Ring potency?

[ZehnWaters]

How long did the 3 Rings retain power after the destruction of the One? Because Galadriel threw down Dol Guldur 3 days later so either she did that without ANY enhancement or with only minor enhancement. Either way it's still a rather astounding feat.

 

[Ent]

Ooohhhhh... an exciting question to add to my 'ring lore' folder as responses come.
Thank you. (I'll withhold my own thoughts for now until I double-check a couple things.)

 

[Glorfindel Goldtress]

How long did the 3 Rings retain power after the destruction of the One? Because Galadriel threw down Dol Guldur 3 days later so either she did that without ANY enhancement or with only minor enhancement. Either way it's still a rather astounding feat.

Well, the power was certainly ended by the time they went to sail. You see them wearing them openly with no power in that final chapter of ROTK.
In the Sil, Tolkien says,

"Yet many voices were heard among the Elves foreboding that, if Sauron should come again, then either he would find the Ruling Ring that was lost, or at the best his enemies would discover it and destroy it; but in either chance the powers of the Three must then fail and all things maintained by them must fade, and so the Elves should pass into the twilight and the Dominion of Men begin. And so indeed it has since befallen: the One and the Seven and the Nine are destroyed; and the Three have passed away, and with them the Third Age is ended, and the Tales of the Eldar in Middle-earth draw to then-close.”​

- J.R.R. Tolkien, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age​

This quote, "and the Three have passed away, and with them the Third Age is ended", indicates the Third Age is brought to a close by the fading of the powers of the Elven rings. It does not necessarily give an exact date on the rings' fading, but in general, common reckoning dicates the Third Age concluded when Elrond left Middle-Earth (September 22, 3021). Why him specifically? Perhaps this is because he is the bearer of Vilya, the mightiest of the Three. However, the calendar by Gondorian reckoning determines the Fourth Age to have begun on the day of Sauron's downfall (March 25, 3019)... in the year 3021. So what does this mean? It looks like the fading of the rings could have taken place at any point between March 28, 3019 (day Galadriel used Nenya to destroy Dol Guldur) and September of 3021. Those are just the major, quick thoughts I have.

 

[ZehnWaters]

Well, the power was certainly ended by the time they went to sail. You see them wearing them openly with no power in that final chapter of ROTK.
In the Sil, Tolkien says,

This quote, "and the Three have passed away, and with them the Third Age is ended", indicates the Third Age is brought to a close by the fading of the powers of the Elven rings. It does not necessarily give an exact date on the rings' fading, but in general, common reckoning dicates the Third Age concluded when Elrond left Middle-Earth (September 22, 3021). Why him specifically? Perhaps this is because he is the bearer of Vilya, the mightiest of the Three. However, the calendar by Gondorian reckoning determines the Fourth Age to have begun on the day of Sauron's downfall (March 25, 3019)... in the year 3021. So what does this mean? It looks like the fading of the rings could have taken place at any point between March 28, 3019 (day Galadriel used Nenya to destroy Dol Guldur) and September of 3021. Those are just the major, quick thoughts I have.

And well thought out ones I might add. That does, indeed, seem to be the timeline. I'd imagine they lost a good deal of potency right off the bat (~50%), but perhaps just a noticeable chunk (>50%)

 

[CindyFletcher]

The duration of the Three Rings' power after the One Ring's destruction remains unspecified in Tolkien's works. Galadriel's remarkable feat in throwing down Dol Guldur shortly after suggests her own strength or residual power from Nenya, making it a significant accomplishment.

 

[Deimos]

I don't think the power of the Three Rings ended like flipping a switch from ON to OFF; i.e., they are potent and then they not potent.
All through Tolkien's works, underlying all stories is the idea of the "long, slow decline and loss". Rarely do things change suddenly.
So I'm inclined to think that Galadriel was able to destroy Dol Guldur as @CindyFletcher says: through her own power or the remaining power in Nenya (maybe a little of both). And that means that Vilya and Narya slowly "faded" in potency also.