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nohatmaker comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 11 - Less Wrong
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Good point: you should treat your own transfigurations like toxin - particularly if you are transfiguring from a toxic material or to a non solid. If the armor was imbedded in you and turned back to a non-toxic solid (wood, stone) that wouldn't be much worse than steel. I guess you might as well transfigure it out of ice if possible. In this example I think that not transfiguring the armor because you are afraid of transfiguration (a reasonable fear to instill in children, but not adults), and therefore taking a blasting curse to your unarmored chest is worse.
Partially it depends on the difference in size between the base materials and the target form. Things can be Transfigured smaller (Harry's father's rock to tiny diamond) or bigger (ice cube to rocket). The rock reverting could tear Harry's hand off, conceivably- shards of metal (or rust) getting significantly bigger or smaller once inside your body seems likely to be uncomfortable.
That would make for a pretty nasty situation. I had considered throwing a large rock that was transfigured to be smaller, then dropping the transfiguration in the air. This would be even nastier (though maybe not as effective): transfigure a large rock into a needle and throw it at them, then when it's inside them reverse the transfiguration.
Huh. I wonder how that interacts with conservation of momentum. (Or if it does.)
I think if you can Transfigure an ice cube into a solid-fuel rocket conservation of momentum is the least of your concerns.
Which is easier: "Become a solid-fuel rocket, which is shaped like this and this and has these parts...", or "Smaller, please."
Probably cheerfully ignore them, considering magic's general relationship with physics.