Angreal v. Sa'Aangreal

[zanotam]

What exactly is the difference between Angreal and Sa'Angreal. I know sa are more powerful, but are there any more specifics? I always thought of it as kind of a difference in how they amplified it, since they seem to amplify based on someone's original strength, but at the same time seemed to be able to do some incredible stuff, they'd just be kinda like different types of math equations for the power output. An angreal would be something like Output = Input^1.25 or maybe 5xInput + 1,000,000x.001xinput and then a Sa'Angreal might be 1.3^input+input^3.7+e^input+1,000,000,000x.00001xinput (numbers just made up), but the Sa'Angreal would interact with the power differently, exponentially where an angreal might be multiplicatively or something like that. It's kinda tricky since (for the sake of awesome bookness) the power levels are kinda always left vague, Rand able to take on about any 2 female channelers, and then maybe 6 or 7 with even a simple angreal, but then we see some of the stronger female channelers do crazy things, and then you have someone like Nynaeve...and anyways, the point is things about power in the power are usually left vague, and so I'm wondering if anything is official on the difference?

[zanotam]

Oh yeah, I know it was left intentionally vague on purpose, but the problem is that there are so many things you know for sure and then so many things vaguely known, and it does make a good read, too many facts restrict the writer, but it just seems so vague at times that it is a little bit annoying. Thanks for the answer, I kinda figured it was more like multiplicative and then exponential sort of, although I was under the impression that the buffers weren't necessarily absolute, but you could push an angreal too far and burn it out. Are you sure the barriers work exactly like that? Because I could have sworn that even the very powerful channelers did not hit the limit on normal angreal, I mean, a little minor angreal being used by Nynaeve, Rand, or Elayne would probably be pushed pretty far compared to a more average channelers use. I mean for the most powerful sa'angreal they are rare, maybe only a few made and so the amount of power being pulled through say Callandor even by a relatively minor channeler would be so massive that it would be hard to figure out the effects of drawing that much power through something, like when a certain statue melted. I guess I was under the impression that the buffers were more like, you get 3.5 up until the barrier and then for every point above the barrier you would get less return, and if you were too far over you could actually break the angreal, burn yourself out, or who knows what!

[zanotam]

Are you sure the barriers work exactly like that?

 

No.  I'm extrapolating from the fact that they are buffered so that you can't draw too much, and that there does seem to be a maximum draw point, and the fact that some of the most powerful sa'angreal seem to have a minimum too.  But, I freely admit, that is not the only way those buffers can be interpreted, and we don't have enough reliable data to say for sure.

 

Because I could have sworn that even the very powerful channelers did not hit the limit on normal angreal, I mean, a little minor angreal being used by Nynaeve, Rand, or Elayne would probably be pushed pretty far compared to a more average channelers use.

 

Unfortunately, we don't see enough people using the same angreal to tell if Rand, Nynaeve, and Elayne are maxing theirs out or not.  The only place where we get even a vague description is with Elayne thinking about the amber turtle, in TPoD chs 2 and 4, and there is plenty of ambiguity there.

 

I guess I was under the impression that the buffers were more like, you get 3.5 up until the barrier and then for every point above the barrier you would get less return, and if you were too far over you could actually break the angreal, burn yourself out, or who knows what!

 

The one thing we do know for sure about the buffers is that they prevent you from burning yourself out.

 

Okay, I just wasn't sure if you were extrapolating or what. I am pretty knowledgable about the plots and what not, but I didn't even know about the BWB or whatever it's called or the questions answered by RJ.

 

We do know that they prevent you from burning out, but they can also be flawed (Callandor), and don't necessarily protect the Sa'Angreal (Angreal?) itself.

 

If only there were more certainties :(

[zanotam]

Callandor seems to be unique in its buffer flaw, which also was likely intentional.  The buffer functioned perfectly at the Cleansing ... the destruction of the female Choedan Kal and the access key is likely due to the way in which Rand used saidar, not due to overdrawing (which would have damaged Nynaeve).

 

Based on what the books seem to say, there are some Sa'Angreal that almost stand on a level of their own, a normal sa'angreal is massively powerful, but Choedan Kal, Callandor, etc? are another step above those practically. There may never have been an angreal that could channel even a 100th of what the Choedan Kal went through, and that much channeling by a woman who is apparently paratically a man in her raw strength and all at once, well, I drew the conclusiont aht no one could have ever predicted what effects that could have, because no one had ever done anything approaching that level before.  It's not really anything worth arguing about, since the entire thing was basically entirely original and so we'll never really know.