Sci Fi / Sci Fact

Baakonite is a metal used heavily in Klingon weaponry and communications equipment in the world of Star Trek. Associate Professor Duncan McGillivary tells us about its particular properties and what we have in real life that might compare.

It would at first appear to a solution to all laundry woes, but the White Suit from the 1950's movie The Man in the White Suit is not without its issues. Associate Professor Geoff Willmott discusses this and much more.

Dr Matt Cowan, from the McDiarmid Institute and Engineering department of Canterbury University, talks about Cuendillar - a substance from the Wheel of Time series - which gets tougher, the more you bash it.

Black Panther's suit and Captain America's shield are both made of Vibranium, but realistically could any metal absorb, store and release kinetic energy?

Wildfire is a liquid so flammable, unstable and explosive it doesn't stop burning until you put sand on it. UK science communicator Kit Chapman discusses this Game of Thrones substance.

We know a lot of work goes into getting plants to grow bigger and produce more. But what are the chances of getting a beanstalk to reach the clouds? Dr Nate Davis gives it some thought in this episode of Sci Fi / Sci Fact.

The subtle knife slices through the fabric of reality to different worlds. Dr Mike Price discusses the science behind alternate universes and implements that might helps us get to them.

Tony Stark's arc reactor fuels his flying Ironman suit. James Rice joins Bryan Crump to discuss the real life equivalents to this palladium core fusion power source.

Mutants feature heavily in many sci fi stories, from X-men to Godzilla. Chemistry expert Bill Jia talks Corrodium, a mutant-making material from the Ben 10 cartoon series.

In Christopher Nolan's Tenet a CIA operative is tracing the origin of objects that are travelling back through time. Professor Bill Williams talks about the realities of time travel.

Many of the planets that feature in sci fi storylines end up sounding and looking a bit like Earth. Associate Professor Jan Eldridge chats about the chances of that.