Material Man.........

A recent article I wrote for my departmental magazine........

The next multi-million dollar superhero movie sequel is scheduled to be released this year and I am sure you can’t wait. Well, neither can I. I don’t think there’s anyone among people in our generation who haven’t followed superheroes over the years, and personally I am a huge fan. Be it Batman, Spiderman, Superman, The Hulk or our very own indigenous Shaktimaan, all superheroes have basked in the spotlight and enjoyed all attention. Its obviously because of the great things they do, and the great powers they have.

But, have you materials scientists ever wondered what a superhero would do if we weren’t there? The question seems surprising, yes, but its true that a superhero does depend upon the strength and properties of materials for his/her stunts. Consider this… what would Spiderman do without his webs? Or how would Wolverine from the X-Men survive without his ‘adamantium’ skeleton?

Let us take the case of Batman. Materials are extremely indispensable for a superhero like him who has no inherent superpowers, but relies only on his gadgets. Take for instance his cape. The cape incorporates Nomex, DuPont’s fire-resistant, retardant material and Kevlar, DuPont’s bulletproof fiber which gives it its inherent strength. The cape is also specifically designed (by materials scientists) so that the fibers in it realign when an electric current is applied to it and the cape transforms into the shape of a bat’s wings. This allows Batman to fly or glide. A number of other gadgets from his utility belt, like his grappling hook that allows him to scale vertical walls, employ materials like titanium for the hook and Kevlar for the line.

Spiderman, too, as Peter Parker, designs mechanical shooters for his adhesive based web-fluid which is a shear-thinning liquid, i.e. a solid until subjected to shear rendering it fluid, related to nylon. On contact with air, the long-chain polymer knits and forms an extremely tough, flexible fiber with extraordinary adhesive properties. The web line’s tensile strength is estimated to be 120 pounds per square millimeter of cross section. The 300 pounds per square inch of pressure in each cartridge of the shooter is sufficient to force a stream of the complex web pattern an estimated 60 feet. All of this is nothing short of a materials science marvel!

So the next time you ever watch a superhero movie, I am sure you will wonder and think about the materials behind the awesome superpowers. And who knows, maybe you will be the next Peter Parker, inventing your own new cutting edge material and becoming the next big superhero!!!

The Day.......

17th March.............

"You think you are fuckin smart ?
I was fuckin there when Metal came to India.....
I was fuckin there when Iron Maiden came to India......
Were you fuckin there? "

\m/
Heads Banged....
Smoke Rose.....
Dickinson Climbed.......
Eddie Walked Across.....

And I was there................