Technology and the Golden Cirle
Some thoughts on why things are the way they are

Background

It’s difficult to ascertain from the books exactly what the technological level in Amber is, what should work and doesn’t, and what just plain doesn’t work and why. For example Gunpowder doesn’t work, however the books also imply that all modern firearms don’t work. However, modern firearms are 3 generations of propellant on from gunpowder. The conventional wisdom is that nothing explodes, but that would also mean that Corwin’s Rouge Powder also shouldn’t work.

The “things don’t explode” rule works for pretty much all conventional chemicals, including explaining why combustion engines don’t work. By implication is would also mean that alcohol, gasoline, ether, naptha, napalm, and anything else which has a tendency to explode when exposed to a source of combustion would also fail to explode but may still burn.

However, the books fail to consider both fusion and fission, and why other technologies don’t work e.g. Sonic Weapons, Tasers, Lasers, Futuristic Plasma Weapons, Railguns, basic electrical and electronic items.

What follows is therefore an exposition on what may be a valid hypothesis....

Implementation

My interpretation is based on everything I’ve read and the games I’ve played in. These "rules" pertain to all Golden Cirlce states(including Amber itself) and anywhere else where the laws of the shadow are the same as in the Golden Circle. 

Explosives and Propellants

In relation to Amber and the Golden Circle states:- Basically any conventional propellant or anything that could be devised that relies on the “rapid expansion of a substance when exposed to an ignition source” i.e. a substance which explodes, simply doesn’t work. The chemical reaction is slowed by a factor of 100 times so whilst it will burn, it doesn’t provide the propulsive force necessary to propel a projectile.

In relation to Carnelian- an inverse square law applies to the burn rate, so the faster something would normally combust the slower it actually does. This means that Gunpowder works but modern propellants and explosives don’t. Nitro-Cellulose and Nitro-Glycerin(including Dynamite) work but are only 100% more powerful (twice as powerful) than black powered as opposed to 600% on Earth.

Compressed Gas powered weapons are a different matter, so Air Rifles and Air Pistols work without issue. The problems with these weapons are two fold, caliber and “capacity”. Compressed gas or compressed spring propelled rounds tend to be small with little stopping power and limited range, although with modern technologies that is no longer the case. However, the larger the bore, the larger the bullet and the more “Compressed Gas” charge is used per shot, so whilst you may be able to get a .50 caliber air rifle that is capable of killing a man at a hundred feet you only get 5 shots and a low rate of fire.

Combustible Chemicals

In relation to Amber any chemical that would “flash” even if heated to high temperature (which includes vegetable oils and tars) doesn't. Basically if it would burn it still burns but it doesn’t explode or flash. In the same way you can throw a lit match into diesel and it goes out, the same is true of petrol in Amber. To actually ignite the substance it must be exposed to a constant source of heat such as a burning log or a burning brand of rushes. It will then burn in the same way dried wood does, slowly at first but as the combustion temperature rises with greater ferocity and heat. Fires are as much of a hazard in Amber as anywhere else, although without the risk of explosions. Note a bottle of compressed gas will explosively decompress if the pressure rises inside to the point at which it causes the containing vessel to fatigue and fail.

In Carnelian the situation is more normal, but the same inverse square law that applies to explosives applies to combustible materials. This means that petrol can be ignited in a combustion engine but is only 50% as effective as a fuel as on earth and petrol engines that are not specifically tuned to run in Carnelian will be gutless and lack power. Diesels on the other hand fare much better and are about 80% as powerful and efficient when compared to Earth.

Fusion and Fission

In the books Amber appears to be a world in orbit around a sun, as it has both day/night, seasons, and at least one moon. Therefore if it has a sun, the process of Fusion must be possible and without any significant degradation in either power or process. Logically therefore fission must also be possible as they are both fundamental and opposite sub-atomic processes. This means that both fission and fusion weapons would work in Amber, the problem is one of control, initiation, and delivery.

Modern fusion and fission devices (bombs) require complex control circuitry and high explosives to initiate the reaction. Therefore since both don’t function in Amber (see below in regards to Complex Electronic Circuitry), fusion and fission devices don’t function (Note: they still function as radiation hazards!).

In Carnelian it is only the fact that initiation is not possible via the high explosive mechanism that inhibits their use as weapons. In my AIRP campaign where access to very high technology is possible, shipping container sized Fusion Reactors provide power to initially Modern Carnelian and later to both Modern and the Expanded Medieval Town.

Magnetism, Electricity, and Field Theory

This is where we start to run into significant issues in relation to trying to explain why certain things don’t work, especially high technology weapons such as Railguns, Lasers, and Plasma Weapons, assuming that you have a viable means of powering them such as some form of Super Capacitor.

The most logical explanation is that miniaturized electronics don’t work. This means that most technologies post the late 1960s when Integrated Circuits first started to appear can be ruled out, since without Integrated circuits these technologies are not portable. There are two routes to achieving this, ruling that silicon, gallium, and all the other column 6 elements don’t function as we know it, which is a bit awkward as Carbon is the first element in this column although Carbon is class as a polyatomic metalloid whilst Silicon and Gallium are classed as metalloids. The other route is more logical if you know anything about the construction methods for integrating circuits and their reliance on how electrons behave at the sub-atomic level and what can loosely be described as “field theory” how to make them do what you want and not go where they aren’t supposed to. Basically if you can’t miniaturize because you can’t prevent electrons jumping gaps in substrates then Integrated Circuits aren’t possible (transistors are but they will we about 4 times as large as your average 1970’s transistor) and all other electronic components including capacitors will suffer the same issues. This effectively rules out anything other than massively power hungry building sized computers.

This also means that taking high tech electronics, if powered into Amber or the Golden circle risks corrupting or destroying it. The same is true of certain types of rechargeable batteries and Energy Cells.

These problems do not exist in Carnelian where high tech electronics and technologies operate without issue.

Of additional note is that electrical power generation generally works without issue as do low tech electrical devices, eg valves, electric light bulbs (but not modern fluorescent or LED bulbs), hot plates, simple refrigerators, simple washing machines and spin dryers.

Mechanical and Steam Power

Mechanical devices, including clockwork devices, as long as they are not powered by crystal vibrations (eg quartz watches) operate normally and without issue. This makes steam an ideal candidate for power in Amber were it not for it’s inherent lack of coal. This means all coal has to be brought in from adjacent shadows making it expensive. Charcoal is a potential replacement, but again is expensive when compared to logs, which whilst cheap and plentiful are bulky and not an efficient fuel source.

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