoof scientific paper entitled The Endochronic Properties of Resublimated Thiotimoline in 1948, thiotimoline has the property of dissolving in water slightly before the actual contact with water.
Thorium	Warcraft	A greenish ore that when smelted produces a metal much stronger than iron or mithril, which can be worked to form weapons and armor. Not to be confused with the real element Thorium, which is a radioactive metal often considered as an alternate to Uranium fuel in nuclear fission reactors.
Tiberium	Command and Conquer	A highly valuable crystal in the Command and Conquer series. Extremely toxic and mutagenic to terrestrial life-forms, Tiberium is used as a resource for mining. Both green and blue forms of tiberium exist; green tiberium grows, while blue tiberium does not grow, is twice as valuable, and is explosive.
Titanium X / Titanium-X	Mega Man X	An enhanced titanium alloy. X's battle armor is constructed from Titanium X.
Tomasite	Tom Swift, Jr. novels	A material invented by Tom Swift, Jr., possessing various highly important properties depending upon plot requirements. In normal usage, Tomasite is a plastic like material that is formed from a resin and a catalyst. It is transparent to the EM spectrum but is highly efficient thermal and radiation barrier. It can be painted on, injection molded, made into a foam by bubbling nitrogen through it, cast into molds, or formed into laminates with other materials.
Transparisteel	Star Wars Expanded Universe.	A completely transparent metal at least as strong as steel. Used primarily for ship windows.
Transparent aluminum	Star Trek	A material with the same physical properties as aluminum, but that is completely transparent. Not to be confused with "transparent alumina," another name for synthetic sapphire.
Trellium-D	Star Trek	A material used for insulation against gravitic distortions by the Xindi, Starfleet, and others. Causes brain damage in Vulcans.
Tretonin	Stargate SG-1	A sort of wonder drug from Pangara, which, like the Goa'uld symbiotes from which it is made, cures all illness in a person taking it while simultaneously suppressing the individual's immune system.
Trilithium	Star Trek	A material that comes in two forms: Trilithium compound extinguishes nuclear reactions, such as fusion in a star; and Trilithium resin is a powerful and toxic explosive.
Trillite	Marvel Comics	See Yakka
Trychticholorate	Backdraft	An absorption catalyst in toxic waste accidents. During heat episodes of 2000 kelvins or higher, Trychticholorate breaks down and dissipates magnesium, which otherwise would leave a powdery residue. Trychticholorate is used by an arsonist to hide that evidence.
Trinium	Stargate SG-1	Very brittle in raw form but can be refined into a substance 100 times stronger and lighter than steel. Stargate Command has attempted to acquire reserves of it several times.
Trioxin 2-4-5	Return of the Living Dead series	A gas that brings the dead back to life as zombies. Originally created by the military as a herbicide to use on hemp plants.
Tritanium	Star Trek	Construction materials in the Star Trek universe. May be an alloy of, or somehow related to, titanium.
Tylium	Battlestar Galactica	A fictional ore essential for fueling both human and Cylon space ships, including for the purpose of faster-than-light jumps. The specific heat of refined Tylium is $5\times10^{14}J kg^{-1}$ (which means 0.556% of its rest mass can be converted). Tylium is unstable and reacts strongly exothermally if sufficiently heated, especially the less stable refined Tylium precursor.
Tzo crystals	Star Control II	A form of exotic matter found on some planets. Besides that, the only other information about these crystals are from a comment from the Melnorme in the game, saying that they knew the player was coming by the vibrations of the Tzo crystals. Therefore, it is assumed the crystals have some sort of telepathic properties or importance.
Ultra-high Energy Matter	Tenchi Muyo!	Similar to the cube version of energon, UhEM appeared in the Mihoshi Special. The name is uncertain, as Mihoshi alternately describes it as "Ultra-high Energy Matter", "Ultra-matter High Energy" and "High Energy Ultramatter" during several points in the show. Aside from the humor of the name, this is its only reference and serves primarily as a MacGuffin.
Unobtainium	The Core	In The Core, the name given to an indestructible metal, used as the material for a subterranean ship's hull. (Conventionally, a hypothetical material of unspecified, extreme properties. The word is also used in technical fields to describe any item which has become exceedingly hard to find through obsolescence or halted production.)
Upsidaisium	The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle	A lighter than air mineral. Rocky and Bullwinkle and Boris and Natasha found an entire (floating) mountain of upsidaisium.
Uridium	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Some kind of highly valuable ore found on the planet Bajor. Terok Nor originally acted as a uridium processing plant during the Cardassian-Bajoran war but was afterwards given to the Bajorans under Federation administration.
"Uridium"	Uridium	The name of one of the 15 "metals" in the computer game Uridium May be a corruption of Iridium. As it is the last metal being hunted, it must be extremely valuable.
Urridium	Master of Orion	A chemical used for storing energy for fuel cells in the Master of Orion games.
Uru	Marvel Comics	An Asgardian material. Thor's hammer Mjolnir and Beta Ray Bill's hammer Stormbreaker are both forged from an alloy composed primarily of Uru.
Vermeil	Mystara Dungeons & Dragons setting	A magical red dust covering the Savage Coast area of Mystara. It causes a sickness similar to radiation poisioning, called the Red Curse.
Vespene Gas	StarCraft	A valuable natural gas, can releases large amounts of energy in a decomposition reaction. This makes it especially useful as a fuel for spacecraft and other vehicles that need to operate in oxygen-less environments. Is also used by the Zerg to fuel their metabolism, and as a mutagen to enhance the abilities of their warriors.
Vibranium, Antarctic	Marvel Universe	A metallic compound that breaks down all metals in proximity to it.
Vibranium, Wakandan	Marvel Universe	A sound-absorbing material. Captain America's indestructible shield is made of an unknown alloy of Wakandan vibranium and steel. (The shield is sometimes said to be made of an alloy of adamantium and vibranium—or even of pure adamantium—but this is incorrect. Adamantium did not exist when the shield was created. It was invented later, when Dr. Myron MacLain attempted to duplicate the shield's metal.)
Voidstone	Dungeons and Dragons	A material from the Negative Energy Plane. Voidstones are chunks of negative matter that, when it collides with a living being, utterly destroys them. Voidstones are formed when the Negative Energy Plane folds over on itself.
Vol. Pulv.	The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones	This chemical appears in a strange chemistry set. It is used as a flying powder either straight or mixed with water.
Wraithbone	Warhammer 40k	A Complex Pyscho-plastic used by the Eldar to create almost anything, most notably the Wraithguard and Wraithlords. Wraithbone is ceramic in appearance, but can be moulded and shaped by sound vibrations, a skill learnt by the Eldar Bonesingers. It is said that Wraithbone is a manifestation of the Warp in the physical realm.
Xentronium	Master of Orion	A material of great strength used for armor in the Master of Orion games.
Xynothium	Teen Titans	Chemical element used to power Red X. It is both very dangerous, and extremely powerful. At a molecular level, the compound is red colored, with atoms arranged in the shape of an X, hence Red X.
Yakka	Marvel Comics	A sound-sensitive metal (sometimes called a mineral). Also known as "Trillite."
Zol Orichalcon	Super Robot Wars	An alloy of Orichalconium, Zol Orichalcon (abbreviated as Z.O.) is even sturdier than its natural cousin. It is used in the armor of giant robots (such as the Huckebein series, Cybuster, and SRX). It is also used as the material for SRX’s, Gatswo’s and Astranagant’s Z.O. Swords.
Zortrium	Master of Orion	A material used for armor in the Master of Orion games.

[edit] See also

Protodermis Bionicle with many mysterious properties yet to be descovered, Protodermis is a liquid used in forging Kanohi masks from kanoka disks. Experamenting with the energized form of it was banned in the early days of metru-nui because of potentialy dangerous propertys; for when an electrical charged is applyed it may attach and solidify on armor, and alter a mask's shape and power slightly. Exposure to this later on gave enhanced armor and tools to the toa nuva.

[edit] To be added

N20: a powerful explosive also proposed by Doc Smith
Phostlite: A meteoric metal from the Tintin book The Shooting Star, its main property being the ability to make organisms grow at an incredible rate and to an enormous size.
Plattnerite: from Stephen Baxter's The Time Ships, it is green, radioactive, and powers time machines.
Red Steel: Byproduct of Cinnabryl, from Mystara's Savage Coast (a Dungeons and Dragons world). Asides being red and lighter than steel, I know nothing of it.
Red Stone/Red Water: An incomplete Philosopher's Stone in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe.
Rockcrete: Another ultra-tough material mentioned in the Warhammer 40000 Universe. It is cheap and easy to pour, and is used for quickly building defences during a war. Most often used by the Imperial guard.
Solarite: Powerful explosive invented by Emperor Ming in the 1930s Flash Gordon serial.
Souldarite: A rare mineral found in Thorium deposits in Zul'Gurub, in the game World of Warcraft.
Soulsteel: Five Magical Materials. A black metal alloyed with souls. Forged into weapons and Artefacts by the denizens of the Underworld. The souls used to create this alloy can be seen in the surface of items made from it. (From the Roleplaying game Exalted)
Spice or melange: organic compound central to Frank Herbert's Dune saga. In small amounts, it prolongs life and accentuates psychic abilities. Vital to the operation of the Spacing Guild. The pre-spice mass obtained from Dune's giant desert worms also figures in the ceremonies of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood. The mining and distribution of Spice dominates the politics and economics of the Empire.
Synthium: A ultra strong, lightweight super-metal used to construct the Jovian exploration ship "Mercury" in "Marooned" by John W. Campbell, Jr. Synthium construction kept the ships from being crushed while floating in the dense atmosphere of Jupiter.
Tachyonium: Element used as fuel to travel space fastest than light, when accelerated in a cyclotron. (From "Captain Future" 1978 anime)
Terbinium: Source of energy found in Mars (Total Recall)
Terrazine, a gas from StarCraft: Ghost used in genetic experiments.
Totally Awesome Sweet Alabama Mountain Snake: Government made hallucinogen Metalocalypse
Transmetal: metal from Beast Wars Transformers. At one point in the series, some of the Transformers started to "mutate" into Transmetal Transformers, which granted them invulnerability to energon-poisoning.
Trisilicate: (From Doctor Who, on Peladon, in the war against Galaxy5) Significant Element which was either (used in computers), or (as fuel).
Tylonian Crystal: Light grey crystal capable of forming a psychic bond with its user and morphing to fit that user's desires. Found in the d20 game Arcana Unearthed.
Zrbite: another alloy from the X-Com universe, Zrbite is the main power source for the Alien Submarines in X-COM: Terror from the Deep (PC-Game). It contains gold and some sort of bio-metal.