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'''Spheres''' are the primary currency in most nations on [[Roshar]]. Each one consists of a [[gemstone]] encased in a glass bead little larger than a person's thumbnail.{{book ref|sa1|3}} Gemstones, including the ones in spheres, can temporarily hold [[Investiture]] in the form of [[Stormlight]], offering both a source of light{{book ref|sa1|3}} and fuel for [[fabrial]]s{{cite}} and [[Surgebinding|Surgebinders]]s.{{cite}} Like all gemstones, spheres naturally leak any Stormlight they have absorbed, over several days{{book ref|sa3|99}} - with larger denominations taking slightly longer.{{cite}} This has led to the practice of leaving spheres out in baskets and cages during highstorms so they can be recharged. The Rosharan terms for spheres full and empty of Stormlight are ''infused'' and ''dun'' respectively.
 
== Appearance ==
Each sphere is made of a tiny gemstone encased in a glass bead, usually flattened on one side to keep the sphere from rolling away when set down.{{book ref|sa1|27}} The glass bead has a fixed size - a little larger than a person's thumbnail.{{book ref|sa1|3}} Contrasting Thethe uniformity of the bead, the gemstone inside, howevercomes in a variety of types and sizes; its type can belong to any one of nine out of the ten [[Polestone]]s,{{book ref|twok|8}} and each one of those comes in three different sizes. whichWhile defineeight of the threetypes denominationshave ofbeen spheres.revealed, Theit followingis tableunknown listswhether smokestone or heliodor is the massPolestone andwithout diametera ofsphere, eachor denominationwhy it is not used in spheres.
 
=== Dimensions ===
Exact measurements for the glass beads or their embedded gemstones are not available, but they can be deduced from a Reddit post by [[Peter Ahlstrom]] where he confirms the weight of each denomination, in carats.{{cite}} The following table lists the mass and diameter of each denomination, assuming a uniform round cut.
 
{| class="wikitable mw-datatable"
|-
| Broam || 2 || 400 || 8
|}
|}{{cite}}
TODO: Sources
# https://www.gemsociety.org/article/standard-gem-sizes-chart/
# https://www.diamondnexus.com/product-education-mm-to-catat-weight-conversion.html
 
The natural property of gemstones to absorb Stormlight and emit a glow also leads to infused spheres being used as light sources.
The glass sphere is typically the size of a thumbnail while the size of the gemstone inside varies with the denomination.{{book ref|twok|3}} Most spheres are also flattened on one side, to keep them from rolling away when set down. {{book ref|twok|27}} Since gemstones can capture stormlight and glow with this captured light, spheres, by extension, also glow with light.
 
Only nine of the ten Polestones are used in the spheres,{{book ref|twok|8}} but it is as of yet unknown whether smokestones or heliodor are the gem not used, or the reason for the tenth gem's absence.
 
== Currency ==
The monetary value of each sphere is a direct consequence of causes both mundade (the size of the sphere's gemstone) and arcane (the [[Soulcasting]] properties of each gem type). The gem size defines the denomination of the sphere. From smallest to largest, these are chip, mark, and broam. The gem type is applied as a qualifier to the denomination (e.g. diamond chip) to form the twenty-seven different monetary units of Roshar.
 
Dun spheres are worth the same as infused ones{{book ref|twok|17}} but since their glow is what proves that they aren't counterfeit, people are often suspicious of those spending dun spheres. They will call in a moneylender to judge their authenticity.{{book ref|twok|3}} Instead of just leaving their spheres out in a highstorm, people often exchange their dun spheres with moneylenders for infused ones or pay a fee to have their spheres infused in the moneychanger's secure baskets.{{book ref|twok|11}} It is possible that spheres are used as currency because of their use by Surgebinders, before the Knights Radiant abandoned the people of Roshar.
 
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