THE ROLE OF DILITHIUM

	The key element in the efficient use of M/A reactions is the dilithium 
crystal. This is the only material known to Federation science to be 
nonreactive with antimatter when subjected to a high-frequency 
electromagnetic (EM) field in the megawatt range, rendering it ÒporousÓ to 
antihydrogen. Dilithium permits the antihydrogen to pass directly through its 
crystalline structure without actually touching it, owing to the field dynamo 
effect created in the added iron atoms. The longer form of the crystal name 
is the forced-matrix formula 2<5>6 dilithium 2<:>1 diallosilicate 1:9:1 
heptoferranide. This highly complex atomic structure is based on simpler 
forms discovered in naturally occurring geological layers of certain 
planetary systems. It was for many years deemed irreproducible by known or 
predicted vapor-deposition methods, until breakthroughs in nuclear epitaxy 
and antieutectics allowed the formation of pure, synthesized dilithium for 
starship and conventional powerplant use, through theta-matrix compositing 
techniques utilizing gamma radiation bombardment.  Æ