The Three Great Puzzles refer to three spells that are theoretically possible with Weight Magic, but are currently impossible to achieve, at least until Taurus Silver came out with a working Activation Sequence for Flying Magic. The three puzzles are:
- Realization of a Gravity Control-Type Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor
- Actualization of Generalized Flying-Type Magic
- Development of a perpetual motion device based on the model of unlimited inertial expansion
Thermonuclear Fusion Reactor[]
Background[]
Fusion reactors today face a problem of sustained ignition. Fusion reactions have been achieved half a century ago (from today) with the hydrogen bomb. However, the hydrogen bomb only releases an extraordinary amount of energy for a fraction of a second, while a reactor will need a sustained reaction. To do so, the fuel has to reach a required temperature and density to fuse the hydrogen into helium. Current methods either use lasers through the use of Inertial Confinement Fusion or magnetic fields Magnetic Confinement Fusion to achieve the required temperature and density.
Lasers work by bombarding the outer shell of a fuel pellet with lasers, heating it. This will then explode, providing a reaction force on the center, heating and compressing it to the required levels. The energy released by the fusion will then heat and compress other fuel pellets to achieve sustained nuclear fusion.
Magnets work by running an electric current through the fuel, which is already plasma at the heat required for fusion. The current in the electrically conductive plasma will then create a magnetic field, compressing the plasma to higher densities, which would result in a stronger field, compressing it even more. This will then hopefully lead to the correct conditions for fusion.
Gravity Control-Type Reactor[]
The theory is that Gravity Magic can be used as an easy alternative to compress and heat the fuel. However, there are a few problems, including continuous invocation required to sustain the Gravity Magic. However, with the development of Loop Cast, continuous invocation becomes much easier. Then there is a problem much like the one with Flying Magic, timing the Magic Sequences so they do not interfere with each other or else the interference strength required rises exponentially. However with Flying Magic developed by FLT, one remaining problem is the need for a Magician to continually cast the Gravity Magic. Researchers are currently looking into ways to store Magic Sequences without the use of a Magician.
Flying-Type Magic (飛行魔法)[]
Flying Magic has been used in the past as part of Ancient Magic, but all attempts to produce a generalized form with modern magic have failed, at least until FLT Taurus Silver came out with it. Magicians adept at Weight Magic have already been able to leap long distances, the record-holder leapt over 100 yards, and fall from great distances with some magicians managing to fall from 2000 meters without any equipment.[1]
The publicly acknowledged reason that Flying Magic was never developed is that every time speed or height needs to be adjusted, a new Magic Sequence has to be placed on top of old ones. Since Magicians can only separate their phenomenon rewriting abilities into ten segments, so as soon as they hit ten, they either do what the last Magic Sequence said, or fall out of the sky.
A proposed method of removing this obstacle is to cancel the Magic Sequences after they are no longer needed. However, not many people can use counter magic freely enough to remove the Magic Sequences after each cast. Another way is to time the spell casting so that as soon as one faded away, another would be cast right after, with minimal delay. However, movement is then limited to the time frame of the Magic Sequences, unable to change velocity or position while a Magic Sequence is active. Overwriting the Magic Sequence with another Magic Sequence does not work as Magic Sequences that do not fulfil their ending requirements will fade only after a period of time. Since Magic Sequences cannot affect each other and only the one with a strongest interference strength will show its effects, the interference strength required to overwrite several layers of Magic Sequences rises exponentially.
The problem was solved by using an extremely small Activation Sequence in conjunction with Loop Cast.[2]
This allowed the casting to occur with perfect timing while mirroring the previous values, so a person could remain flying in the same place without any thought. With an extremely small Activation Sequence, the use of Psions is pushed down as far as possible, and more importantly, the Magic Sequence finished quickly, while still having enough details to keep the person aloft. In this way, there is no need for humans to time the spells, instead it automatically completes the required details. All a person has to do is supply some Psions and fly as free as a bird.
The Magic Sequence removes gravity or changes it into a certain direction, allowing for freedom of movement. Flying Magic is actually Sustained Gravity Control-Type Magic applied in a certain way.
Perpetual Motion Device[]
Perpetual motion has long been sought but has never been found. It has not been expanded upon within the light novel. It is possible that the method to achieve perpetual motion is that the inertia of the object is maintained without any interference, keeping it moving in its prescribed velocity.