Originally Posted by Jaffa

But the ATA gene would be soooo cool (if only you could get to Antarctica).

Originally Posted by fatalsaint

The only "magic" I saw was the Chest Piece.

Originally Posted by tso

as i understood it, computers and other technology could work fine, its just that the magic users didnt take the time to learn as magic was just as flexible, and available. why type search terms into google when you can walk into a library, speak some words and have all the books of interest drop down on your table in a instant?

Originally Posted by Benson

you wouldn't have to worry about the library flaming you for your (non)use of shift...

Originally Posted by tso

as i understood it, computers and other technology could work fine, its just that the magic users didnt take the time to learn as magic was just as flexible, and available. why type search terms into google when you can walk into a library, speak some words and have all the books of interest drop down on your table in a instant?

Originally Posted by tso

well i guess one could say that magic is a living force, thats more herded towards a goal then controlled to mathematical precision...

Originally Posted by ace

...Realistically ( ), the Iron Man suit should've been filled with a breathable liquid with the density of water. That would provide incredible protection against shocks, impacts, acceleration, etc. And such a liquid is only slightly beyond current tech.

A significant problem, however, arises from the high viscosity of the liquid and the corresponding reduction in its ability to remove CO2. All uses of liquid breathing for diving must involve total liquid ventilation (see above). Total liquid ventilation, however, has difficulty moving enough liquid to carry away CO2, because no matter how great the total pressure is, the amount of partial CO2 gas pressure available to dissolve CO2 into the breathing liquid can never be much more than the pressure at which CO2 exists in the blood (about 40 mm of mercury (Torr)).

At these pressures, most fluorocarbon liquids require about 70 mL/kg minute-ventilation volumes of liquid (about 5 L/min for a 70 kg adult) to remove enough CO2 for normal resting metabolism. This is a great deal of fluid to move, particularly as liquids are generally more viscous than gases, (for example water is about 56 times the viscosity of air). Any increase in the diver's metabolic activity also increases CO2 production and the breathing rate, which is already at the limits of realistic flow rates in liquid breathing. It seems unlikely that a person would move 10 liters/min of fluorocarbon liquid without assistance from a mechanical ventilator, so "free breathing" may be unlikely.

Liquid breathing for acceleration protection may never be practical because of the difficulty of finding a suitable breathing medium of similar density to water that is compatible with lung tissue. Perfluorocarbon fluids are twice as dense as water, hence unsuitable for this application.