Pop culture meets Science at the Long Night of the Sciences
On 19.10.2019 the Long Night of Sciences takes place once again. This year, pop culture meets science in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, supposedly impossible inventions from the superhero cosmos of Marvel and DC meet their real counterparts.
In the lecture “The Science of Superheroes” (at 8 pm and 10 pm) by guest speaker Prof. Dr. Suveen Mathaudhu of the University of California the focus is on Wonder Woman‘s bracers, Captain America‘s shield, and Iron Man‘s armor among others. Could bracelets really block pistol bullets or could a shield absorb energy? In addition, the fictional element vibranium will play a role in the lecture. In this context, Prof. Mathaudhu will address the question of whether an advanced society could actually be based on a single material, as in Black Panther.
The topic of Prof. Erik Bitzek‘s talk “New Materials: From Science Fiction to Science” (7 pm and 11 pm), too, appears to have sprung from a comic fantasy at first glance: materials that withstand extreme stress, that is manipulated by scientists on the smallest scale, and whose properties can be predicted with the help of supercomputers. But first glances are known to be deceptive …
The third lecture of the evening – “With Diamond Against Micro-Aliens” (9 pm and midnight) – will not take the visitors boldly to where no man has gone before, but to the earthly microcosm, where far greater dangers lurk as in the universe. Dr. Stefan Rosiwal will tell you, how some of these “micro-aliens” can be disposed of by means of diamond electrodes.
You can experience this and much more fantastic with us at the Long Night of Sciences.
Fox Mulder from “The X-Files” would certainly have been thrilled to know that the truth is not just out there. You can find it at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.