Science

Bucky Barnes: Living with a Bionic Limb

March 13, 2016 // 0 Comments

Science in Popular Culture is a column by contributor Jae Bailey. In this column, Jae explores the science and technology of bionic limbs, arc reactors, and Death Stars in popular culture. Welcome back to Part Three of the Science in Popular Culture series! In Part One, I wrote about what it might be like for Iron Man to live with an arc reactor in his chest. This time I’ll focus on what life with a metal limb might be like for Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist, Marvel’s //

The Science of Starkiller Base

January 16, 2016 // 2 Comments

Science in Popular Culture is a column by contributor Jae Bailey. In this column, Jae explores the science and technology of bionic limbs, arc reactors, and Death Stars in popular culture. WARNING: This article may contain spoilers for The Force Awakens. In the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, the original trilogy’s evil Empire has been replaced by the more sinister First Order. While the Empire couldn’t get enough of building planet destroying death stars, the First //

Iron Man: Living with a Fusion Reactor in Your Chest

November 3, 2015 // 1 Comment

Science in Popular Culture is a column by contributor Jae Bailey. In this column, Jae explores the science and technology of bionic limbs, arc reactors, and Death Stars in popular culture. “What is the point of owning a race car if you can’t drive it?” —Tony Stark, Iron Man 2 (2010) And what is the point of owning a kick-ass metal flying suit if it’s too heavy to ever leave the ground? Tony Stark, the man inside the armor, masters this engineering challenge by using //

Five Psychological Benefits of Writing Fanfiction

October 21, 2015 // 5 Comments

In 2009 I began writing fanfiction as a means to jumpstart my creative process. I was so in love with the characters of the anime I was addicted to (Yu Yu Hakusho, by the way) that I wanted desperately for there to be more of their adventures and world than the complete series offered me. Burning through the entire series in two weeks’ only left that hunger festering. I was writing the first draft of a novel at the time, in between jobs and attending college. When I could no longer fill my //