Nerd Herd: Technology Can Mimic Fantastic Four Super Powers

Superheroes, like the Fantastic Four, are nothing new. They pepper comic books, cartoons, movies and the internet. Most people, though, think that the superhuman abilities that these heroes possess are impossible to attain. But what if these powers were attainable? Lockheed Martin has stated that it may be possible for humans to attain similar abilities to the Fantastic Four.

It all comes down to materials science. Lockheed Martin is known for the amazing technological innovations that it develops, so it's not surprising that it has said that "superpowers" may be attainable through the use of technology. Honestly, it's not all that farfetched-at least in the future.

For example, there are materials currently being developed that have the ability to self-heal and reversibly change their shape; in other words, the materials are super stretchy. This is particularly interesting when it comes to different objects that may need to change shape; it could be possible to develop a plane, for instance, that could change its wing shape depending on the conditions that It encounters and in order to optimize fuel efficiency. While it's unlikely that a human could transform in such a way, a person could definitely utilize these materials for themselves.

On a more personal level, though, invisibility is certainly possible for people. Already, researchers are working on invisibility cloaks. There are several effective versions that can hide an object in certain types of light. It's therefore not all that farfetched to believe that in the future, we may see invisibility cloaks that can hide a person in the visible spectrum.

Invisibility is certainly tempting, but what about super strength? Researchers are actually researcher spider silk as a way to create materials that are lightweight and super strong. Graphene has also recently entered the scene and is also one of the strongest materials available for scientists to use.

But what about people? Could they also be super strong? Technically, it's possible. A rare genetic disorder which causes people to produce less myostatin can produce larger and more well-defined muscles in a person. Liam Hoekstra, a baby who had this myostatin mutation, was about to hang on rings in an iron cross by 5 months and could perform pullups by 9 months.

But what about the ability to control and manipulate fire? We can already do that-to an extent. Being able to create materials that can withstand high heat is important for possibly creating suits that allow people to walk through fire. Already, researchers are working on creating materials that can withstand superheated temperatures. As to manipulating fire, there's always the Pyro, which is essentially a palm-based flamethrower.

Humans may not be able to biologically develop all superpowers, but technology is continually pushing us from the realm of the mundane to the realm of the fantastic. We may just see humans with "superhuman" capabilities because of these new innovations.

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