tchawice

Tchawice is a fictional crystalline mineral described in speculative geology and science fiction. It is used as a stand-in mineral to illustrate how cryogenic processes might interact with silicate materials on icy celestial bodies. In the fictional account, tchawice forms when liquid brines migrate through porous silicate crusts at subglacial ocean interfaces and crystallize under low temperatures and high pressures. The crystals are typically translucent pale blue or colorless, with a glassy luster and prismatic habit. Tchawice is noted for unusual stability at cryogenic temperatures and for hosting inclusions of light elements such as hydrogen and lithium.

The term tchawice derives from a fictional root meaning “glimmer” in the world-building language used in several works.

In the stories, tchawice is associated with cryovolcanic activity on icy moons and is mined from subsurface deposits beneath ice sheets. Formation is described as slow crystallization of brines within mineral-rich matrices at temperatures near or below 100 K.

In fiction, tchawice has a high resistance to sublimation and can act as a medium for compact energy storage when doped with certain elements. Some narratives describe quasi-superconducting behavior at cryogenic temperatures, enabling efficient power transmission in space habitats. The material is also used in optics and shielding in speculative hardware.

The concept emerged in 22nd-century speculative geology and has appeared in multiple novels and games as an example of a plausible but fictional cryogenic mineral. It has no real-world counterpart.