Five GE Scientists Show Super-Powers Are Real!

Earlier today, five super-smart, comic-loving scientists, who work for General Electric, got together to answer questions about “The Science of Superheroes”. Many super-powers are inspired by real technological advances. It is true, you can have superpowers!

Many of us have dreamed of having a cool utility belt. Some fanboys and fangirls are smart enough to actually make one! I love comics, so I am clearly pretty dorky, but I wish I was as dorky as these dudes!

Science and comics is like the beautiful marriage of a geek and a nerd, forming an amalgamation of awesomeness that can literally change the world with inventions!

Here are some of the highlights from the Reddit IamA (translated this means, Q&A session on Reddit):

What super power is the most possible right now?

With the help of technology, you can replicate quite a few superpowers.
1. X-ray vision: go to the dentist. 2. Directed-energy weapons: just watch out for the bloom effect 3. Super-hearing: amplified directional microphones 4. Durability: bullets bounce off Lexan, ceramic and Teflon armor (and non-Newtonian fluids, too!) 5. Super-strength: robotic exoskeletons are here today (not just for Sigourney) 6. Flying: Reddit’s favorite: jet packs!

What is the best way for a human to come as close to superhero status? Workout a ton? Steroids? Stimulants? Google Glass? How can I elevate toward superhuman status? (serious question)

Short-term, PCP will make your adrenal glands go crazy — but avoid flying. Long-term, working out. Really long-term: genetic manipulation.

If you want to keep the “hero” in “superhero,” make sure to exercise your ethics, too

what do you guys think is the most powerful power achievable in the next 20 years?

On the tech side: Machine sentience. The processing capability of computers is nearing that of the animal brain. It’s only a matter of time before we’re also able to model the underlying software as well. In other words, Ultron, Jarvis and the Vision.

I think we’d all like an intelligent machine that would help us sift through the data and information we’re connected to via social networks and the like. There’s already synergy between tech and organic, e.g., cochlear implants and some basic “brain control” experiments (like the arm on 60 Minutes).

Some “regular” powers will be quite super to those who are disabled.

How realistic is it for humans to take on shape shifting abilities (e.g. Mystique from X-Men)?

This is a conservation-of-matter issue. Shape-shifting takes place in nature all the time, but requires metamorphosis (caterpillar -> butterflies, etc.) which obviously takes time. Color-shifting (chameleons) is a fast chemical change.

So, Magneto can move the SF bridge with his power. How strong is that compared to, say, the magnet in an MRI? You gonna build a machine to levitate bridges anytime soon?

The largest MRI made operates at about 11 Tesla, and that’s not nearly strong enough to move the Bay Bridge. You’d need magnetic fields that are only found in galactic objects such as neutron stars.

One issue we have with Magneto: he’s always “directing” his magnetic power at things. In real life, magnetism goes all over the place.

While we’re picking fights with superheroes (generally a bad idea), we have a beef with Cyclops. Newton’s Second Law says his neck should break every time he fires his beam.

If you could run faster than a speeding train, what kind of treds do your shoes have that don’t wear down from the friction?

Normal racing-car tires will last for about an hour at speeds >200 MPH, so you may want to reach out to the good people at Dunlop or Michelin.

Wear socks, though; these tires get so hot you’d burn yourself if you touched them directly.

Could Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth be realized? If so, when can I get my hands on one? Would sure come in handy when my kids reach the teenage years!

While it may be difficult to compel the truth (as w/ WW’s lasso), technology is becoming more sophisticated in determining if someone is telling the truth, beyond the traditional lie detector.

fMRI (Functional MRI — we work on this at GE) would be one example.

Another suggestion: make a lasso at home that checks your kids’ Instagram feeds.

I was wondering last night while watching Man of Steel: when Superman catches people in mid fall he himself is flying at high velocity, wouldn’t this high velocity impact be just as harmful to the victim as an impact with the ground? For example when the AH-6 gets shot down in Smallville, a soldier falls out and Superman intercepts his fall right before impact with the ground. He comes in at an angle perpendicular to the soldiers fall and at quite high speed, wouldn’t the force from Superman and impulse of the change in direction be enough to effectively kill the soldier anyways? (this type of situation always plays out in other super hero movies as well).

Good question: that’s how Spiderman killed Gwen Stacey.

It’s an inelastic collision. The momentum change you’d have to impart to the body you are catching is going to kill at that speed.

If Superman would decelerate his catchee at less than 12 G’s, things would work out better. Think of how you’d catch an egg (successfully).

The Flash, for example, can catch bullets by moving at the same velocity as the bullet.

One description we like: you can catch a glass of ginger ale traveling at 500 miles an hour — as long as you’re both on a plane.

What about real world Iron Man suits? Are hydrolic exoskeletons coming up soon? Will they help with gardening and house chores?

Already here: Raytheon has the XOS suit, and Cyberdyne has the HAL suit (really.)

Is it true that Lois Lane would not be kicked to death by the fetus of Superman because Superbaby would not become super until s/he was exposed to the rays of the sun?

Let’s begin with origin: Either Superman’s powers come from our yellow sun, or the lower gravity on Earth. Assuming it’s the first, this is a real problem, as Superman doesn’t lose his powers at night, so direct exposure to sun rays is not needed. Proximity to the sun would be enough to give the baby superkicks — but his “hybrid” nature might lessen their strength. (Though we don’t know whose genes are dominant, so the baby could end up all-mortal or all-super). Furthermore, if the supergenes are carried on the Y chromosome, the baby would have to be male to inherit super powers.

Finally, given that the umbilical cord is connecting Lois to the fetus, she may receive from it some sort of superprotection, allowing her to carry the baby.

Props to GE for having this interesting chat.  To read the rest, click here.  Also, click here to see a hero the scientists designed that could actually exist.

Interesting fact: