What element that you want to control?

[Drake_XIV]

Control [direct] and manipulation [indirect] are different things.

Also, it's not like due to my inability to specifically control Hydrogen that it will remain immovable in my attempts to control an entire water molecule.  There is no reason for it to present any [noteworthy] force in reaction to the presence of mine on the oxygen component.

[Rutarete]

Let me rephrase my statement: Controlling the part /= controlling the whole.

[Drake_XIV]

Correct.  However, controlling part = manipulating the whole.

[Rutarete]

Correct.  However, controlling part = manipulating the whole.

I disagree. Controlling part = manipulating solely that part. You're adding on the (side)effects of controlling the parts to what you're really controlling.

[Drake_XIV]

Which can't be helped.  It's physics.  Or chemistry.  Which is essentially applied physics.

For example, assume I have a weight.  This will represent the oxygen molecule that I control.  To this weight are two lengths that, for simplicity's sake, are of an immeasurable strength and would require incredible amounts of energy to destroy.  And to these are two smaller weights.  These represent the hydrogen molecules.  And the entire structure is representative of a water molecule.

Now, if I were to move the weight representing the oxygen molecule, wouldn't the entire structure move as well?  It would.  The same could be applied to anyone who could control Hydrogen, although it would be interesting to see the interaction between someone who could control Oxygen against Hydrogen in this case since it would be a matter between mass [Oxygen] and acceleration [Hydrogen], assuming the force being applied was equal in magnitude.

[Rutarete]

This topic is asking about explicit control - not the extended applications involved in your examples. Why do you need to go so far as to insinuate that you could potentially control all the elements through them all being connected? That defeats the purpose of the thread.

[Drake_XIV]

This topic is asking about explicit control - not the extended applications involved in your examples. Why do you need to go so far as to insinuate that you could potentially control all the elements through them all being connected? That defeats the purpose of the thread.

By that logic, no one here could control anything.  Except for the Noble Gasses.  Almost everything else is only obtainable in a compound forme and, thus, cannot be controlled.

Also, one couldn't control everything.  Not everything can be bound together chemically, meaning that there are limitations unless you want to make some convoluted compound.  And in that instance where there are a conflicts in a compound, it would be a combination of quantity [more molecules = more control] and mass [less mass = less control].

Also, I don't see how it defeats the purpose of the thread.  Each element has their own applications and doesn't affect the base question.

[russianspy1234]

I'm gonna go with Carbon.  It's abundant in pretty much every compound (and usually in multiples, meaning I'd have an easier time dragging bonded things along)
Manipulating the carbon in a persons body would let me attack and even kill if necessary.
I could squeeze coal into diamonds (and more amusingly, diamonds into coal)
Depending on how fine tuned of control we are talking here, I could even create life...

[Rutarete]

This topic is asking about explicit control - not the extended applications involved in your examples. Why do you need to go so far as to insinuate that you could potentially control all the elements through them all being connected? That defeats the purpose of the thread.

By that logic, no one here could control anything.  Except for the Noble Gasses.  Almost everything else is only obtainable in a compound form and, thus, cannot be controlled.

Only obtainable in compound form? It had to come from somewhere to become a compound in the first place. Therefore, a bit of it on its own that could be controlled.

Also, one couldn't control everything.  Not everything can be bound together chemically, meaning that there are limitations unless you want to make some convoluted compound.  And in that instance where there are a conflicts in a compound, it would be a combination of quantity [more molecules = more control] and mass [less mass = less control].

Continuing this logic, If it can be connected, (it is indeed within the realm of possibility) it could be controlled then.

[russianspy1234]

This topic is asking about explicit control - not the extended applications involved in your examples. Why do you need to go so far as to insinuate that you could potentially control all the elements through them all being connected? That defeats the purpose of the thread.

By that logic, no one here could control anything.  Except for the Noble Gasses.  Almost everything else is only obtainable in a compound form and, thus, cannot be controlled.

Only obtainable in compound form? It had to come from somewhere to become a compound in the first place. Therefore, a bit of it on its own that could be controlled.

Well, oxygen for example just does not exist as a "pure" element.  The oxygen we breathe is actually a compound of 2 oxygen atoms.  sure, it "comes from" somewhere, but it isn't stable in that form, and will instantly bond, be it to other oxygen atoms to make oxygen gas, to 2 hydrogen atoms to make water, to another oxygen atom and a carbon atom to  make carbon dioxide, etc.  if one can only control pure elements, and not compounds (which would include compounds between an element and itself) then one is SEVERELY limited in what one can control.  the only useful element to choose would be helium.


BTW, how are we handling isotopes and ions?  Because one of the hydrogen ions is just a proton, which would mean hydrogen control gives you control over all protons, essentially all matter.

[Drake_XIV]

Okay, I shall ask this.  Where will you find pure Oxygen?  Pure Iron?  Pure Sodium?

Correct me wrong, but outside of solutions, in which they are immersed in a solvent and the status of it will remain to be argued later, finding an element in a pure state naturally, since I'm assuming everyone isn't lugging around pure samples of their element, is near impossible.  I leave the room for error regarding the elements in which a pure, stable state can be found, a minuscule chance regarding everything else.

And even within the realm of possibility, there's not much you can do.  In a state like that where you do create the convoluted compound to manipulate another element, it would not necessarily be stable and would not have the same qualities if those elements were not bonded.  I am still following the assumption that you can not 'harvest' your element from samples to gather a pure state due to laws regarding the conservation of energy and the instability that would possible occur from doing so.

In any case, Oxygen is still my choice and still an optimal candidate for manipulation.  Given that I have access to pure Oxygen, I guess I'll just up the acidity of people's saliva, blood, etc. and watch their own body destroy them like that.  I'd be able to deteriorate almost everything else as well.

As for isotopes and ions, for me, it depends on if it were naturally occurring.  And outside of a solution.  But all in all, I think it would be limited to, outside of compounds, to its most stable state as a pure element.

[Rutarete]

This topic is asking about explicit control - not the extended applications involved in your examples. Why do you need to go so far as to insinuate that you could potentially control all the elements through them all being connected? That defeats the purpose of the thread.

By that logic, no one here could control anything.  Except for the Noble Gasses.  Almost everything else is only obtainable in a compound form and, thus, cannot be controlled.

Only obtainable in compound form? It had to come from somewhere to become a compound in the first place. Therefore, a bit of it on its own that could be controlled.

Well, oxygen for example just does not exist as a "pure" element.  The oxygen we breathe is actually a compound of 2 oxygen atoms.  sure, it "comes from" somewhere, but it isn't stable in that form, and will instantly bond, be it to other oxygen atoms to make oxygen gas, to 2 hydrogen atoms to make water, to another oxygen atom and a carbon atom to  make carbon dioxide, etc.

And why can you not control it in that instant it is by itself?