[2.0.30] Molten Iron below Phase Transition Temperature

[eugenekay]

Molten Iron in Factorio is defined as follows:

Code: Select all

{
    type = "fluid",
    name = "molten-iron",
    icon = "__space-age__/graphics/icons/fluid/molten-iron.png",
    subgroup = "fluid",
    order = "b[new-fluid]-b[vulcanus]-a[molten-iron]",
    default_temperature = 1500,
    max_temperature = 2000,
    heat_capacity = "0.01kJ",
    base_color = {0, 0.1, 0.53},
    flow_color = {0.2, 0.68, 0.93},
    auto_barrel = false
  },

Meanwhile, Wikipedia (and a Chemistry textbook, which I double-checked for sanity) list Elemental Iron's Melting point as 1811 Kelvin =~ 1538 Celsius..... Factorio's "molten iron" would certainly count as "hot", but it is not quite "liquid", by definition. The max_temperature value of 2000 also seems arbitrary? The real-world Boiling Point is given as 3134 Kelvin =~ 2861 Celsius; but it would also make sense for Factorio's pipes to not support fluids that warm (the Pipe itself is made of Iron after all). A more reasonable default_temperature would be 1550, which is just above the Phase Transition point.

The real-world Melting Point for Copper is 1358 Kelvin =~ 1085 Celsius; the Factorio prototype defines "Molten Copper" as having a Temperature of 1100 - which is close enough.


This post is only partially a joke.

[Jap2.0]

I think what you're missing is that Space Age added support for different atmospheric pressures, which can have a significant impact on the melting point of many different materials, including iron. This is obviously just intended to allow for realism in a variety of different settings, rather than just an earth-like one.

[eugenekay]

Yes, I’m aware of the way that Phase Transition temperatures move with Pressure. There is not much scientific research available on Low pressure Molten Iron - the focus seems to be on high-pressure fluid dynamics, eg Planetary core simulations.

In-game, Nauvis’ pressure is defined as “1000”, which is roughly normalized to Earth’s sea-level according to the in-game tooltips. Vulcanus’ pressure is “4000”, which would Increase the melting point, not reduce it.

Like I said, this Bug Report was mostly a joke. I observed a Factual inaccuracy; I have reported it; it has been marked Not a Bug. Hopefully, anybody else who notices this in the future will be able to find the Errata and be satisfied that it is “just a game”.