Amalgamation

In general, amalgamation is the process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form.

Amalgamate and its derivatives may refer to:

Patio process

The patio process was a process used to extract silver from ore. The process was invented by Bartolomé de Medina in Pachuca, Mexico, in 1554. The patio process was the first process to use mercury amalgamation to recover silver from ore. It replaced smelting as the primary method of extracting silver from ore at Spanish colonies in the Americas. Other amalgamation processes were later developed, importantly the pan amalgamation process, and its variant, the Washoe process. The silver separation process generally differed from gold parting and gold extraction, although amalgamation with mercury was also sometimes used to extract gold.

Development of the patio process

Amalgamation (fiction)

Amalgamation or amalgam, when used to refer to a fictional character or place, refers to one that was created by combining, or is perceived to be a combination, of several other previously existing characters or locations. To emphasize the origin of their creations, authors or artists may use amalgamated names.

Amalgamated characters

An amalgamated character is one that is based on other characters. Amalgamated characters may be a character whose appearance is entirely original to that author or artist, but whose personality shows aspects of several existing people or fictional characters. Such characters may appear to have a split personality, rapidly and inexplicably shifting between how their inspirations would act.

Other amalgamated characters may have their appearance based entirely on existing people or fictional characters. This may go as far as desired by the author or artist, and such a character may even have each eye in a different color. Such characters usually also incorporate some of the personality aspects of their inspirations, or have an entirely original personality.