peacefuljeffrey 0 #1 July 6, 2004 Okay, I admit, I'm often looking for realism in fictional movies, but if I heard them right in Spiderman II, this is too much to let slide. Did they or did they not make TRITIUM the key element in Doctor Octopus' experiment? And did they or did they not say that there were only "25 pounds of it on the planet"? Wouldn't that make the tritium in watches and night sights, urm, pretty darned expensive? Blue skies, -Jeffrey-Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #2 July 6, 2004 thats what they said...but I dont think theres only 25 pounds of it on earth...if there is I dont think its the key element for self powered energyMy photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpeedRacer 1 #3 July 6, 2004 Damn, I've used tritium-labeled isotopes in the lab. If there's only 25 lbs of it on all of Earth, I feel pretty special. especially since its half-life is only about 12.5 years. or something. I should look that up before trying to be ageek. Speed Racer -------------------------------------------------- Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peacefuljeffrey 0 #4 July 6, 2004 So WHY are the producers of one of the most high-budget movies around stupid enough to let something so ridiculous get into the script?? Couldn't they have cited any number of other rarer, more exotic elements? Why be real specific about something that lots of people are apt to know is not nearly as rare as the character claims? Aren't there supposed to be continuity editors for this very purpose? I guess continuity editor is a position that they fill with those mob-connected no-show employees who get a paycheck despite never going to work... Blue skies, --Jeffrey "With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #5 July 6, 2004 maybe they thought thier target audience wouldnt know anything about tritium. kids are kinda dumb LOLMy photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #6 July 6, 2004 QuoteOkay, I admit, I'm often looking for realism in fictional movies, but if I heard them right in Spiderman II, this is too much to let slide. Did they or did they not make TRITIUM the key element in Doctor Octopus' experiment? And did they or did they not say that there were only "25 pounds of it on the planet"? Wouldn't that make the tritium in watches and night sights, urm, pretty darned expensive? Blue skies, -Jeffrey AAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggghhhh! Yes, the writers blew it. You weren't the only one who noticed. I think this one slipped through the filter. I think that to the writers, "Tritium" sounded exotic and sexy, and as a well-known component of atomic fusion it was a useful plot device, but for some reason, they didn't realize that the radioisotope is used in everything from compasses to gunsights. Yup, they dropped the ball... A better plot device would have been to give the material a numerical value like "tritium 90" (a tweak on Strontium), or some silly techno-moniker like "proto-tritium" or "neo-tritium" or "crypto-tritium" (more appropriate ) - in short, anything but the plain ol' isotope used to make hydrogen bombs go boom... either that or not say that there were only 25 lbs of it on the planet...there was no need to make that remark, other than that the writers needed a plot device to motivate Dr. Octavius, and the details got hosed...oops... mh ."The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tunaplanet 0 #7 July 6, 2004 This is fairly simple. Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen. There is an area in the North Pacific that contains tritium-rich salt water...far more than the 25 pounds listed in the movie. This is the second post you've made on Spiderman 2. Jeffy, it blew away your precious F911 by your God and savior, Michael Moron. Get over it. Let it go. Go skydive or something. Forty-two Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TallGuy 0 #8 July 6, 2004 I'm sure many of the key people in the movie including the writers knew the real deal. But the fact is that when your just looking to entertain the masses, scientific accuracy is purely optional. My favorite Men in Black quote is "A person is smart. People are dumb." That said...What the hell is up with Spiderman having strength like Superman? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rocketfeuille 0 #9 July 6, 2004 Maybe it was spelled "tridium" in the script... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhillyKev 0 #10 July 6, 2004 To put this in perspective....we're talking about the lack of realism in the movie about the guy with super powers from being bitten by a radioactive spider, right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #11 July 6, 2004 QuoteTo put this in perspective....we're talking about the lack of realism in the movie about the guy with super powers from being bitten by a radioactive spider, right? Yeah, I belive that's right, a radioactive spider... wait a second here, are all of you saying that movies aren't real... man that sucks... I was going to move to New York and try and get my picture taken with Spidey... S Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiæ. -Seneca (There can be no genius without a tincture of madness.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TypicalFish 0 #12 July 6, 2004 QuoteQuoteTo put this in perspective....we're talking about the lack of realism in the movie about the guy with super powers from being bitten by a radioactive spider, right? Yeah, I belive that's right, a radioactive spider... wait a second here, are all of you saying that movies aren't real... man that sucks... I was going to move to New York and try and get my picture taken with Spidey... S Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiæ. -Seneca (There can be no genius without a tincture of madness.) No kidding. I was going to try to adopt "Frank The Dog" from Men In Black. Talk about a chick magnet, he would be even better than my old chocolate lab."I gargle no man's balls..." ussfpa on SOCNET Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #13 July 6, 2004 ARE YOU TELLING ME SPIDERMAN IS FICTION???? OOHHHH NOOO!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT!!!! __________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icon134 0 #14 July 6, 2004 QuoteARE YOU TELLING ME SPIDERMAN IS FICTION???? OOHHHH NOOO!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT!!!! I saw him on TV once... that means he has to be real.Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #15 July 6, 2004 QuoteARE YOU TELLING ME SPIDERMAN IS FICTION???? OOHHHH NOOO!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT!!!! So are Luke and Leia....Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skymut 0 #16 July 6, 2004 QuoteAren't there supposed to be continuity editors for this very purpose? I guess continuity editor is a position that they fill with those mob-connected no-show employees who get a paycheck despite never going to work... Blue skies, - Stuff like that used to fuel my favorite t.v. show, Mystery Science Theater 3000. Matt A well-informed person is somebody who has the same views and opinions as yours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrazyIvan 0 #17 July 6, 2004 QuoteSo are Luke and Leia.... Ooohhh...that's low __________________________________________ Blue Skies and May the Force be with you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bch7773 0 #18 July 6, 2004 isn't tritium naturally found in oceanwater in something like .01% of all the hydrogen atoms? i can tell you that .01% of all the hydrogen in the worlds oceans is more than 25 lbs. but still it is a movie... if it was 100% realistic what fun would that be MB 3528, RB 1182 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,096 #19 July 6, 2004 > And did they or did they not say that there were only "25 pounds of it on the planet"? Refined tritium is indeed very rare. It's a gas, not a solid, but several ICF designs use solid deuterium-tritium for fuel. In most designs, liquid or solid DT is contained within a sphere, chilled to very cold temps to keep it liquid or solid. Tritium does not exist in large quantities in nature. It's half life is 12 years, so any naturally occurring tritium would not exist for very long. However, you can irradiate lithium and create tritium. It's expensive and difficult but can create small amounts. For ICF reactor designs, the coolant (lithium) is filtered to reclaim the tritium formed when the coolant is exposed to the reactor's radiation. Deuterium, on the other hand, is pretty common, and can be found in seawater. Water with a high concentration of deuterium is referred to as heavy water and is very slightly radioactive. 25 pounds? No idea, but there sure aren't tons of the stuff lying around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GogglesnTeeth 6 #20 July 6, 2004 Psssssssst.... It's only a movie. Spiderman is real!! I met him in a mall once, and I got his autograph on a card!Goggles and Teeth "You fall like a greased safe!!!" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,096 #21 July 6, 2004 > Psssssssst.... It's only a movie. Really? Suddenly I feel less safe, what with Spiderman not on the job . . . I am often amused by what movie writers are inspired by. Even when someone who know the subject inside and out is involved (like BJ Worth, who wrote Drop Zone) the details get confused. In the case of the Spiderman movie, someone clearly understood ICF to some degree (the reactor in both cases looks a lot like an ICF; even got the fuel right) but then the director took a few liberties. Take a look at all the books out on "star trek" technology. They're actually adapting modern physics to explain things like the transporter, which is now at least theoretically possible. Some other examples: Remember the pod racers in Star Wars 1? Does the attached picture ring a bell? Even the name (Pond Racer) is close. Several spacecraft drives from NASA research (ion engines, Daedalus drive, NERVA) have shown up in sci-fi films. And of course there's story lines like Waterworld and The Day After, loosely based on global warming. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,131 #22 July 6, 2004 From ISU: "Tritium, as a form of Hydrogen, is found naturally in air and water. In nature, it is produced by cosmic rays in two source terms: 14N + 1n ---> 3H + 12C and 2H + 2H ---> 3H + 1H Cosmic rays interact with nitrogen (14N) or with deuterium (2H) and form tritium and carbon (12C). These are primarily interactions that happen in the upper atmosphere and the tritium falls to earth as rain. The unit curie is a measure of an amount of radioactivity. A curie (Ci) is the amount of a radioactive substance that has 3.7 x 1010 decays per second. The world wide production of tritium from natural sources is 4 x 10^6 curies per year with a steady state inventory of about 70 x 10^6 curies. The amount of tritium found in a typical rifle sight is about 0.012 curies and is human-made. Human-made tritium is generated by bombarding hydrogen with neutrons in a nuclear reactor or an accelerator." Since there are 9,800 Ci/gram of tritium, that works out at about 7.1Kg of tritium present on Earth due to natural sources alone (that's about 16 pounds). Dunno how much artificially produced T3 there is.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest #23 July 7, 2004 QuoteThey're actually adapting modern physics to explain things like the transporter, which is now at least theoretically possible. But they still have to use made-up technology to explain things, like the "Heisenberg Compensator"... mh . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,131 #24 July 7, 2004 QuoteQuoteThey're actually adapting modern physics to explain things like the transporter, which is now at least theoretically possible. But they still have to use made-up technology to explain things, like the "Heisenberg Compensator"... mh . Made up? I dunno about that. I had to compensate for Heisenberg in my physics finals.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indyz 1 #25 July 7, 2004 QuoteBut they still have to use made-up technology to explain things, like the "Heisenberg Compensator"... Ever hear that old physics joke? A traffic cop pulls over Werner Heisenberg. He walks up to Heisenberg and asks, “Do you know how fast you were going?” “No, but I can tell you exactly where I am.” Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
