Science has always been a fundamental need for humankind. As the advancement of it goes on, the enhancement of technologies arises, making the 21st century as one of the most empowering eras of all times. From forwarding the first theory of rocket science by Dr. Robert. H. Goddard, which equatorially follows Newton’s third law of motion, to practically launch the first ever rocket (V2 missile) which could fly high enough to get into space, invented and manufactured by the Germans in 1942. Electric cars, robots, and hydroelectric dams, all were once considered impossible, are now a part of our daily lives.  Once an idea can be created into a myth and, that myth can be transformed into discoveries.

Scientific discoveries are often presented in a mythological way, with a theory being presented as a dynamic flash of insight by a heroic individual rather than as the result of sustained experiment and reasoning.

For instance, Jules Verne wrote a novel in 1863, “Paris is the Twentieth Century,” where he predicted what Paris might look like in the year 1960. His novel was filled with technologies that were clearly considered impossible in the early 19th century, including a worldwide communication network, high-speed elevated trains, fax machines, etc. Thinking back 150 years to, those technological advances that were declared impossible by scientists of that time have now become our standard of living.

 Diving into sci-fi, moving a little deeper makes us come to think whether teleportation, time travel, and parallel worlds are even possible. Therefore, in this article, I will cover up what force fields are. Whether they are even possible or not? And how do they work with the help of technology?

What Are Force Fields And How Do They Work?

 Force fields are generally considered as vector fields that indicate the force exerted by one object on another. It is a barrier that is made up of energy, plasma, or particles in order to protect a person, area, or object from any uncertain attacks, intrusions, or as a means of confinement. It is a force built based on electromagnetism, which is about 10th to 36th times stronger than gravity, along with a much longer range than nuclear forces. It is mainly designed so that if any outer forces are applied to a certain area/ object/person, it acts as a shield to protect the inner object/ area/ person from that outward energy.

 This frictional technology is created as a field of energy without matter that acts as a wall so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the field and reach the other side, instead being deflected or destroyed. It acts as a barrier produced by something like energy, negative energy, dark energy, electromagnetic fields, gravitational fields, quantum fields, plasma particles, radiation, solid lights, etc.  This concept has become a staple of many science-fiction works, so much so that authors frequently do not even bother to explain or justify them to their readers, treating them almost as fact and attributing whatever capabilities the plot requires. The ability to create force fields has become a frequent superpower in superhero media.

Are Force Fields Actually Possible?

 Force fields are generally defined as a frictional technology that is only obtained by superheroes in sci-fi stories. Now the question arises, are they even possible to build? Well, physicist Prof. Jim Al-Khalili of the University of Surrey, does believe that it is possible one day to build force fields based on electromagnetism. As mentioned before, it’s certainly a stronger force than gravity, with a longer range than the nuclear forces. Therefore, it only exerts its influence on bodies that are electrically charged. So the first job upon detecting an incoming projectile would be to charge it up in a theorized way.

According to him, this could be done by bombing the object with a beam of positrons. These are particles of antimatter, of equal mass to the electrons that orbit around the outside of atoms, but with opposite electrical charges. When positrons and electrons come together, they annihilate one another. Therefore, he speculates that this effect could be exploited to charge up an inbound projectile so it can be deflected.  

Even though force fields are still considered imaginary frictional technologies, which, while theorizing, breaks an incredible amount of laws of science, one day perhaps it could be able to be invented. Likewise, the possibility of finding parallel worlds, force fields, teleportation, and time travel are now considered impossible. But the advanced achievements might perhaps make them possible too.

This was written by our contributing writer, Atia Sanjida.