White Dwarf Star Fragments come from the heart of degenerated stars that have ceased fusion, and shrunk under their own gravity.
History
A millilitre of core material would weigh a metric tonne. The star heart itself retains a certain self awareness that can become sentience that persists even in its fragments.[1]
If two White Dwarves collide, they supernova and expell pieces of matter throughout the galaxy; some falling as meteorites on Earth. The Atom and Brainiac have both recovered pieces and engineered novel devices from White Dwarf materials that have shrinking effects on any matter -- it can even shrink itself.[2]
Earth-One White Dwarf Star
The White Dwarf Star first appeared on a collision course with Earth, but archeologist Joel Cobb found an ancient alien machine that helped Earth evade certain destruction.[3] The Star's next collision course was with another White Dwarf, and the meeting produced a supernova that blasted the core material throughout the galaxy, much of it landing in Ivy Town on Earth; the largest sentient piece burying itself deep underground.[1]
Doctor Ray Palmer saw one of many meteorites that fell that evening, and recovered that fragment which he made into a compound lens. When extra-spectral light was shone through it, there were two effects:
- Ultraviolet light caused matter to compress and its mass could be reduced.[4]
- Infrared light caused matter to expand and mass could be increased.[1]
It took Ray Palmer some time to solve the lens' side-effect - most matter would explode when returning to regular size.
There were a multitude of White Dwarf Star Fragments scattered around Ivy Town, as the Atom found when his costume was hijacked and controlled by the core of the White Dwarf, which was buried until Ray's costume collected enough Fragments to bring it to the surface.
The Dwarf Star core was a vain and callous being, and sought a return to power, though a dimimuative Ray Palmer managed to win a battle against his own costume and blast the Dwarf Star core into tiny pieces, which destroyed its sentience and returned control of his costume to Ray.[1]
Sword of the Atom
The Katarthans were found by Ray Palmer when he homed in on their radioactive White Dwarf Matter. They lived in the Amazon, and were only six inches tall; never realizing that poor shielding around their White Dwarf powered star drive, was to blame for their diminutive heights.
In saving the Katarthans from the Fragment's overload, Ray Palmer was oversaturated with White Dwarf Star energy, and could not change size without great pain, though he gained some mental control over the White Dwarf Matter as a result.[5]
Unusual Properties
A number of strange one-time effects were caused by the White Dwarf Star Fragments.
- When placed in contact with a 1920 U.S. Silver Dollar, another White Dwarf Star Fragment had a noticeable effect on local probability; turning low probability events into the most likely events which causing mayhem for Oscar D. Dollar until he turned the fragment over to Ray Palmer.[6]
- That same fragment affected probability so greatly that exposure to sunlight caused it to become strongly Anti-Gravitic and launch itself into deep space.[6] A similar Anti-Gravitic feat saw the Atom's costume gain the power of flight when the it was hijacked and controlled by the White Dwarf's sentient core.[1]
- The density of the material was so great that a basketball-sized globe, placed in Earth's core, restored the planet's gravity when the Mxy Twins wished it away.[7]
- The shrinking ability was copied by the Matter Master's Mentachem Wand. Because he used that wand on Hawkman and Hawkgirl, another White Dwarf Star Fragment had to be made into a lens that had to be specifically ground to enlarge Thanagarians.[8]
- White Dwarf Star Matter was a potent power source; acting as a star-drive for the Katarthans and later powering the city of Morlaidh. They used a fragment that could be "held in one hand but was as heavy as the city itself." [5]
- The shrinking ability could also be transferred to water by contact, thus shrinking anyone who drank the water.[2]
The Atom Costume
Ray wove his costume from threads made of the White Dwarf Star Material left when he ground his first lens. It was chemically treated so that the Atom's outfit would never increase larger than six inches tall, yet he could wear it at all times because at Ray's regular height the costume was stretched so far that it was invisible and intangible.[4]
The costume gave the Atom several other unusual properties. It was resistant to attack by Chronal energy,[9] as well as (occationally) antiseptic in nature when he entered a human body.[10]
Notes
- While many inanimate objects exploded when Ray expanded them through the White Dwarf Star Lens; his own personal effects such as his dress suit, wallet, keys and shoes always survived.
- While Ray had prevented it for some time, users of his stolen tech first exploded in Adventure Comics #517.
- Zatanna possessed a magically tailored costume of White Dwarf Star Material (and a Bio-Belt) which allowed her to visit the sub-atomic world and return to full size safely.[11]
- On alternate Earth-A; the Genie Yz stopped the creation of The Atom by travelling back in time and destroying the White Dwarf Star Fragment.
- The Ant Farm was created using Ray Palmer's shrinking technology without his knowledge in Adventure Comics #519
- In All-Star Superman #2 the key to the Fortress of Solitude is made of White Dwarf Star Matter and weighs one-half million tons.
- Superman visits a White Dwarf Star and makes earplugs from the super-dense matter, which he calls "Neutronium".[12]
Trivia
- With no helium for fusion; the greatest bulk of a White Dwarf Star is made of oxygen and carbon nuclei loose in a sea of electrons. The mass is so great, that a cubic centimeter of the material weights one metric tonne, and reduced to absolute zero, the White Dwarf Star Matter would still contain energy.[13]
See Also
- Appearances of White Dwarf Star Fragment
- Item Gallery: White Dwarf Star Fragment
- Images featuring White Dwarf Star Fragment