8 Science Experiments Inspired By Superheroes

1. Shapeshifting - Mystique/Loki

Shapeshifting might have seemed relegated to the world of magic and science fiction in the past, but there's a good chance that it will be brought kicking and screaming into the real world by the unassuming field of material science.

The development of metamaterials might just open the way for invisibility cloaks to become a reality, by manipulating the light that comes into contact with them and, if we can do that, then maybe one day we'll be able to manipulate the light enough to give the wearer a completely different appearance, perhaps using holographic technology.

That said, it's probably unlikely that humans themselves with be able to change their physical bodies at will. Robots, however, they'll have a fighting chance (because shapeshifting robots have never been a cause for concern in fictions so far. Never.)

Programmable matter could allow us to develop shapeshifting material capable of becoming anything you can dream up. Futurist and physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku explained in an interview for Big Think:

"Atoms can slide over atoms, rearrange themselves, but what happens if atoms are replaced by chips, chips that are so small they’re smaller than the head of a pin and you can change their electric charge? By changing the electric charge they bind and reform in different ways and they’re intelligent because each dot is a computer chip perhaps as powerful as a PC [...] If I have a clump of clay made of thousands of millions of little dots I push a button then the charges rearrange themselves to form a statue, a car, whatever you want. This means that I can push another button and this clay turns into a house or I push another button and a whole city rises out of the desert."

Just don't tell Skynet.

If science gives you the warm fuzzies, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to stay up to date.

You could write for WhatCulture Science! Click here to find out how you could get paid to write about what you love.