P6_4 The Physics of Magneto

Abstract

During a scene of the well-known X-men series, Magneto, capable of generating and controlling magnetic fields, stops multiple missiles mid-air before they reach him. In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of the magnetic field he would have to generate for this event to be possible. We calculated that at 100 m, a magnetic field strength of 37.5 T would be necessary for the projectile to be stopped. Although theoretically possible, to generate this field Magneto would need to produce a current of 1.875×10^10 A, which is not achievable on Earth.