User:The All-knowing Sith'ari/Hafnium

Hafnium is a chemical element with the symbol Hf and atomic number 72. A lustrous, silvery gray, transition metal, hafnium chemically resembles zirconium and is found in zirconium minerals. Hafnium, specifically its nuclear isomer 178m2, is of extreme importance to the UNSC as a power source due to it being a source of cascades of gamma rays whose energies total 2.45 MeV per decay. It is notable because it has the highest excitation energy of any comparably long-lived isomer of any element. One gram of this pure isotope could release approximately 1330 megajoules of energy, the equivalent of exploding about 317 kilograms (700 pounds) of TNT. UNSC fusion reactors have made use of the induced gamma emssion of Hafnium-178m2 since 2554 to provide the heat to induce fusion. Hafnium is also used to create "clean" nuclear weapons and to create a fusion explosion in the UNSC's NOVA Bomb.

Behind the Scenes
The author chose to create this article after reading Wikipedia's articles on hafnium and induced gamma emission, deciding that the UNSC would be advanced enough to get IGE to work. He views hafnium as the "oil" of the UNSC in the 26th Century, due to its extreme importance as a power source. Based on this, and its appearance, the author also compares it to the "Unobtanium" in the 2009 film Avatar.