Magical Energies (Re: Statute of Secrecy of 1692)

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, kemper mentor
<kempermentor at y...> wrote:
> Entropy wrote:
> Just a small point, but I've always felt that the more complex a
type of magic is, the more energy a wizard uses. So, a wizard may be
limited in his magical ability by his limits of "energy".  Once his
energy is depleted, he's got to rest up a bit before attempting any
more magic.
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> Just a thought.
> 
> Wondering if this is too on-topic for off-topic chatter.

 
 
> Kemper responds:
>  
> I have been thinking about conjuring spells.  Like when DD conjures
the chairs in the DoM for him and Mrs. Figg.  Are chairs a constant or
a variable?  Will the chiars stand the test of time or will they
dissipate back into the ether of magical energy used to conjure it
when the conjurer is no longer giving much thought about the chairs? 
> Oh, and there is no such thing as 'too on-topic' as far as I'm
concerned ;)


Asian_lovr2:

On the first point of magic requiring a certain amount of personal
energy, I think you are right. Apparation might be a good example, I
believe the sound made during apparation is proportional to the amount
of effort, and therefore energy, the wizard puts into it. Of course,
Fred and George are probably putting in more effort that they need
because the like to show off and would try to make as loud a 'bang' as
possible. Although, I will concede that a certain amount of that
reflected effort is due to lack of experience. The more experienced
you are, the less effort it requires.

Dumbledore, being both a very powerful wizard and with over 150 years
of experience, is able to Apparate effortlessly, and therefore with no
more sound than the swish of a cloak. 

Apparation also serves to illustrate another aspect of expenditure of
magical energy. JKR has said the the farther you Apparate, the more
difficult and dangerous it becomes. So their is a practical limit to
how far you can go. For the moment, let's assume it's around 500
miles. That's more than enough to take you from Hogwarts to London, or
London to Paris, but not far enough to get you to Madrid, Rome, or
Berlin. The solution would then be to travel beyond that range in two
or more 'hops'; London to Paris, Paris to Milano, Milano to Rome.

But, pushing yourself to the very edge of your ability would certainly
be a strain, and with each successive 'hop' that strain would be
compounded. For example, maybe on the first 'hop' you could go the
full 500 miles, but the strain of pushing yourself that far would
reduce the energy and focus available for the second 'hop', etc...;
first hop=500 miles, second hop=400 miles, third hop=300 mile, etc....
Eventually, you would become so tired and drained, you wouldn't be
able to summon the energy to Apparate at all. 

Equally, a wizard who sits enchanting trick wands all day long
probably comes home very magically tired. 

So, essentially, I have just illustrated ways in which I think this
concept of the consumption of magical energy is reasonable and valid.

Regarding Conjuring Spells, JKR has said that things which are truely
conjured, that is, something is created from nothing, are not
permanent. They come from nothing, and in time the enchantment wears
off, and they go back to nothing. However, I have pointed out before
that not everything that makes an object magically appear is done by
conjuring. Example, when the House-Elves send food from the kitchens
up to the House tables, I call that a 'transfer' charm. (Although, the
books never specifically refers to transfer charms.) The elves aren't
creating the food, they are simply moving or transferring it from one
place to another.

The same is true of other instances we see. When Dumbledore calls up
hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags for the students, we don't
know whether he created them, or whether he simply transferred them in
from another location. I lean toward 'transfer' in that case. 

In the many instances where we see chairs conjured, again, we don't
know if they were created or simply moved. I believe we have seen a
combination of both moved chairs and truly conjured chairs. 

Just a few highly speculative thoughts.

Steve/asian_lovr2 (whose 'b_boymn' username last hardly more than a
month before Yahoo lost it.)