The Science of Iron Man

holy_calamity writes "New Scientist takes a look at the evidence-base behind the science and technology in the new blockbuster Iron Man, and finds it is pretty solid. From exoskeletons to real-time translation there are at the very least proof-of-concept demonstrations of pretty much all the glitzy tech the hero Tony Stark uses."

Comments

Huh?

[wile_e_wonka]

But I thought

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
Where he traveled time
For the future of mankind I must be confused.

Re:This is one of the reason I want to see this mo

[theheadlessrabbit]

Oh, and none of the "I got bitten by a mutant spider/got exposed to gamma ray/etc" crap that is usually associated with american super-heroes. tell me about it.

after watching spiderman, i was so psyched.
I went right home, caught a spider, microwaved it for a few seconds to mutate its DNA a little bit, then I took it out and let it bite me.

and guess what?

No superpowers

spiderman is bullshit.
this ironman fellow, this is real superhero stuff for sure...

Re:This is one of the reason I want to see this mo

[Chris Burke]

You didn't use the right kind of spider! You need a spider that already has some serious mojo that can be enhanced by the radiation.

I used a Brown Recluse. After a couple seconds of microwave enhancement, I let it bit me. And damned if I didn't develop a bad-ass super power:

Necrotic Lesions.

Sure, sure, doesn't sound like much. But you just have to be creative. Normally I keep them covered up, but when I'm say getting the jump on some bank robbers, I just expose my hideous gaping wounds and dead flesh, and they toss their cookies giving me ample time to shoot them or whatever. It's awesome. Everyone should get super powers like mine.

Re:This is one of the reason I want to see this mo

[Ephemeriis]

A real life mach 2 engine is much larger than a man. That is certainly true... But it is also irrelevant.

If you go back a couple dozen years it was outright impossible to build an engine capable of mach 2. We didn't have the science or technology to make it happen. It was maybe a glimmer in some technician's imagination, but that's it.

And before that we didn't even have the ability to fly at all.

Today we have cell phones with more processing power than an entire building full of computers a few years back.

We've got tiny motors in toys and gizmos that were also flat-out impossible a few years back.

Sure, by today's standards Iron Man is completely impossible, but that really doesn't mean much. I'm not claiming that such a thing will ever actually be possible... But claiming that our current understanding of science and technology is as good as it is ever going to get is awfully arrogant.