The Science Behind Superpowers

Chemistry Broad Curriculum

By: Kanchan Parsad Katherine Bowen William Griffin Daire Carroll Laura O'Brien Emma Byrne Kynan Delaney Clarissa Macapagal

Topics• Flying & Levitation in Superman

• Healing in Captain America

• Invisibility in The Invisible Woman

Flying & Levitation in Superman

Possibilities •Ultrasonic levitation•Wind tunnels•Diamagnetic levitation

Diamagnetic Levitation •NASA has been floating strawberries, frogs and mice.

•http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117709005985

•Super strong electromagnets and…

•DIAMAGNETIC OBJECTS

Diamagnetism •Diamagnetism occurs in all

substances which have paired electrons •Unlike ferro or paramagnets they are repulsed by magnetic fields

•In most substances the repulsive force is overcome by the stronger ferro or paramagnetic interactions

•NOT IN WATER

•Water only experiences diamagnetic forces

•Frogs are basically water with some other bits floating in it

•The result is: levitating frog – YouTube

••Force is spread evenly throughout frogs body because every water molecule is feeling it

•Force remains as long as magnetic field remains

•The frog seems to be having fun

Science of Levitation & Flying • Arriving on earth

superman’s strength increases hundredfold.

• His body, which is developed to withstand the gravity on Krypton, is suddenly presented with a complete change.

Science of Levitation & Flying

The force of attraction towards the earth is a fraction of his homeland and his strength comes as a direct result of that. Such actions are analogous with astronauts in space who (even clad in space suits masses of equipment) can lift of the ground and remain in the air with ease.

Science of levitation & flying

•One interesting topic we came across involved a prediction the writers of Superman made. During WWII in 1945 the writers of comic effectively predicted the development of the Atomic Bomb. The FBI noted that the ghostwriter of superman had talked of “evil scientists” formulating an “electron smasher” in their laboratory

Captain AmericaAccelerated Healing

Accelerated Healing in HumansFibroblast growth factors

● Small polypeptide growth factors● Plays a major role in healing the wounds● Binds to the heparin-like

glycosaminoglycans● Gives rise to granulation tissue

Regenerating Our Bodies

• Accelerating the pace at which the body heals itself

• Salamander’s amputated limb will grow back in 30-90 days

• Full regain of function

Replicating This Process in Humans?

• This is possible in a human foetus

• Adults just develop scar tissue

• Induce processes we knew how to do when we were a foetus – Cellular therapies – Development of new materials

• Steve Badylak2006 - regeneration of the tissue of a finger using cells from a pig’s intestine

• Regain of full function after 4 weeks

Replicating This Process in Humans?

InvisibilityThe Invisible Woman (Sue Storm)

Definition- Cannot be seen in the visible spectrum

- Most natural form = transparency

- Radio, infrared and UV wavelengths

- Ultimate form of camouflage

Methods of Invisibility- Carbon nanotube sheets- Sheets conduct heat = 'mirage effect' of light rays

- Object behind appears invisible

- Metamaterials- invisibility cloak

- Electric and magnetic properties of cloaking device bend light around object

- Cuckoo wasp

- Uses cloak of invisibility

- Mimics chemical composition of beewolf's cuticle shell

- Enables access to nest burrow where lays eggs and kills beewolf larva

Invisibility in Nature

Is It really possible?

Living organism

The Scale!

Dr. Atsushi Miyawaki

Chemical Reagent

They were also able to turn some of the unmarked tissue transparent

Biological tissue

TRANSPARENT!

UREA SOLUTION

I wonder if urea solution can really

reduce the light scattering of tissues

that could possibly make it

transparent

UREA➢ Organic Compound➢ CO(NH2)2➢ Carbonyl group with 2 organic amines attached➢ Waste substance in urine

Synthesize urea

artificially from

inorganic materials

without a living

organism being

involved! Friedrich Wohler

“Ammonium Cyanate is UREA”

silver cyanate + ammonium chlorideAgNCO + NH4Cl → (NH2)2CO + AgCl

Tissue samples must be soaked in urea solution for a long time (e.g. months) to achieve the required

clearing of the objectThe time depends on the type of

tissue as well as the targeted depth and clarity of the object

The scale is much slower than some of the clearing reagents

used before…..

Mixture of Benzyl-alcohol and

Benzyl-benzoate (BABB) Can clear tissues in hours!

Benzyl-alcohol: C7H8O

Benzyl-benzoate: C14H12O2

Similar Refractive

Index

IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE?

YES!... the transparency of the tissue proved it…

The depth and clarity of the organs and potentially the human

body is much deeper than tissuesInvestigations are still being carried out to somewhat lower levels of transparency

“This would open the door to experiments that have simply never been possible before” - Dr. Miyawaki

Experiment:OPTICAL ILLUSION➢ How we look at things with

reflection and refraction

Refractive Index➢ This is the

dimensionless number that describes how light propagates through an optical medium.

References:-http://digitaljournal.com/article/311154-http://www.biotechniques.com/news/biotechniquesNews/biotechniques-325032.html#.Uv4tgnmCbwIhttp://9.thumbs.beta.scribol.com/4/sites/default/files/images/http-inlinethumb27.webshots.com-40666-2378102250104181437S600x600Q85.jpg?a=bhttp://images2.alphacoders.com/450/450858.jpghttp://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/nanotube.article.jpghttp://www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/nanotube.article.jpghttp://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uf3tOsnH3Wg/UjimG46DjbI/AAAAAAAACQs/RI7vbfwV598/s1600/Invisible-Woman-cynthia-selahblue-cynti19-31006742-1280-1024.jpghttps://lifeboat.com/images/invisibility.cloak.jpg

Ben Coxworth, “New Chemical Reagent turns biological tissue transparent”, Gizmag, 2 September 2011

Harty, M., Neff A., Developmental Dynamics, 2003, 226 (2), 268-279