Theory:Melting

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The following fan theories are about melting.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Melting is actually molecular manipulation.	None.	+ Zane didn't have much control over his ability and therefore wouldn't be aware of it's full potential. - Sylar's assignment tracker specifically describes the ability as "the ability to melt objects".
After an object melts, it re-solidifies.	Shadows and gaps are visible under some of the "puddles" in Zane Taylor's home where they don't meet the tarp, and some of them have thick, rounded edges. (Run!)	+ This may change the definition of the power further, to "the ability to disassemble an object's molecular structure". • This could be simply a prop mistake. - Zane could have melted just half of the objects. Zane's mail box isn't completely melted. If it was melted, it probably would form a puddle in the ground. + It is likely Zane's power worked by tweaking the molecular structure of the objects, reducing them to liquid. However, if the effects were permanent, then the policemen who investigated his apartment would have been surprised (and that is the understatement of the decade) to find that "those weird puddles in the dead dude's apartment" were in fact made of wood, chrome, and other such substances which are not supposed to be liquid at room temperature. EVER. The resultant frenzy would have probably ended with mutants being uncovered once and for all. The Company would have killed Zane rather than risk the creation of such a media firestorm. • The other possible way for melting to work would be for the user to just blast the object with so much that it would liquefy before it could burn. If that were true, then each use of the power would cause every flammable object within a five-foot radius to combust as the heat radiated outward from the now-melted object. Mohinder would have burned like a Yule log, and the house would have then promptly caught fire, if not from the heat wave, then from Mohinder's frantic attempts to douse himself!
Organic matter cannot be liquefied.	Zane's body was shown completely un-liquefied. (Run!)	+ He was on tarps so Sylar may have tried to liquefy but could not. - Zane may have been immune to his own power, just as those with invisibility are immune to invisibility effects they have on others, and those who can create fire or radiation are not burned, and those who can stop time are not themselves stopped. • Zane's brain was already removed, and thus if Zane's power and his immunity to his power were housed in his brain, Zane wouldn't have been protected from being liquefied if Sylar so chose to do so. - Sylar is said to have understanding of how things work ability. So he does not have to eat or remove brains. He studies his victims' brain, understands how the power works and then mimic it. From that, Zane's brain was not removed. - There were tarps everywhere, it was likely just that there were already tarps in the room that he was killed in. Sylar had no reason to care about making a mess of Zane Taylor's home. - Sylar might not have been intended by the writers to liquefy Zane's body as he would need Zane's DNA for Mohinder later. - It might take a great amount of concentration to melt a human (too much for Sylar). • Sylar's ability allows him to understand how things work and therefore often has greater skill and understanding of the abilities he stole from other evolved humans. - In the episode commentary, it was stated that the ability allows melting of any object. (Talk:Melting#Commentary_transcript).
If Zane got a sword, and liquefaction was reversible, then, with sufficient training, he can morph the blade into several different shapes depending on the necessary occasion.	None.	• Zane is dead. - Zane's power has only been shown liquefying solid objects, not reshaping them. + Sylar may be able to do this, assuming he gets the sword from Hiro. + Sylar may be able to do this because when he melts the sword with liquefaction, he can then reshape it with telekinesis. • Sylar no longer has the ability, either. • Why is Zane getting a sword even remotely important?
In theory, liquefaction could be accomplished with telekinesis by telekinetically breaking the bonds between atoms, then allowing them to re-connect.	None.	- Liquefaction has always been referred to as a separate power. - The sheer amount of control this would take may not be possible for any human. - Energy is required in order to break and make bonds, usually some form of heat. • Energy is required for many of the various powers shown (creation of fire, radiation, and electricity, countering the effects of gravity to fly, et cetera). A need for energy in order to accomplish an effect with real-world physics obviously does not prevent evolved humans from causing the same effect.
This power can also change matter to solids or gases.	None.	- This ability has never been shown in the series. + Zane did not seem to have much control over his power, so never took it to its full potential.
A better name for this ability would be "liquefaction".	None.	+ Objects effected by this ability instantly change from liquid to solid and since there appears to be no form of heat liquefying these objects it cannot truly be called melting. + If the objects were melted then the metal would have turned red from the heat used to melt it. + The word Melting typically implies heat energy being gained, in the same way as the word Freezing implies heat energy being lost (ice's melting point and water's freezing point are effectively synonymous). There is no evidence that heat energy is involved in any way; it could simply be a spontaneous breakdown in molecular bonds.
Melting can kill those who have rapid cell regeneration.	None.	+ If Claire got liquefied, her brain would be liquefied too, and she wouldn't be able to regenerate. - In the exposed future, she stood next to Sylar who emitted a nuclear explosion big enough to obliterate Costa Verde (I Am Become Death). This didn't kill Claire, although the heat should have vaporized her. • What does induced radioactivity have to do with melting? • It is possible that future Daphne died because she took a second or two to grab Claire before booking. • Can melting kill at all? It doesn't looks like a dangerous ability. • Neither does alchemy, but Bob killed Hampton Connolly. • And Tracy can kill with freezing.