BRAIN BLOG: The Physics of Ant-Man or The Science of Small

The Physics of Ant ManArtwork by the very talented Rodolfo Reyes via the Poster Posse

1 THE SCIENCE OF SMALL

Shrinking ourselves down to the size of an ant has long been a popular theme in science fiction. Movies such as Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Innerspace, Fantastic Voyage, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and many more have depicted shrinking in various forms or another, all culminating in the same result; I was big, now I’m small. But how realistic is this? Have these movies portrayed the science of small correctly, or are there scientific issues far beyond what is portrayed on the silver screen?

To address these questions and more, we will take a look at the 2015 release of Marvel’s Ant-Man and the modern physical laws that come into play in the movie.
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