Engineering concepts (or engineered items) have been introduced The Role of Engineering in Pop Culture on a regular basis. In this blog, we’ll look at how engineering impacts popular films and vice versa. Since science or engineering is at the core of a movie, a great deal of effort must be put in to guarantee that, while some components may appear much further, yet are part of a credible better tomorrow.
How much have science-fiction technologies influenced engineering advancements in the actual world? And can, or do, fictitious gadgets from movies stay true to their on-screen equivalents when they cross over into reality?
Is it possible that a real-life lightsaber may exist and be utilized in battle? The answer to this is maybe..
The lightsaber was first revealed to everybody in Star Wars, and it is a preferred weapon for both Jedi and Sith. They are depicted in the movie as glowing, retractable plasma blades of energy, driven by (fictitious) kyber crystals, capable of cutting through (or melting) practically anything, from metal and wood to human and extraterrestrial flesh. In hand-to-hand fights around the universe, they were utilized by both the good versus bad forces.
Engineers who enjoyed watching Star Wars were always intrigued by the idea of controlling a laser with enough power to tear through any obstacle. What kind of materials could you use?
For many years, Canadian engineer & innovator James Hobson has been making real-life copies of fictitious gadgets. He’s invented Wolverine’s bone claws, Spiderman’s wall climbers, and the Predator’s thermal-vision helmet, among other things. He was given a Guinness World Record for the globe’s first retractable, plasma-based proto-lightsaber in October 2020. It took him and his team multiple years and so many revisions to get to this point.
Of course, this isn’t the only movie in which fictional engineering predates (or even inspires) real-life counterparts. The Role of Engineering in Pop Culture. Movies have consistently shown us that they can forecast innovative products with alarming precision, from 1985’s Back to the Future (video calling, flat-screen televisions, and wearable electronics) to 2002’s Minority Report (driverless automobiles, tailored marketing, and voice-automated homes). Although the flying automobiles from Back to the Future aren’t here yet, we do have flying drones that are being tested to transport passengers… So keep an eye out for them in your neighborhood in the not-too-distant future.
