The Lord of the Rings Concept That Actually WORKS in the Real World

Does mithril from Lord of the Rings hold up to scrutiny the way it does everything the forces of Mordor throw at it?

“Mithril! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like that of common silver, but the beauty of mithril did not tarnish or grow dim.”

• Gandalf, The Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Perhaps the most famous fictional metal of all time (at least until adamantium and vibranium came along), mithril is the rare metal found in Middle-earth from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga and Peter Jackson’s movies. It is as strong and beautiful as it is durable. Lightweight and virtually impenetrable, it’s a boon for adventurers and warriors. And while this stems from a world full of magical spells and creatures, one that was incredibly consistent throughout its original novels (and the screen adaptations that followed), you might be surprised at just how scientifically sound the concept of mithril is!

Does mithril hold up to our scientific and story scrutiny the way it does swords, arrows, and everything else the forces of Mordor can throw at it? You’ll just have to watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? to see what we found!

SUGGESTED VIEWING 

Peter Jackson’s core Lord of the Rings trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, aren’t just the finest fantasy films ever made, but some of the best movies of the 21st century, full stop! Watch them! Jackson also made a trilogy of prequel films based on The Hobbit, but they aren’t as beloved and we can’t call them essential viewing.

We’d also like to point out that the prequel TV series The Rings of Power on Prime Video deals in part with the very origin of mithril itself, so if you need some deeper Middle-earth lore, you should give that a look. 

And for the newest installment in the screen version of the saga, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a lush, ambitious anime, which is currently in theaters.

FURTHER READING 

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! 

The Lord of the Rings Saga

If you haven’t read the trilogy of novels that make up the core Lord of the Rings saga, you’re missing out on the foundation of virtually all pop culture fantasy. Read ‘em in order! The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Optional reads include the prequel (and perhaps most famous and beloved) The Hobbit and the almost textbook-y deep lore exploration, The Silmarillion.

The Basics

“The properties of any material depend most strongly on two things: the types of bonds that it forms, so you might remember in high school talking about ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and metallic bonds. The other characteristic of how a material behaves involves the metallic or molecular structure.”

For the purposes of this episode, though, pay particular attention to the concept of how metallic bonds behave.

Crystal Lattice Structures

Isn’t Mithril beautiful and shiny? Sure! Crystals are often shinier than metal, but they’re more brittle. The reason is because of how regularly the atoms are arranged (don’t worry, we’re bringing this back to Mithril in a moment).

Graphene

Oh, you want your metal armor to be both strong and lightweight? That’s where a carbon fiber known as graphene comes in.

Radiometric Dating

For when carbon dating just isn’t enough to get a sense of the age of something!

Tut’s Dagger

Because history is often just as cool as fantasy, King Tutankhamen had a dagger made from the ore in a meteorite!

Psyche (Asteroid)

An asteroid worth over a quintillion dollars that could solve some of our natural resource problems? NASA is on the case. By the way, check out one of Tamara’s favorite shows, For All Mankind, which deals with an “external resource” that changes the course of human history.

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

This isn’t the first time we’ve discussed fantasy metal alloys on Does it Fly? so check out our episode on Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Want more pure magic and sword and sorcery action from us? We’ve taken a close look at The Witcher, too!

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