pHhun

pHhun is a fictional metric used in speculative ecology and worldbuilding to quantify acidity in environments where both aqueous chemistry and humic buffering influence conditions. The term combines the conventional pH with a humic-activity factor, aiming to describe how soil organic matter and dissolved hydrogen ions interact to affect chemical and biological processes. It is not a real laboratory standard, but a narrative device in certain science fiction and fantasy settings.

Definition and calculation in the fiction: pHhun is reported as a dimensionless number similar in range to pH. It is obtained by adjusting measured pH with a humic-buffering index B, derived from soil organic matter content, humic substance concentration, and buffering capacity. In the fictional protocol, B typically ranges from -3 to +3, shifting the effective acidity up to several points from the recorded pH.

Applications: Writers and game designers use pHhun to convey environmental conditions that affect plant health, microbial communities, fermentation, and artifact corrosion in their worlds. It serves as a shorthand for environments where organic matter modulates acidity beyond what is captured by pH alone.

Reception and limitations: As a fictional construct, pHhun has no validation outside its narrative context. Real scientists treat it as a stylized concept, and it should not be used as a substitute for empirical measurements in actual laboratory work.