AnimeSuki Forums

Register Forum Rules FAQ Members List Social Groups Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   AnimeSuki Forum > Anime Related Topics > General Anime

Notices

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 2016-06-05, 09:29   Link #1
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Anime Science 101

So here we go. I am a science teacher who has been watching anime for a long time, and after several class discussions about science in anime I decided to explore the topic further. The goal is to take a somewhat critical eye to how various science topics as they are presented in anime. I want to see what and how much they get right, and what and how much they get wrong. Now when having a discussion like this the level to which you take the science is important, so I will be holding the science to the level covered in your basic high school classes. This is two fold, one I think I can reach a larger audience this way. Second is that I don't teach the higher level stuff and my background is more limited in the area of physics and inorganic chemistry.

With that over with here you go.

Blog Anime Science 101 - Examining the viability of science in our favorite anime
http://www.animescience101.com/

Below is a rough draft on the Gundanium from Gundam fame

Spoiler for Size:
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-06, 17:50   Link #2
Spectacular_Insanity
Ha ha ha ha ha...
*Graphic Designer
 
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Right behind you.
Age: 35
If I had a dollar for every time I saw a fictional metal that was tougher than titanium alloy but thinner and lighter than steel, I'd be a rich, rich man.
__________________
Spectacular_Insanity is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-06, 19:24   Link #3
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spectacular_Insanity View Post
If I had a dollar for every time I saw a fictional metal that was tougher than titanium alloy but thinner and lighter than steel, I'd be a rich, rich man.
LOL true, score one for science fiction. That doesn't mean we can't try and see if its possible.
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-07, 10:25   Link #4
SeijiSensei
AS Oji-kun
 
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Age: 74
In my experience science and the supernatural are often mixed together in anime. Take Noein for example. Here is a show that explicitly references the "many-worlds" interpretation of quantum theory and even includes a cameo appearance by Schroedinger's Cat. Nevertheless the whole gestalt of the story is pretty fantastical. I'm still a big fan of Noein but mostly for the characterizations and story and less for the science. You might want to read the posts here about Noein by Sam Pinansky (aka Quarkboy) who was working on his Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the time. (Now Sam works in the anime industry in Japan )

Another example might be Ghost Hound, which has a strange mix of psychiatry, neuroscience, and the supernatural that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

Dennou Coil presents an early glimpse into a virtual world visible only with special glasses. Again there are clear supernatural referents, particularly the emphasis on shrines and torii, and the fact that the "metatags" look just like ofuda. Still the world Coil presents is quite plausible given current technologies like Google Glass, VR helmets, and the like.
SeijiSensei is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-07, 13:33   Link #5
Solace
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
*Moderator
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
In my experience science and the supernatural are often mixed together in anime.
My personal opinion is that good science fiction should never let the science interfere with the fiction.

As for the fantasy metal, we've already created something along those lines: graphene.
__________________
Solace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-07, 17:28   Link #6
SPARTAN 119
Unleashing the Homu-Rage
 
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Hmm, not so sure about the Gundanium alloy thing, but I liked the blog in general, and was surprised that the "Air Torpedo" scene in Black Lagoon is actually physically possible, assuming the ramp or the boat wasn't destroyed by the impact (that may be the problem, though)
SPARTAN 119 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-07, 20:34   Link #7
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Quote:
Originally Posted by Solace View Post
My personal opinion is that good science fiction should never let the science interfere with the fiction.

As for the fantasy metal, we've already created something along those lines: graphene.
I agree that the science shouldn't over ride the fiction and that is why I like the soft science fiction more than the hard science fiction. That doesn't stop me from going mythbusters on it later.

Graphene is an interesting material, but I wouldn't call it gundanium just yet. Also since gundanium is refereed to as a metal and graphene is more of a composite, it doesn't exactly fit. It could work for other fantasy metals though.
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-12, 22:35   Link #8
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
So this week I tried to break down the chemistry in full metal alchemist.

http://www.animescience101.com/2016/...flame-alchemy/
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-23, 15:05   Link #9
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
A- I'm a bit late as I've been traveling half way across the world since Saturday.

B- Now for the biology behind anime hair color

http://www.animescience101.com/2016/...me-hair-color/
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-24, 05:51   Link #10
judasmartel
Senior Member
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cainta, Rizal, Philippines
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyidiot78 View Post
A- I'm a bit late as I've been traveling half way across the world since Saturday.

B- Now for the biology behind anime hair color

http://www.animescience101.com/2016/...me-hair-color/
I always look at anime hair color as a personality indicator, as most anime hair colors each represent a certain kind of temperament. But I liked the explanation that our eyes are not that advanced to see more colors, so we can only see black, brown, blonde, and red (though not the same bright red as in anime) as natural hair colors.

If we somehow had tetrachromatic eyes, maybe we can see more hair colors than just the ones above. Sadly, it's a rare condition and only females can have it.
judasmartel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-24, 05:59   Link #11
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Quote:
Originally Posted by judasmartel View Post
I always look at anime hair color as a personality indicator, as most anime hair colors each represent a certain kind of temperament. But I liked the explanation that our eyes are not that advanced to see more colors, so we can only see black, brown, blonde, and red (though not the same bright red as in anime) as natural hair colors.

If we somehow had tetrachromatic eyes, maybe we can see more hair colors than just the ones above. Sadly, it's a rare condition and only females can have it.
You are right hair color does indicate personality, and it can also be used to indicate the other worldly nature of a character. This of course depends on the show. As for the tetrachromacy you are a bit off.

Yes it does seem to only occur in females, but it referees to the detection of light, and uses photopsin. Which has nothing to do with hair or eye color. I think what you meant to refer to was heterochromia, which is when the eyes are different colors. This is something I will be making a post on at some point over the summer.
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-06-27, 20:23   Link #12
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
This time its Sailor Moon. I will be getting back to anime eye color though.

http://www.animescience101.com/2016/...y-sailor-moon/
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-11, 21:57   Link #13
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
This week its a scientific concept related to cloning and aging. Specifically we will look at Gundam Seed and Naruto.

http://www.animescience101.com/2016/...ayflick-limit/
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 02:54   Link #14
judasmartel
Senior Member
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cainta, Rizal, Philippines
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyidiot78 View Post
This week its a scientific concept related to cloning and aging. Specifically we will look at Gundam Seed and Naruto.

http://www.animescience101.com/2016/...ayflick-limit/
Sad how the ever potent Senju DNA cells have not been discussed.
judasmartel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 06:53   Link #15
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Quote:
Originally Posted by judasmartel View Post
Sad how the ever potent Senju DNA cells have not been discussed.
There really isn't enough information given on them to really say anything other than the telomeres are probably longer than average. If the manga did say something more about them, then I will be more than happy to look at it.
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 09:27   Link #16
judasmartel
Senior Member
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cainta, Rizal, Philippines
Quote:
Originally Posted by crazyidiot78 View Post
There really isn't enough information given on them to really say anything other than the telomeres are probably longer than average. If the manga did say something more about them, then I will be more than happy to look at it.
So basically, human regeneration speed and strength are based on the telomere length?
judasmartel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 09:40   Link #17
DerGilga
Banned
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Quote:
Originally Posted by judasmartel View Post
So basically, human regeneration speed and strength are based on the telomere length?
No, telomere length dictates the amount how often a cell can divide. The inverse length can be seen as the 'age' of a cell and is one factor in the aging process.
DerGilga is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 09:43   Link #18
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Quote:
Originally Posted by judasmartel View Post
So basically, human regeneration speed and strength are based on the telomere length?
No I was referencing their ability to live a long time. Regeneration speed has several factors, but the most important would be the length of time it takes the cells to divide. Eukaryotic cells take about 24 hours to divide due to how complex they are. Bacterial cells can reproduce every 20min in the right conditions. I would call the insane speed at which regeneration happens completely false and busted.
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 10:32   Link #19
judasmartel
Senior Member
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cainta, Rizal, Philippines
What also astounds me is people grafting Senju cells into themselves without any apparent sign of rejection by their bodies.
judasmartel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2016-07-15, 11:34   Link #20
crazyidiot78
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Yeah that's anime biology for ya. I mean if the cells lack HLA antigens, and a few other markers they would be less likely to be rejected, but it would still happen eventually. Not to mention the issues surrounding not having any HLA markers.
crazyidiot78 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
anime, anime science, science

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 00:13.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
We use Silk.