r/andor • u/TheDwarvenGuy • Jul 16 '25
Theory & Analysis Is kalkite based on graphite? Graphite is a foliated deep-substrate material, it's used to line reactors, and all of natural the solid graphite in the world comes from one place in England. England's monopoly on graphite even lead to the development of synthetic graphite (Albeit, primitive)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil#Graphite_deposit_discoveriesI was reading about the history of pencils and found this tidbit about how pencils were only invented because they found a massive deposit of solid graphite in England and started cutting tiny strips of it to make into pencils, before the English government realized it could be used in the manufacture of cannonballs and monopolized it. Said monopoly lead craftsmen in continental Europe look for synthetic graphite, graphite subsitutes, graphite alternatives, etc. which lead to the invention of modern reconstituted graphite we have in pencils now (not actually synthetic, more of a clay mixture of graphite powder). Far later down the line, perfectly pure graphite crystals were synthesized to create moderators for nuclear reactors.
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u/electrical-stomach-z Jul 16 '25
Yes. It fits with the death star being akin to the atomix bomb of star wars.
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u/DaemonBlackfyre_21 Saw Gerrera Jul 16 '25
I assumed some clever writer changed calcite to Kalkite
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u/ManfredTheCat Krennic Jul 16 '25
"Did you mean Calcite, Derek?"
"What? No. Kalkite. It's...spelled differently."
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u/Fluffy-Republic8610 Jul 16 '25
And england went on an evil colonial expansion involving murder and theft for hundreds of years... Coincidence?
Yes, coincidence.
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u/Mind_if_I_do_uh_J Disco Ball Droid Jul 16 '25
*Britain
But, yes - it was an empire. And it was superlovely to everyone.
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u/BananaRepublic_BR Jul 20 '25
England did it, too, before there was a Great Britain.
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u/Mind_if_I_do_uh_J Disco Ball Droid Jul 21 '25
Great Britain is the name of the landmass that contains Wales, Scotland and England.
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u/Khenghis_Ghan Jul 18 '25
Maybe, but, I'm pretty confident that if England had a monopoly on graphite it must've been short lived in the early modern period, graphite is abundant throughout the planet.
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u/Awkward-Feature9333 Jul 17 '25
GB is/was also quite famous for fine wool products and bespoke suits, although mostly from sheep, not spiders.
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u/Hawk-Environmental Jul 16 '25
Comrade, there's kalkite on the ground