Science fiction has given us good ideas for deadly technology for a long time. But how many science fiction inventions can even exist in theory? The most interesting options are thrown to us by popular creations - from "Doctor Strangelove" and "Star Wars" and ending with the Marvel universe. Let's go through the list.
Lightsabers
I think at one time each of us secretly or openly wanted a lightsaber. In the near future, this dream may come true. In September 2013, scientists at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found a way to manipulate photons - particles that don't normally interact with each other - and combined them into a photonic molecule.
Until scientists were able to bind photons, the possibility was only theoretical. As you might guess, the most striking example of what can be obtained as a result of this experiment is precisely the lightsaber.
To do this, the scientists immersed rubidium atoms in a vacuum chamber and cooled them to near absolute zero using lasers. Then, single photons were sent through the cloud of atoms using laser pulses. Even then, it became clear that this process could be used to create three-dimensional crystal structures of light. Of course, science is still far from creating a lightsaber, but this technology is at least theoretically possible.
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Cyborgs
Cyborgs have been a scary feature of science fiction almost since its inception. But how much is it possible today to create a "bionic man" with our modern technologies? Absolutely. Bionic eyes and hearing aids, labs on a chip and implants, robotic prostheses and more.
Vanderbilt University has long created a bionic exoskeleton for people with spinal cord injuries that lead to paralysis. In addition to the fact that such studies open up new horizons for people who, for various reasons, cannot fully use their limbs or body, opportunities also arise for the development of people towards superiority.
The same exoskeleton from Vanderbilt scientists runs on mechanisms placed in the hip and knee joints. They will allow full control of the braces above the waist. We regularly report that applications for people who are confined to wheelchairs are constantly evolving - brain-machine interfaces are improving. If such inventions can help people with varying degrees of disability, and they will happily use them, why can't we imagine the emergence of a cyborg, whose body will be completely composed of cybernetic parts?
Fusion reactor
Our current knowledge tells us that it is quite possible to create a source of almost limitless energy in a small enclosed space. The fusion reactor from the worlds of "Spider-Man" and "Iron Man" may not be real, but they are based on real scientific ideas.
What scares us is not that we are far from understanding how the deuterium-tritium reaction of thermonuclear fusion should proceed. What scares us is that this reaction may well cause a nuclear explosion. The fusion process assumes that two atomic nuclei will be close enough to each other to fuse, but this will require a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius and a certain pressure.
In addition to temperature, the process generates a highly electric plasma, which must be in the magnetic field cage. And all this must be kept. The success of scientists cannot but rejoice, but if this reaction is adopted, there will be trouble.
Teleporter
The Star Trek Teleporter is arguably one of the coolest teleportation devices in science fiction, and the phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" has become a catchphrase.
Not long ago, scientists teleported a diamond qubit three meters away with 100% accuracy. How can these things be related? Yes, easily. While teleportation is hardly a weapon, it can definitely be used for both good and evil deeds. The question is: is it possible in principle?
When the first experiments with quantum entanglement began (more precisely, the first experiments with direct transmission of quantum information using this phenomenon), distance and transmission accuracy became problematic issues.
The experimental distance of quantum teleportation has increased every year. The latest data speaks of one hundred percent accurate transmission. The transmission of a qubit over 1,300 kilometers is scheduled for the summer. Whether this is enough to remove teleportation from the impossible list is up to you.
Time Machine
It is unlikely that we will accelerate to 88 miles per hour and jump into another century in the DeLorean. We can hardly sit in a telephone booth that will send us to another galaxy 1000 years into the future. However, this does not mean that time travel is impossible.
Albert Einstein was able to show that time is elastic, it can bend and contract like a tablecloth. Time travel is possible just because time accelerates with increasing speed. This can be seen in the stars and planets light years away. Moreover, Einstein argued that gravity is inextricably linked with time. Well, if time travel is theoretically possible, how about a time machine?
The time machine, it is believed, will work due to the curvature of the space-time continuum, forming the so-called "closed time-like curve." We wrote about some of the possible time travel options. The fact is that to create such a curved machine, exotic matter with a negative energy density is required.
There are also options without exotic matter, but they involve almost impossible manipulations with gravitational fields. Nevertheless, the theory does not prohibit anything and creates a basis for such devices.
But as you might guess, if the time machine will exist in the future, it will be more dangerous than many weapons.
AMY
Remember the electromagnetic pulse from the Matrix that stopped the hovercraft? Weapons that can turn off all electronic devices really scared us a lot back in science fiction, but EMP exists in real life and works even worse than we can imagine.
A medium EMP explosion would destroy all nearby electronic devices. A smaller explosion could de-energize local banks, security and defense systems, stock exchanges and other institutions. You know how much any infrastructure depends on the Internet, but it depends even more on electronic devices.
It was rumored that North Korea was experimenting with Russian technology, trying to create an EMP-based weapon that could disable the electronics of military equipment. The prospect is dire, and no Neo will save us if EMP weapons become commonplace.
Neutralizer
The Men in Black Neutralizer is perhaps one of the coolest things in the world of sci-fi weapons. Little more than a pen and fits in a jacket pocket, the neutralizer can destroy human memory with a single flash of light.
Although we do not have such devices yet, scientists are experimenting with memory editing and very successfully. Any technology of this kind is tested on laboratory animals and is guided by a certain type of memory associated with emotions and motor skills.
Scientists believe that a similar memory editing technique can be successfully applied in humans. The only question is ethics. This “treatment” will primarily help soldiers with PTSD or people with similar problems.
Death ray
Death Ray is usually a portable weapon capable of emitting beams of deadly particles. One of the first attempts to create a concentrated death ray is considered to be the attempt of Nikola Tesla.
His idea was to create a vacuum seal and then let a stream of air at high velocity through the weapon, creating a so-called "high vacuum". As a result, the particle beam could be projected in a straight line over 320 kilometers. Tesla's death ray was almost identical to the particle-based weapons that both the US and Russia were developing during the Cold War.
Once the world was struck by interesting news: a man used an old TV picture tube to create a concentrated "death ray" with a temperature of 1090 degrees Celsius, capable of burning through metal. With a particle beam so easy to shoot, could a death ray like this fit into a pistol? Why not?
Doomsday machine
Doomsday machines, they are devices capable of burying any memory of humanity at one moment, have frightened the general public since the inception of science fiction. Nevertheless, the plots in which the USSR is blowing up the world originate from reality.
In 1984, the Soviet Union actually built a Doomsday Machine called the Perimeter. A system of "charged" stations across the country could fire numerous missiles towards the United States at any moment. According to various calculations, this system could destroy more than 100 million people. The worst thing is that "Perimeter" works to this day. A similar system appeared in the USA. Who will be next - it's scary to think.
Extremis Virus
The Extremis virus from the Marvel Universe was originally developed to regenerate amputated limbs, and then began to give superhuman abilities. However, our (real, not fantastic) scientists are studying the possibilities of restoring lost limbs, organs and even teeth. If limbs can be replaced with prostheses, organs can be replaced with analogs printed on 3D printers, teeth can be made to grow again … with a laser.
Extremis transforms Tony Stark (Iron Man)
In the study, which was published in the journal Science, the Harvard team of scientists explains how a low-power laser can cause stem cells in a tooth to form dentin. Currently, the damaged dentin is being replaced with synthetic material.
This study is based on anecdotal reports of many years that low-power laser stimulates skin or hair growth. (At the same time, powerful lasers do exactly the opposite.) Something in the laser light stimulates certain biological pathways in cells. Scientists have figured out what happens when the laser interacts with dentin. A laser shot releases reactive oxygen species, which are reactive molecules that activate a growth factor that stimulates dentin growth.
Although research has been done on the regeneration of tooth parts using stem cells in a Petri dish, the laser procedure can move freely into the mouth.