Post by Admin on May 25, 2020 9:10:39 GMT -8
Bleach Physics, Condensed
The world of Bleach is made up of a great many things, sometimes seemingly utilized interchangeably. This is to help clear up any confusions about their interactions and why things work the way they do.
Reishi vs. Kishi
Reishi and Kishi can be roughly summed up as being spiritual and physical particles, but things can get significantly more complicated than that.
To start, Reishi is everything a soul is made of, as well as any form of spiritual matter, and Kishi is what comprises the matter only found in the Mortal Realm. All of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo is made up of Reishi, no exceptions. In fact, Kishi that makes it through to those worlds is seemingly inert, unable to function under the pressure of all that Reishi. Bodies do not move, bombs do not go off. One of the reasons for this is that Reishi is much more energetic than Kishi, capable of withstanding and containing vast quantities of energy within it. This capacity is one reason why battles between spiritual beings can be so destructive. But there is a second reason, and a second difference between the two.
Reishi is mutable, Kishi is immutable. A soul can mold Reishi into different forms, utilizing its energy and commanding it to lesser or greater degrees. The ultimate form of this manipulation can be seen in the Quincy, literally able to deconstruct Reishi from a building and utilize it in their arrows and abilities once their power reaches an appropriate level. Kishi has no such mutability, strictly obeying the laws of physics. One way of seeing it is that Reishi is spiritually aware, able to respond to and obey the whims of spiritual beings, whereas Kishi is spiritually inert. One type of matter is able to respond to the will of a soul, the other is unable to convey that same will.
Something else that matters is that Kishi is essentially unable to truly harm beings of Reishi. This is because Reishi is essentially "matter of will", and Kishi is unable to channel that. Shooting a Hollow in the face might stagger it because of the high intensity impact, but it’s not going to damage it unless it’s one of the weakest Hollows in existence. Running one over in a car will send it flying, but none of its bones are liable to break. Because there is no will coming into conflict, the Reishi is negligibly affected. Although Reishi can be channeled into Kishi to cause damage to a soul, the effects are still subpar compared to an object made entirely out of Reishi. Worse, if the amount of power being channeled into it exceeds its capacity, the bat/crowbar/telephone pole can break apart.
Reiatsu and Reiryoku
Reiryoku is potential energy. The body of any living thing has Reiryoku, although for most people this level is so low that they cannot perceive or interact with spirits in any way. Only when levels of Reiryoku rise enough can they see spirits, and even begin to develop their own powers. Reiryoku is utilized when using spiritual powers, which causes Reiatsu to be emitted. Reiatsu is spiritual pressure, the force a soul exerts on their surrounding, and can be thought of as energy in motion. Reiryoku cannot be sensed, but reiatsu can be.
A good metaphor for this would be the burning of fuel. A powerless human might burn a candle. By moving around, an almost infinitely small amount of candle wick is burned off, creating a small wisp of smoke that can be smelled by people in the same room. The smoke and smell is reiatsu, perceivable by spiritual beings. No matter how many candles you get and burn at the same time, or the ways in which you burn them, you’re not going to make a bomb. Oil, on the other hand, can produce thick choking clouds of smoke when burned which can be seen or smelled from farther distances, creates much more intense heat, and can even be processed to create explosives like C4 (eventually, but for the purpose of the metaphor it still works). Despite this, just looking at oil will never tell you how much energy is contained within: it’s only when it is burned that you can detect it.
But all of the examples above are forms of energy that you can detect. As souls grow farther apart in power, there comes a point where a qualitative point is reached, and the weaker soul can no longer sense the Reiatsu of the stronger soul. A camera can’t see the solar wind, only the aurora. Similarly, a weak soul can’t detect the reiatsu of a higher being unless that higher being decided to forcefully make them feel it.
Reiatsu can be suppressed, although this is normally just to a manageable level that is harder to spot, like a rogue sneaking in the shadows. To truly "erase" one’s presence and become invisible takes a level of mastery found among only a very few.
Being able to perceive Reiatsu is also affected by what world one is in. Like sound traveling through air or water, the density of Reiatsu negatively affects the quality of receiving the signal, but increases the distance it can travel. This makes Hueco Mundo more dangerous, as it requires you to get much closer to a potential Hollow to find out how strong they are, or if they’re even a Hollow at all, but instead an Arrancar. It also makes hunting easier, as the Reiatsu from battles can travel much farther, enabling hunters to find you more easily, as befitting the environment these ambush predators live in. Earth, meanwhile, is much thinner, making it so that battles are harder to detect, but the quality of the signal is perfect. Even if someone is farther away, they might know exactly who is fighting, and exactly where they are.
The world of Bleach is made up of a great many things, sometimes seemingly utilized interchangeably. This is to help clear up any confusions about their interactions and why things work the way they do.
Reishi vs. Kishi
Reishi and Kishi can be roughly summed up as being spiritual and physical particles, but things can get significantly more complicated than that.
To start, Reishi is everything a soul is made of, as well as any form of spiritual matter, and Kishi is what comprises the matter only found in the Mortal Realm. All of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo is made up of Reishi, no exceptions. In fact, Kishi that makes it through to those worlds is seemingly inert, unable to function under the pressure of all that Reishi. Bodies do not move, bombs do not go off. One of the reasons for this is that Reishi is much more energetic than Kishi, capable of withstanding and containing vast quantities of energy within it. This capacity is one reason why battles between spiritual beings can be so destructive. But there is a second reason, and a second difference between the two.
Reishi is mutable, Kishi is immutable. A soul can mold Reishi into different forms, utilizing its energy and commanding it to lesser or greater degrees. The ultimate form of this manipulation can be seen in the Quincy, literally able to deconstruct Reishi from a building and utilize it in their arrows and abilities once their power reaches an appropriate level. Kishi has no such mutability, strictly obeying the laws of physics. One way of seeing it is that Reishi is spiritually aware, able to respond to and obey the whims of spiritual beings, whereas Kishi is spiritually inert. One type of matter is able to respond to the will of a soul, the other is unable to convey that same will.
Something else that matters is that Kishi is essentially unable to truly harm beings of Reishi. This is because Reishi is essentially "matter of will", and Kishi is unable to channel that. Shooting a Hollow in the face might stagger it because of the high intensity impact, but it’s not going to damage it unless it’s one of the weakest Hollows in existence. Running one over in a car will send it flying, but none of its bones are liable to break. Because there is no will coming into conflict, the Reishi is negligibly affected. Although Reishi can be channeled into Kishi to cause damage to a soul, the effects are still subpar compared to an object made entirely out of Reishi. Worse, if the amount of power being channeled into it exceeds its capacity, the bat/crowbar/telephone pole can break apart.
Reiatsu and Reiryoku
Reiryoku is potential energy. The body of any living thing has Reiryoku, although for most people this level is so low that they cannot perceive or interact with spirits in any way. Only when levels of Reiryoku rise enough can they see spirits, and even begin to develop their own powers. Reiryoku is utilized when using spiritual powers, which causes Reiatsu to be emitted. Reiatsu is spiritual pressure, the force a soul exerts on their surrounding, and can be thought of as energy in motion. Reiryoku cannot be sensed, but reiatsu can be.
A good metaphor for this would be the burning of fuel. A powerless human might burn a candle. By moving around, an almost infinitely small amount of candle wick is burned off, creating a small wisp of smoke that can be smelled by people in the same room. The smoke and smell is reiatsu, perceivable by spiritual beings. No matter how many candles you get and burn at the same time, or the ways in which you burn them, you’re not going to make a bomb. Oil, on the other hand, can produce thick choking clouds of smoke when burned which can be seen or smelled from farther distances, creates much more intense heat, and can even be processed to create explosives like C4 (eventually, but for the purpose of the metaphor it still works). Despite this, just looking at oil will never tell you how much energy is contained within: it’s only when it is burned that you can detect it.
But all of the examples above are forms of energy that you can detect. As souls grow farther apart in power, there comes a point where a qualitative point is reached, and the weaker soul can no longer sense the Reiatsu of the stronger soul. A camera can’t see the solar wind, only the aurora. Similarly, a weak soul can’t detect the reiatsu of a higher being unless that higher being decided to forcefully make them feel it.
Reiatsu can be suppressed, although this is normally just to a manageable level that is harder to spot, like a rogue sneaking in the shadows. To truly "erase" one’s presence and become invisible takes a level of mastery found among only a very few.
Being able to perceive Reiatsu is also affected by what world one is in. Like sound traveling through air or water, the density of Reiatsu negatively affects the quality of receiving the signal, but increases the distance it can travel. This makes Hueco Mundo more dangerous, as it requires you to get much closer to a potential Hollow to find out how strong they are, or if they’re even a Hollow at all, but instead an Arrancar. It also makes hunting easier, as the Reiatsu from battles can travel much farther, enabling hunters to find you more easily, as befitting the environment these ambush predators live in. Earth, meanwhile, is much thinner, making it so that battles are harder to detect, but the quality of the signal is perfect. Even if someone is farther away, they might know exactly who is fighting, and exactly where they are.