This investigation was based on a very interesting concept. I was wondering about how much Minecraft items are worth, and then I stumbled upon an important factor: Trading. It seems that they rip you off time and time again. In fact, when you trade with villagers, a diamond is worth the same amount as a loaf of bread! Don't believe me?

A Blacksmith will trade 3-5 Diamonds for one Emerald. In return, a Farmer will trade one Emerald for 3-4 Bread. The blacksmith's ripoffs don't end there, however. Seven Emeralds will get you a Diamond Helmet. That means you're paying 21-35 Diamonds for an item that can be crafted with Five. Similarly, the Farmer will trade you 18-21 Wheat for an Emerald. But to craft 3-4 Bread, you only need 9-12 Wheat.



However, Villagers can be exploited. For example, you can pay 126-147 Wheat to get 7 Emeralds, and buy your Diamond Helmet in this fashion. So, why would Wheat be worth this much to Villagers? It's all about Rarity. Approximately three Diamond Ore is found in every chunk. Naturally occurring Wheat is scarce, appearing only in NPC Villages. So, as your Minecraft world was abandoned before you appeared, Wheat would become scarce, and it's worth would increase!

So, at first glance, you might say that a diamond in Minecraft costs the same as a loaf of bread, around $3, slightly more because it's whole wheat. However, you'd be more correct in saying that a loaf of bread costs as much as a real-world diamond. How much would one of those diamonds cost? We'll leave that for another edition.

This is a topic that has interested me ever since the Minedeas Contest. In my advanced Physics Blog, I touched upon the idea that Bedrock is unable to be broken because it is incredibly dense. This might also cause it to float, because I figured that if it had a density high enough, it would create it's own gravity, acting as the “core” of the minecraft world and also cancelling out any other gravitational effects.



To find something with similar properties, I did a little bit of research on the densest known materials. First off, we have Osmium, the densest stable element. Osmium is a platinum group metal, and it's alloys such as Osmiridium are used in the tips of fountain pens, instrument pilots, and electrical contacts. It is extremely hard and durable, which makes it perfect for resisting wear from frequent operation. This would explain Bedrock's durability and our inability to destroy it. (On a side note, pure Osmium oxidizes and creates an extremely dangerous gas. Also, any pure element with a density similar to that of Bedrock would likely be extremely Radioactive).

Moving beyond the densest stable element on earth, I looked for the densest substance on earth. What I found is astonishing; Quark-Gluon Plasma. This plasma was created using a Large Hadron Collider, which uses high speed atomic collision to break up materials into smaller and denser components. They claim that it's “100 times hotter than the inside of the Sun” and “denser than a neutron star.” David Evans, a Physicist working on the project, said that “if you had a cubic-centimeter of this stuff, it would weigh 40 billion tons.”

Speaking of Neutron Stars, what are they, and just how dense are they? Neutron stars are incredibly dense, tiny stars that are remnants of some supernovas. A typical Neutron star is 60,000 times smaller than the Sun, but it has a mass of up to 5 times that of the Sun. Gravitational Collapse will usually occur on any compact star with a mass over 10 times that of the sun, forming a Black Hole. Scientists theorize that Black Holes have a nearly infinite density, because they have no measurable size and an immeasurably high mass.



So, what is Bedrock? It seems that it could indeed create it's own gravity, and if so, how would this effect the Minecraft world and it's denizens? Well, one thing's for sure, it would be highly dangerous, and I doubt that we would find ourselves walking on Bedrock. Plus, would the bedrock core of the minecraft world implode upon itself? And is this world flat or spherical? Is it simply a ball with an infinitely huge space inside of it? Am I over-analyzing this? Perhaps, but we'll just have to save some of these theories for future editions.

Ghasts and Blazes are some of the most fearful enemies of the Minecraft Realm. But what are these creatures of the Nether? Could these creatures survive and exist, according to the laws of physics? We know that they can be spawned in or pushed into the Overworld which means they have to be able to survive outside of the Nether.

Firstly, how do Ghasts function? Well firstly, Ghasts bear a significant resemblance to jellyfish. They also seem to move in a similar fashion. But how could they float in the air? Ghasts are fireproof, unaffected by lava, which means hot air wouldn't effect it. Perhaps they are similar to hot air balloons. They use heated air, making them lighter than the surrounding air. They probably suck in air, and heat it within their bodies, like dragons theoretically would. This is probably also how they produce their fireballs, except that some reactor, likely Netherrack, is needed to cause the ignition.

Typically in media such as Dungeons & Dragons and H.P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle, ghasts are synonymous with ghouls; monstrous undead humanoids. However, Minecraft's Ghasts aren't humanoid, nor are they undead, because the Wither attacks them. However, the online game Runescape's Ghasts are Ghostlike, but humanoid. Minecraft's ghasts seem to have ghostlike properties, so perhaps they're the ghosts of some creature.



Blazes are extremely dangerous mobs. Their flight is much more agile than that of ghasts, they shoot in quick succession, and they're small and hard to hit. Their flight abilities are probably similar to those of ghasts, however in order to achieve their faster flight, they must be somewhat different. It seems that they must be slightly hotter and denser, making them heavier for their size but the hotter air keeps them airborne. This might also explain why they give off smoke.

Mythology-wise, Blazes are similar in many ways to fire elementals. One interesting example of this is that the Mortal Kombat character Blaze's appearance is similar to the way that fire elementals are typically depicted. The name probably is not taken from MK, however, as it's probably simply used to mean fire. If they are fire elementals, that means they are probably simply natural denizens of the Nether, considering its fire and lava filled environment.



So, these creatures could be natural or supernatural. Is it possible to surely say one or the other? Probably not, but considering that the Nether is supposed to be the Minecraft Underworld, it's likely that they're more supernatural. I'll leave you guys to ponder this. So what about Zombie Pigmen, and Magma Cubes? We'll just have to save that for a future installment.

   
     Any experienced Minecraft player knows the usefulness of armor. Leather is the weakest, followed by Gold, Chainmail, Iron, and finally Diamond. But how well would these armors protect us in real life? Would diamond armor really protect you from a creeper explosion? These are the questions I set out to answer. I'll use real life examples and statistics to show which armor is truly superior.

    Leather has historically been used for armor. Hardened leather breastplates and cuirasses were still used in the British Army as recently as World War II. Minecraft leather armor appears to be fairly stiff, so I'll assume that it has been hardened. Its quite cut resistant, though it would probably give little protection from arrows. Its also similar to Gambeson, a padded wool jacket that was used in medieval Europe. Gambeson is often depicted with buttons or laces up the front..So overall, leather would probably be weaker than mail or iron, but it might be stronger than our next material.

    Gold is the next strongest Minecraft armor, but it may actually be weaker than leather. Gold is a soft metal, and it's both malleable (able to be flattened) and ductile (able to be deformed or stretched). Minecraft gold armor is 24 karat, since it is made of 100% gold. Gold is softer than a copper penny, and much softer than iron or a knife blade. This would mean that Gold Armor would be cut through at least as easily as leather armor. Also, Steve's golden armor would probably lose it's shape after withstanding a few blows, plus the problem of weight, though it seems Steve can carry anything. But that's a topic for another day.

    Chain-mail was very commonly used in the medieval world. After the fall of the western Roman Empire, much of the organization needed to produce plated armor (iron or steel) disappeared. As far as it's effectiveness, it was difficult to penetrate with any conventional medieval weapon. However, it's flexibility caused it to sometimes injure the wearer, so it was often worn with cloth padding underneath. Minecraft chain armor has no sign of any cloth, so it might be dangerous. Mail helmets were uncommon, as it did little to prevent head injuries.

    Iron armor was also given widespread usage, particularly during the late Middle Ages. It was often used by nobilitiy. Its worth noting that scale armor, made up of small steel or iron plates, was more common in many areas, notably used by Japanese Samurai. Plate armor was virtually invulnerable to sword slashes. It provided the user decent defense against blunt trauma, and led to the development of special weapons such as poleaxes and halberds. However, it was still fairly vulnerable to arrows, particularly those fired from longbows or crossbows. It also had weaker points, such as areas where the plates met.

    Diamond armor is an interesting concept. Diamond is the hardest known mineral, so it would make sense that it would be the best. Of course, enough diamond has never been united in order to create a set of diamond armor, but the properties of Diamonds can give us a good idea. The cutting of diamond is only possible because the hardness of Diamond varies according to the direction it is being cut or ground. It can be cut with steel or man-made materials. Diamond Armor would probably give Steve the best protection, but it probably wouldn't give him much resistance to explosions, and depending on how your opponent slashes at you it could be cut.

First I took a look at the Desert Temple. While they do share qualities with Egyptian pyramids, several clues pointed me in a different direction. Firstly, the opening in the top is completely different from the highly decorated (and golden) capstones of ancient pyramids. It’s possible that the cap was removed, but based on the shape, it seems unlikely. The pillars also threw me off – they’re quite unlike the great pyramids in Egypt. Based on the shape, it seemed more like a Ziggurat; or perhaps a Mesoamerican pyramid.


On the first floor of the Desert Temple there’s a symbol which looks like a sun or star. This furthered my Ziggurat theory when I found that it bore a striking resemblance to the symbol of Shamash, the Mesopotamian Sun God. However, one aspect remained – the treasure room. It seems more reminiscent of an Egyptian tomb – but I have an explanation here too. My evidence lays in the tomb of the Mesopotamian leader Cyrus the Great, which looks a lot like the main building of the Desert Temple, and is still reminiscent of the traditional Mesopotamian Ziggurat. The size also seems more in line with the Minecraft Desert temple.


 


The Jungle Temple proved to be just as difficult to identify. It’s definitely an Indiana Jones-esque style temple, complete with arrow traps and puzzles (but where is the weight trap where you remove it and a giant boulder?). First I looked for similarities to real-life sites based on appearance. The two closest matches I found were the Beng Mealea and the Ta Prohm in Angkor, Cambodia. Based on layout though, Ta Prohm seems to fit best. It’s smaller, squarish building matches the Jungle Temple.


“Unlike most of the temples of Angkor, Ta Prohm has been largely left to the clutches of the living jungle. With its dynamic interaction between nature and man-made art, this atmospheric temple is a favorite for many - who can't help but feel a little like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft (which was filmed here) as they pick through the rubble.”


 


Although the temples were difficult to identify, dungeons put up no such challenge. The moss stone comes from age, and the fact that medieval dungeons were almost never cleaned. Even the mobs that spawn in dungeons make sense – zombies and skeletons are the bodies of the people who were tortured there (kind of grotesque, eh?), and spiders love dark, dirty places that are exposed to the outside (and humans), and nothing fits that description like a dungeon.

This edition has not yet been released! Check back soon!