14 DAY TRIAL // Iron Man is without a doubt one of the most charismatic superheroes the world has ever seen. Still, it's not his wits and sarcastic comebacks that keep him alive in battle. It's his super awesome suit that gets the job done.
In a new video, specialists with the American Chemical Society take on the science behind Iron Man's trademark suit. They say that, to be both light and resilient, the suit would have to be made of a nickel-titanium alloy called nitinol.
Not to have his feet burned while flying, the superhero must have also added a combination of carbon fiber and graphite to his suit. As for the so-called arc reactor that powers it all, specialists describe it as a miniature nuclear power plant.
Apart from the secrets behind Iron Man's suit, this latest American Chemical Society science-for-the-masses video discusses Captain America's and the Black Widow's ability to heal freakishly fast after having been injured in battle.
As it turns out, the best explanation is that their bodies produce hyperactive white blood cells by the name of macrophages. These overzealous fighters of the immune system fight infections and speed up wound healing processes.
Interestingly, it was in August 2014 that a researcher at Stanford University turned a few heads when he announced that, theoretically speaking, genetic engineering could help regular folks achieve Captain America-like superpowers.
