Doctor Who: 15 Science Lessons To Build Your Own Sonic Screwdriver

11. Remote Control

9 Control Device 4 Underworld 3 Control of devices without a connection has progressed since those early days of ancient TV remotes. You could change the channel or change the volume but that was pretty much it. But in time, people wanted more and today's remotes can not only control functions on your TV but control a multitude of devices with dozens of functions, if not hundreds. The Doctor is constantly pointing the screwdriver at some device and it instantly does something whether it be start it up, shut it down, or control in any fashion he desire. The Fourth Doctor was the first to use it to control a mechanical device; reversing the exhaust fan in the mine in Underworld . Though the wildest scene was in Partners in Crime when The Tenth Doctor and Ms. Foster had a battle of the sonic devices while attempting to control the hoist on the side of the building. But how could a sonic device control electromechanical equipment? By using lattice vibrations to cause oscillations of atoms in a solid if can affect the electromagnetic field of the object. Any device needing a stable magnetic field to function could be controlled, disabled, or disrupted. And what is to say that the screwdriver could not also be adapted to dampen an electric field in a device.
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Contributor

An artist and a computer geek before the two became synonymous. Combined them into data visualization which just seemed natural. But my real passion is Doctor Who. I write for the magazine Whotopia with my colleague Jürgen. Presented on my blog, The Doctor and Me, are essays and data analysis of Doctor Who. Working to amass large Doctor Who datasets allows for the analysis of the show unlike anything else. The most recent dataset is every use of the sonic screwdriver which is currently approaching 900. And every time an old episode comes on, there is a chance of spotting yet one more use that was tucked away.