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DanArmak comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 27, chapter 98 - Less Wrong Discussion

2 Post author: Vaniver 28 August 2013 07:29PM

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Comment author: topynate 28 August 2013 10:24:33PM 5 points [-]

I doubt he can Transfigure antimatter. If he can, the containment will be very hard to get right, and he would absolutely have to get it right. How do you even stop it blowing up your wand, if you have to contact the material you're Transfiguring?

Maybe Tazers! They'd work against some shields, are quite tricky to make, and if you want lots of them they're easier to buy. Other things: encrypted radios, Kevlar armour (to avoid Finite Incantem). Most things that can be bought for 5K could have been bought in Britain in the early 90s, apart from that sort of paramilitary gear. Guns are unlikely because the twins would have heard of them.

Comment author: DanArmak 29 August 2013 08:48:07AM 0 points [-]

I doubt he can Transfigure antimatter. If he can, the containment will be very hard to get right, and he would absolutely have to get it right. How do you even stop it blowing up your wand, if you have to contact the material you're Transfiguring?

Transfigure the containment device first. Then find a way to transfigure the antimatter inside it. To solve the wand contact problem, transfigure the empty container into a full container. Then his wand is in contact with the container, but the container doesn't actually change.

Granted, it's extremely dangerous, especially when practicing.

Comment author: Baughn 30 August 2013 07:16:57PM *  1 point [-]

Yes, there is the problem that no-one knows what containment for macroscopic amounts of antimatter looks like. We have some ideas, but nothing that would be safe for Harry to try.