Don't sass, it was an Earth-human from your era who pointed out the two are indistinguishable.
*Her expression softens, or at least loses the annoyed edge, as she continues.*
You already understand the basics of chemistry, and how physical and chemical changes can alter the properties of matter. If your people haven't built their first particle accelerator yet, then they're close, at which point you'll start to understand how to build and break matter at the atomic level. That cup was probably changed under the same principles, just with a shortcut provided by the physics of some other Facet. It's not that strange, really.
no subject
Don't sass, it was an Earth-human from your era who pointed out the two are indistinguishable.
*Her expression softens, or at least loses the annoyed edge, as she continues.*
You already understand the basics of chemistry, and how physical and chemical changes can alter the properties of matter. If your people haven't built their first particle accelerator yet, then they're close, at which point you'll start to understand how to build and break matter at the atomic level. That cup was probably changed under the same principles, just with a shortcut provided by the physics of some other Facet. It's not that strange, really.