Iron Man

Well first and foremost, please remember that IT’S A MOVIE. Special circumstances apply. Movie Physics are a subset of Cartoon Physics, where fundamental forces are different than ours. Gravity, Electromagnetism all have different values to make for more interesting viewing.

How interesting? Let’s dissect some of the science tech, keeping in mind that though I am not nearly as clever as Tony Stark, I remain an engineer, working in approximately the same field. So much so, that the Stark Industries is a homage to my company’s logo.

Jericho: Nothing more that a sub-munitions delivery system. Think high-falutin cluster bomb. Mabye the punch is augmented by reactive metal casings, meaning the shell containing the explosives explodes as well. That would make for a prettier explosion, as well as packing an extra punch. Nothing to see here, move along

Arc Reactor Generator: Welcome to the movies. 3 gigawatts from a coffee cup sized generator? That’s a hell of a lot of power from those transformers and magnets he soldered together, Platinum Ring excluded. In fact, that’s more that an aircraft carrier has. That level of power could be possible, but not easily handled. And it seems to be a self sustaining reaction, which violates laws of thermodynamics (friction, cooling). I’m guessing it uses magnetic fields (like in a fusion reactor) for containment, still, a lot of power for Pepper to be handling bare handed.

The Suit:
Repulsors: 3 gigawatts of self sustaining power is a lot to play with, you can make very bright lights. Or perhaps powerful turbines to compress atmospheric air and very strong lasers to ignite that compressed air. Cause without compression and direction, all you have is a plasma fire in your palm. Or under your feet.

Strength: Flat motors exist. They’re not all that efficient, perhaps with 3gw to play with, efficiency isn’t an issue; Heat dissipation would be. One of the first rules of thermodynamics is unused/waste energy generates heat. The Space Station has massive radiators to bleed away waste heat. The Space Shuttle opens the bay doors to radiate heat. That Iron Man suit is loaded with motors and computers, He’s got to have some heat management going on or it’s Broiled Stark in its own Shell. Served hot!

Flight: If we posit that the suit can manage all that power, producing both Super Strength and Concussive Force, then how does he controllably fly? The answer is Posture. A skydiver uses his body as a shapeable airfoil, allowing for different flight (or more accurately, plummeting) profiles. The same principles hold true for Jet-boot flying. In real life (yes, there parachutists who have attached mini jets to their boots), flight is accomplished by using an airfoil backpack (big delta wing) or the “flying suit” (a jumpsuit with panels under the arms and between the legs, think flying squirrel). These help refine the airflow to bring in into human-strength control. For Tony, given the speeds and the thrust of his boots/repulsors, all of this is under computer control. The Flight test scene gives a big clue; His body stiffens into a flight posture right before takeoff. So don’t expect a wave as he rockets by. The shape of the shuttle is called a Lifting Body, NASA did extensive research in the 60’s on this concept.

Displays: All that stuff is being beamed into Tony’s eyes by miniprojectors, which now exist. All the stuff on Tony’s face is for our benefit only. I will say that the enhanced display, showing local air traffic and other data were well done and exactly the type of stuff we do.

Interface: Sensors line the inside of the suit, providing direct movement feedback. Some things are automated (all of Flight ops, he just doesn’t have fast enough reflexes), some are voice command, and I would imagine that the helmet has some superconducting sensors, monitoring his brain (they exist also) and providing some control, if not assisted reflexes. Useful for, say, dodging an artillery shell from a tank.

In conclusion, the Mark 2 and Mark 3 Iron Man battlesuits are great technological masterpieces, extrapolating on present day, real-world technologies. With the ever accelerating knowledge of material sciences and skyrocketing computer capabilities, there is a high probability that you could soon be seeing elements of the suit creeping into mundane reality.

And it was a great film.