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This feature is exclusive to Bedrock Edition and Minecraft Education. 
Hydrogen
This page describes an education-related feature. 
This feature is available only in Minecraft Education or when enabling the "Education" option in Bedrock Edition.

The material reducer is a block used in chemistry to learn about the natural world, by reducing Minecraft blocks to their component elements.

Obtaining[]

Material reducers cannot be obtained in Survival without commands. In Bedrock Edition, the world must also have “Education Edition” enabled.

Breaking[]

A material reducer can be mined using a pickaxe. Mining without a pickaxe is slow, but the material reducer still drops as an item.

Block Material Reducer
Hardness 2.5
Tool
Breaking time[A]
Default 12.5
Wooden 1.9
Stone 0.95
Iron 0.65
Diamond 0.5
Netherite 0.45
Golden 0.35
  1. Times are for unenchanted tools as wielded by players with no status effects, measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Speed.

Usage[]

Using the material reducer opens an interface of ten inventory slots. The central slot at the top is the input, where blocks can be placed in order to break them down into their component parts. When this happens, the output slots fill up with the percentage of elements found in the broken down material.

Certain blocks such as soul sand and netherrack contain mysterious elements yet to be discovered. These are represented by an unknown element that displays as other elements, but with a question mark in place of a periodic table symbol. If you take out a few elements, but keep some in too, then the block you placed will have the missing model item, which you cannot place in the inventory.

When an element is taken from one of the output slots, the input slot gets cleared, and if there are elements in other output slots, the input slot becomes red and does not accept further input until all of the outputs are cleared.

Any block broken down in the material reducer gives 100 atoms.

Products
Block/Item Components Notes

Andesite
Diorite
Granite
Polished Andesite
Polished Diorite
Polished Granite
Gravel
Obsidian
Red Sand
Red Sandstone, all variants
Sand
Sandstone, all variants
Stone
Block of Quartz
Pillar Quartz Block
Chiseled Quartz Block
Smooth Quartz Block
Quartz Stairs
Quartz Slab
Smooth Quartz Stairs
Smooth Quartz Slab
Nether Quartz Ore
Nether Quartz

Silicon x33
Oxygen x67

The results approximate SiO2, the chemical formula for silicon dioxide. Silicon dioxide is the sole ingredient of quartz and the main ingredient of silicate minerals.

Grass Block
Mycelium

Carbon x15
Oxygen x70
Nitrogen x8
Phosphorus x7

These four elements are found in all life forms on Earth.

Dirt

Silicon x21
Calcium x8
Phosphorus x3
Nitrogen x3
Iron x13
Magnesium x6
Zinc x2
Copper x2
Oxygen x42

The results depict dirt as a mixture of inorganic rocks and decaying organic material, although there is too little oxygen to form the compounds found in real-life dirt such as calcium carbonate.

Any Overworld Logs
Any Overworld Stripped Logs
Any Overworld Wood
Any Overworld Stripped Wood
Any Overworld Wooden Planks
Any Overworld Wooden Stairs
Any Overworld Wooden Slabs

Carbon x49
Hydrogen x6
Oxygen x44
Nitrogen

The formula mirrors the chemical compositions of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, the three main components of wood.

Cobblestone
Cobblestone Stairs
Cobblestone Slab
Cobblestone Wall
Lava Bucket
Magma Block

Oxygen x47
Silicon x28
Aluminum x8
Iron x5
Calcium x4
Sodium x3
Potassium x3
Magnesium x2

These elements are all commonly found in silicate minerals.

Mossy Cobblestone
Mossy Cobblestone Wall

Oxygen x45
Silicon x28
Aluminum x8
Iron x5
Calcium x4
Sodium x3
Potassium x3
Magnesium x2
Carbon x2

Similar to regular cobblestone. Mossy cobblestone has carbon to account for the moss.

Water Bucket
Ice
Packed Ice
Blue Ice
Snow Block
Snowball
Snow

Hydrogen x67
Oxygen x33

The results approximate H2O, the chemical formula for water.

Iron Ore

Iron x64
Silicon x12
Oxygen x24

A mixture of pure (elemental) iron and silicate rock. In real life, iron ore usually contains oxidized iron, so the formula would contain much more oxygen.

Gold Ore
Gold x64
Silicon x12
Oxygen x24

A mixture of pure gold and silicate rock. As gold is chemically inert, it is always naturally found in its elemental form.

Diamond Ore
Carbon x64
Silicon x12
Oxygen x24

A mixture of pure carbon and silicate rock. Diamond is composed of pure carbon, and takes billions of years to form deep underground.

Lapis Lazuli Ore
Lapis Lazuli
Block of Lapis Lazuli

Sodium x13
Sulfur x8
Aluminum x13
Oxygen x53
Silicon x13

The formula roughly corresponds to lazurite, the main component of lapis lazuli.

Redstone Ore
Redstone Dust
Block of Redstone

Carbon x31
Uranium x31
??? x38

The formula implies that Redstone is made out of uranium methanide and an unknown element, thus it is radioactive.

Coal Ore
Coal
Block of Coal

Hydrogen x6
Carbon x50
Oxygen x43
Nitrogen

The results mirror the composition of coal, although real-life coal contains much less oxygen.

Emerald Ore
Emerald
Block of Emerald

Aluminum x15
Beryllium x25
Silicon x20
Oxygen x40

The formula roughly corresponds to beryl, the main component of emerald.

Copper Ore
Copper x64
Silicon x12
Oxygen x24

A mixture of pure copper and silicate rock. copper is composed of pure copper.

Iron Ingot
Iron Nugget
Block of Iron

Iron x100

The results mirror the composition of 100% pure iron.

Gold Ingot
Gold Nugget
Block of Gold

Gold x100

The results mirror the composition of 100% pure gold.

Diamond
Block of Diamond

Carbon x100

The results mirror the composition of 100% pure diamond.

Netherrack
Silicon x64
Oxygen x18
Mercury x15
??? x3

A mixture of silicate rock and mercury. Mercury(II) oxide (HgO) is red to orange in color, although these results contain too little oxygen for any of this compound to form.

End Stone
Silicon x59
Carbon x13
??? x28

The approximate formula is Si4C, which doesn't really reflect any real-life compound. Although it is similar to the mineral SiC (silicon carbide).

Glowstone
Glowstone Dust

Argon x20
Boron x20
Krypton x20
Neon x20
??? x20

These three gases are noble gases, which are commonly used in neon lights to produce vibrant colors.

Soul Sand
Silicon x37
Oxygen x3
??? x60

Soul sand is mostly composed of an unknown element, due to its paranormal composition.

Clay
Terracotta
Any Glazed Terracotta

Silicon x77
Aluminum x17
Iron x3
Magnesium
Calcium
Oxygen

These results reflect the formulae of many real-life clays, although real-life clay contains much more oxygen.

Glow Ink Sac
Iron
Sulfur
Oxygen x4

This formula roughly corresponds to Iron (II) sulfate, an inorganic dark dye, which is not found in any species of real-life squid.

Sugar
Carbon x6
Hydrogen x12
Oxygen x6

The results approximate C12H22O11, the chemical formula for sugar.

Charcoal
Carbon x7
Hydrogen x4
Oxygen

The results approximate C7H4O, the chemical formula for charcoal.

Note that copper-related blocks, mud, coarse dirt, raw ore blocks and items, deepslate ores, iron, gold, and diamond equipment, doors, and trapdoors cannot be put into a material reducer, besides them being related to blocks that can.

All compounds that can be made in the compound creator and lab table can also be reduced in the material reducer, yielding their respective ingredients.

Sounds[]

SoundSourceDescriptionResource locationVolumePitch
BlocksOnce the block has brokendig.stone1.00.8-1.0
BlocksWhen the block is placeddig.stone1.00.8-1.0
BlocksWhile the block is in the process of being brokenhit.stone0.370.5
PlayersFalling on the block with fall damagefall.stone0.41.0
PlayersWalking on the blockstep.stone0.31.0
PlayersJumping from the blockjump.stone0.121.0
PlayersFalling on the block without fall damageland.stone0.221.0

Data values[]

ID[]

NameIdentifierNumeric ID FormItem ID[i 1]Translation key
Material Reducerchemistry_table238Block & Giveable Item[i 2]Identical[i 3]tile.materialreducer.name
  1. ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
  2. Available with /give command.
  3. The block's direct item form has the same id as the block.

Block states[]

See also: Block states
NameMetadata Bits Default value Allowed valuesValues for
Metadata Bits
Description
chemistry_table_type0x1
0x2
compound_creator compound_creator0Compound Creator
element_constructor2Element Constructor
lab_table3Lab Table
material_reducer1Material Reducer
direction0x4
0x8
00
1
2
3
0
1
2
3
The direction the block's front is.
  • 0: north
  • 1: east
  • 2: south
  • 3: west

History[]

Bedrock Edition
1.4.0beta 1.2.20.1Material Reducer (N) BE1 Material Reducer (E) BE1 Material Reducer (S) BE1 Material Reducer (W) BE1 Added material reducers.
beta 1.2.20.2Pocket UI screens have been added to material reducers.
Education Edition
1.0.27Material Reducer (N) BE1 Material Reducer (E) BE1 Material Reducer (S) BE1 Material Reducer (W) BE1 Added material reducers.

Issues[]

Issues relating to "Material Reducer" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia[]

  • There is currently a glitch in the material reducer's GUI: When the input slot becomes red, the "tubes" that are connected to it are sometimes rendered over the red square, which causes the image to flick between the normal square and the tubes.

Gallery[]

Renders[]

Screenshots[]

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