One of the eye-popping techno wonders from the latest Batman installment involves the use of cellphones to “see” inside of buildings. When Lucius Fox plants a cellphone in Lau’s office building, the modified phone somehow creates a map of the buildings interior by using a “high frequency pulse” to create an image. Fox tells Bruce that it works just like sonar. Well to be more accurate he should have called it radar because that’s what it is. Sonar is when you reflect sound waves off of objects to determine their location. Radar is when you use electromagnetic radiation usually at microwave frequencies to do the same thing. Since cellphones emit and receive e-m radiation in the radio wave/microwave frequency range (for cellphones the frequencies are usually between about 800 and 2000 MHz) if you tried to use them as imaging devices then that’s radar.
There are many different types of radar designed for different purposes including military defense, meteorological applications (the Doppler radar they use to image precipitation), police radar, geologic applications (ground penetrating radar); the list goes on. But, not surprisingly, none is capable of coming close to the level of 3-D resolution and the depth of penetration that Fox’s is able to achieve. The more layers the radiation penetrates the more it is absorbed and scattered. This makes resolving and interpreting the reflected signals extremely challenging. Nevertheless it’s an interesting idea extrapolated from existing technology and maybe with some stunningly sophisticated futuristic signal processing algorithm we can make Fox’s dream a reality.
Terrible. Really awful, please do some research, or at least put a little thought in next time.
Most glaring error is the fact that the joker IS NOT in the GARBAGE TRUCK (different from the semi where he *is* located) that gets driven into the ceiling of the tunnel.
Also some estimates such as the absolute halt of the trailer when it flips (In a tenth of a second?! it clearly keeps moving forward, taking at least a full second to flip, also 15,000kg would be a decent estimate for a FULL trailer of cargo) or the cross sectional area of the cables (a 3 inch diameter round cable results in a cross section of almost 15 cm^2) are pure garbage.
Finally the tumbler does not become invisible in the first movie, it decelerates and switches off exterior lights, possibly running on electric power to eliminate engine noise (it can be seen in multiple shots, such as from the cop car).
Nice try, but: http://www.roflmachine.com/fun/batman.jpg
Is it just me, or has it recently become fashionable to bash good movies for the negative attention?
Did you even watch the movie? In the scene where batman bent the barrel of a gun, he had a type of exoskeleton on his arm and hand to help him. Maybe he used this when he was gliding as well? I thought you might have picked on the Batpod a bit more, taking a corner on that would've been impossible with those tyres. But you seem to have forgotton the fact that this is a comic book film, it's a brilliant piece of theatrical art! It dosen't have to be correct, it's fantasy. Just try to watch it without picking holes in it, you might appriciate it a bit more.
Yeah, Batman had some sort of exoskeleton that made him stronger.
And Also, I think that maybe Batman would have some sort of locking mechanism that accounts for the weight.
For instance, when his wings are activated, so are locks that strengthen and straighten his arms.
I really doubt the wonderful bat-suite would require that much human exertion.
Also, Fox is a different scientist.
He has a warehouse FULL of experimental and prototypical devices.
As for the antidote? How do you know that he doesn't have a device that can analyze it?
I agree with 12gage.
I just think you need to do a little bit more research on the actual screenplay in addition to the science behind it next time.
Seriously, articles this poorly based on actual movie facts is a discredit to this PopSci.
-There was no clocking mode on the batmobile in the first movie, it simply turned off the lights and ran quite.
-When Bruce is talking about "triangulating the joker" via cell phones, he's talking about doing it with the "Sonar/Radar" Hollywood magic, not just by using the phones native abilities.
-The "Spinner" slide states that Batman strings out one of his utility cables and anchors them around some lamp posts. Not true! The cables where shout out from the batpod into the trucks front end, woven through the lamp posts, and then anchored into the pavement by the batpod itself.
-The "All Action" slide references the Joker standing in the cargo bay of the trailer. BIG FREAKING problem with this one. It seems that the author missed the fact there's two trucks involved from the Jokers team. One w/ a trailer that he's in, and the other is a garbage truck. The Batmobile plows into the garbage truck and never touches the other.
I understand making mistakes, I really. But when writing an article for a well known magazine, you should at least try to know what you're talking about.
I agree with 12gage, plus -
Why couldn't the mobile sensors be sonar? The main point of phones is the ability to emit and detect sound waves.
The Batsuit's wings are not supported by Batman's arms, but by the rigid fram of the wings themselves - memory material, remember?
With the truck/atmobile collision, you just weren't paying attention - the collision was not "head on", the Batmobile wedged under the truck, and it got jammed against the roof of the tunnel. It was the mass of the tunnel that stopped the truck, not the Batmobile. That's why the TOP of the truck was flattened, not the front.
As for Fox, he doesn't need to be a supergenius, he doesn't need to keep up to date with multiple disciplines - he just needs to keep up with the output of his own department, and have a small talent for lateral thinking. So what if we don't see the actual department? When we saw Fox in his "cavernous laboratory" in the last film, he wasn't in R&D, he had been side-lined by the Board. He was just in a warehouse full of techno-toys. In the second film, he is on the Board, and can afford to arrange his own lab.
This whole slideshow is very badly put together. Badly researched, and a poor reflection on PopSci.
You need to delete the slideshow and reprimand the author - I could do much better myself, but, then, I know some science and have some common sense.
If the Dark Knight would have been taking any of these Rachel wouldn't have been messing around with Harvey! male enhancement, orexis, extenze, vicerex, cnidium monnieri, catuaba bark, tribulus terrestris, maca root, tongkat ali, horny goat weed, best male enhancement pills, muira puama. You owe it to yourself to follow up!
I agree with kite, guy, 12gage et al. also it isn't that difficult to have expertise in a couple of disciplines unrelated. Myself am a qualified M.D physician, physicist and a computer tech. It isn't really that difficult considering how interrelated all fields are becoming nowadays and keeping up is easy with web and google to help you out.
are you people actually kidding me? so this writer has made a few mistakes, but lets not all be armchair quarterbacks. these guys write hundreds of articles each year, and all we do is sit around and mock them. you get up there and try gage. go ahead. revise this article. but i did enjoy reading this article. great job.
Let's no be so enthralled with the movie that we have to bash on a guy who tries to better explain it. Weiner is not ruining the mystique of the Dark Knight. He's merely having some fun with the crazy action sequences in the movie. Well done, Mr. Weiner.
Yeah guys, cut the writer some slack. I liked reading this, so what if it wasn't 110% true as you guys seem to want! this is a science website, not a batman website. Give him some credit ok