Arc Reactor THEORY

12/15/2017 What is the theory/concept behind the 'Miniature Arc Reactor' built by Tony Stark? How did it work?
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What is the theory/concept behind the "Miniature Wh

Arc Reactor" built by Tony Stark? How did it work?
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Ryan Carlyle, BSChE, Subsea hydraulics engineer
Updated Jun 9, 2013 · Featured on HuffPost and Gizmodo Let
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The Stark Arc Reactor is most likely a Multi-Isotope Radio-Decay Cell.
Is it
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Since this is a fictitious device, and it has no "official" scientific explanation in
the Iron Man canon that I'm aware of, I'm going to make something up. I'm I wo
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mixing real science and fake science here. Physics nerds and comic-book nerds,
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deal with it.
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How
Let's look at what we know about the arc reactor from movies 1 and 2:
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12/15/2017 What is the theory/concept behind the 'Miniature Arc Reactor' built by Tony Stark? How did it work? - Quora
Mk 1 Arc Reactor.jpg
The full-sized arc reactor looks a lot like a toroidal "Tokomak" plasma
containment system for standard "hot fusion":
Tony Stark (L) and Obadiah Stane (R) in front of Stark Industries' arc reactor
Real world equivalent: ITER fusion reactor
Fusion Energy Division

This type of fusion reactor exists today at research pilot scale. The reactor
pictured, ITER, is under construction and is planned to be the first fusion
reactor large enough to produce a net gain of energy. Basically it mashes two
isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, together at such high energies that
they combine into one atom. When they fuse, the reaction produces helium and
a free neutron. Critically, helium+neutron has less mass than
deuterium+tritium, and the missing mass is converted to energy. That energy
can be captured as heat to run a traditional steam-driven turbine (like any other
power plant).
So what does the arc reactor's torus (donut) shape tell us? It means there are
charged particles moving in a circle, contained by a magnetic field. High-energy
particles usually have high energy because they're moving very fast, and
magnetic fields can curve the motion of charged particles. Curving the particles'
motion into a circle keeps them in one place long enough to get them to collide.
You may notice that current fusion reactor designs have a lot of magnet coils on
the outside of the torus, whereas the Stark Industries arc reactor has a viewing
window. Plasma containment is the single biggest challenge for hot fusion, but
the arc reactor makes it look effortless. From this we can conclude that a key
technology in the full-scale arc reactor is a way to contain the reaction in a
self-sustaining ring. This line of reasoning is definitely backed up by the
toroidal field lines drawn in the Stark Industries arc reactor blueprints:
Iron Man 2 - Arc Reactor.jpg
There is also a remarkable lack of cooling loops, turbines, or anything that a

traditional thermal reactor would require. Which means the arc reactor
produces electricity directly, rather than by first generating heat. This
observation jives with the fact that the megawatt-scale reactor in Tony's chest
does not roast him alive. So it cannot be a hot-fusion reactor, or a traditional
thermal-fission reactor. Back to the drawing board!
What else do we know about the miniature arc reactor?

Contains a palladium core
The palladium is damaged by neutrons, so the specific isotope is

important
Has electromagnetic coils in a torus
Emits blue-white light
Can be built in a cave with tools of moderate complexity
Requires no exotic materials outside what you could scavenge from

dismantled conventional weapons systems
Runs low on power at inconvenient times, meaning it must have some

sort of fuel or consumed charge
Palladium has been proposed as a substrate for "cold" fusion that does not
require hot plasmas and containment toroids, but this concept is pretty widely
discredited in the real world. Palladium does, however, have some interesting
capture and decay properties. Wikipedia: Isotopes of palladium
Palladium isotope Pd-103 produces Rh-103 (rhodium) via electron capture.

This means an inner electron is absorbed by the nucleus, merging with a proton
to produce a neutron and an energetic photon -- a gamma ray.
Another isotope, Pd-107, produces Ag-107 (silver) via beta decay, releasing an
electron when a neutron turns into a proton. (This is kind of the opposite
reaction as the above.) Now, in real-world physics, the electrons balance the
resulting atomic nuclei -- silver and rhodium have different numbers of protons
from palladium, and the produced/consumed electrons just balance out the
proton count so there is no net flow of electricity.
I propose that Howard Stark found a way (using comic-book physics) to

utilize the beta decay of Pd-107 ions as an electron source for the electron
capture of Pd-103, thereby producing an electric circuit between two

different radioactive isotopes. Pd-103 is very radioactive (17 day half-life)
compared to Pd-107 (6.5 million year half-life) so there would need to be
dramatically more of the heavier isotope to compensate for the disparity in
decay rates.
The palladium core of the device would most likely be Pd-107, which emits
high-energy electrons as it decays into silver. This is a pretty stable isotope
that we would expect to be present in the normal (non-separated) palladium
that Tony might salvage from a conventional weapon.
Since we know the device uses charged particles travelling within a ring of
electromagnets, I surmise that a tiny amount of Pd-103 is ionized by an electric
arc (thus the reactor's name, and start-up power requirement), which then
allows Pd-103+ to be circulated at high velocity within the outer ring of the
device. The ionization acts to delay the electron capture step until the atom
encounters a free electron, and the high kinetic energy due to velocity increases
the chances of electron capture occurring once an electron is encountered. In
effect, the radioactive decay of Pd-103 can be started, stopped, and throttled by
the device simply by controlling the ionization and circulation of the Pd-103.
The device's geometry and electromagnetic fields route the high-energy

electrons from the Pd-107 core towards the outer ring. There the electrons are
captured by high-energy Pd-103 ions. This electron capture process emits
gamma rays, which are deflected inward to catalyze the beta decay of the Pd-107
core. We have some good evidence for this gamma ray emission, because the
suit's chestpiece unibeam weapon is clearly an emission of a large number of
high-energy photons directly from the arc reactor. Normally, the gamma rays are
directed inward to catalyze the device's operation, but they can be directed
outward in a concentrated energy beam weapon:
Sandman vs Iron-Man
So to summarize: electrons project outward from the inner core, and gamma
rays project inward from the outer ring. Because this electron/photon
counterflow creates a deficit of electrons (relative to protons) in the core, a
massive electrostatic potential is developed and the palladium core attracts
lower-energy electrons from the suit's wiring. The ejection of electrons from
the core towards the rim of the device produces an electrical cell capable of
generating enormous voltage and current.
Here's the full proposed reactor start-up process:

Using external power, Pd-103 is ionized by an electric arc, and
accelerated to high velocity in the outer ring. There may also be some
externally-powered gamma ray production to jump-start the inner core.
Pd-107 in the inner core starts to emit high-energy electrons as it decays

to Ag-107. The electrons escape the core and are directed by magnetic
fields into the outer ring. Lack of electrons creates a net positive charge
in the core, which slows further emission (preventing run-away decay)
until the electrons can be externally replenished.
In the outer ring, the high-energy free electrons collide with high-
energy Pd-103+ ions. This causes instantaneous electron capture and
gamma ray emission. The gamma rays are deflected inward towards the
core, thus catalyzing further electron emission and producing a self-
sustaining reaction. Note that the reaction is self-sustaining, but very
slow while the reactor is idle.
The electron flow from the inner core to the outer core creates an
electric potential difference. When a circuit is created through the suit's
electrical loads, the outer ring has an excess of electrons and the inner
core has a shortage of electrons. This creates current.
The electrical current through an external load relieves the electrostatic

charge accumulations that initially slowed the reactions. So the less
power the suit draws, the slower the reactor produces radioactive decay,
and the more power the suit draws, the faster the reactions are
catalyzed. That way, the power output automatically throttles according

to demand.
The palladium slowly converts to Rh-103 and Ag-107, and the reactor
runs out of power when the palladium is fully consumed.
Miniature Arc Reactor Concept:
Top view of my concept vs the Stark Industries blueprint, with cut-away side view
below.
I can't speak for the next-gen "new element" arc reactor, but presumably it
replaces the palladium isotopes with a hypothetical element that also undergoes
gamma-ray-mediated beta decay, but in a less-toxic and higher-output fashion.
Several other lines of evidence also support this type of nuclear decay / electron
flux reaction being the mechanism for the arc reactor. First, the reactor's glow:
Iron Man Arc Reactor
It could be caused by the ionization arc, but I think Cherenkov radiation is a

much better explanation. This is a special type of light emission that occurs
when an energetic particle (such as electron) enters a medium (like water or air)
at a speed faster than the speed of light in that medium. The high-energy
electron flux within the arc reactor would be a natural fit to generate this effect.
This is a picture of an actual nuclear reactor producing Cherenkov radiation:
Wikipedia
Notice the similarities? Unlike electrical arcs, the light from Cherenkov
radiation is quiet, cool-blue, and fricken' awesome. This is a no-brainer -- the arc
reactor's glow is definitely being produced by high-energy electron flux.
Another aspect of the original model palladium arc reactor was poisoning due
to "palladium toxicity". It's very possible that palladium is simply being ejected
from the device into Tony's blood by all the high-energy collisions going on, but
this doesn't explain the freaky circuit-looking lines on his chest, and it doesn't
explain why doctors can't help him.
Palladium.jpg
I have a theory that fits the symptoms better. Remember, the proposed
palladium decay reactions produce rhodium and silver. Excess internal silver
is known to stain skin blue:
Discovery Health "Why can colloidal silver turn your skin blue?"
Rhodium compounds also stain skin, and are highly toxic. (Chemical properties,
Health and Environmental effects ) In fact, because most people have
essentially zero exposure to rhodium, the toxicity of rhodium is very poorly-
understood. This perfectly explains why Tony didn't seek help from the medical
establishment for his accumulated heavy metal toxicity -- because he knew the
doctors wouldn't know how to deal with rhodium poisoning. Tony Stark didn't
have simple palladium poisoning, he had "palladium decay-product"
poisoning!
So you see, everything fits together perfectly. The evidence all points towards
the arc reactor relying on a Pd-103/Pd-107 radio-isotopic decay cell to
produce electrical current. I will start working on my own arc reactor
prototype and will post updates when I produce a working replica.
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Yishan Wong
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Monti Parauha, Trying to figure out how to grow up and fit in with society.
Answered May 24, 2016
It started with me ranting about how I should understand the physics of arc
reactor more and then Sera needs some babel speak ideas for her Tony.
I know this has been discussed deeply by most iron man fanatics before, but this
is the simplified version for people who can’t be bothered to understand the big
science-y words. I’m not saying that this is accurate because I’m not a nuclear
engineer either, and I hope I can get some feedbacks from people who actually
understand this.
Since vibranium is not actually a real element, I’m focusing on the old arc
reactor tech that runs on palladium.
Let’s do a bit revision on fusion, yes? During nuclear fusion, light atoms
combine to form heavier elements; in the process, a small fraction of mass is
converted into lots of energy. Fusion reactions are called thermonuclear
reactions because high temperatures are required to overcome the coloumbic
repulsion between the nuclei being fused, i.e., “thermo” for the heat required
and “nuclear” for the interactions that occur.
Basically, what Bruce said!
The fusion reaction occurs when the fuel (two types, or isotopes, of hydrogen
known as deuterium and tritium) combines to form a super-hot plasma which
produces, alongside the helium, neutrons which have a huge amount of kinetic
energy. Sounds like the arc reactor!
Many articles relate the arc reactor with cold fusion because of the use of
palladium as the cathode. Wiki: Cold fusion is a hypothetical type of nuclear
reaction that would occur at, or near, room temperature, compared with
temperatures in the millions of degrees that is required for “hot” fusion. Cold
fusion is not exactly a true fusion reaction. Stanley Pons and Martin
Fleischmann achieved this cold fusion on a tabletop in 1989, but if it was a true
fusion reaction, everyone in that room could’ve died from the radiation emitted.
I think it’s safe to say that iron man’s arc reactor does not emit any kind of
ionizing radiation (other than easily stopped alpha and beta) because tony
would’ve been more worried about radiation poisoning than palladium
poisoning.
More recent theories (2005) through a complex interaction of hydrogen and a

host metal (palladium, nickel), low-energy neutrons are captured by nearby
nuclei, releasing heat without creating dangerous radioactive by-products.
THIS.
The article was long and boring but it has images of the supposedly fusion
reactor:
It’s huge, probably just like the one they had in Stark Industries? The scientists
who tried to copy tony’s miniature reactor couldn’t do it, and we’re also not tony
stark, so maybe we haven’t figured out how to miniaturized it yet.
The reactor contained a pinch of powdered nickel (or palladium as I’ve

mentioned before), a puff of hydrogen gas, and a dash of a secret catalyst. When
the mixture was heated with an electrical current, a mysterious reaction
occurred, generating large amounts of excess heat. The heat boiled water into
steam. The steam could be used to spin a turbine to make electricity. Just like
normal fission reactors. I don’t know how tony did this part.
Some people relate the arc reactor to a tokamak reactor. Wiki: A tokamak is a
device using a magnetic fieldto confine plasma in the shape of a torus. Achieving
stable plasma equilibrium requires magnetic field lines that move around the
torus in a helical shape.
At first I disagree with these people because I thought the reactor was used to
power up the electromagnet used to stop the shrapnels from moving towards his
heart? But remember when pepper helped him install the upgraded reactor and
she pulled the exposed copper wire along with the magnet? And then she just
put in the new reactor by touching the wire to the base plate?
But then I found this:
The movie interchangeably refer to the device as keeping the shrapnel out of his
heart and keeping it beating. The latter is supported by both this scene and the
comment by Dr. Yinsen that the arc reactor could “run (his) heart for fifty
lifetimes. The opening exposition in the cave explaining the danger of the shrapnel
explains that it takes "about a week” for it to kill its subjects. Given how fast he
started dying both in the scene with the copper ring and when Obadiah forcibly
removed the arc reactor, it’s entirely possible that the system is also acting as an
admittedly very fancy pacemaker.
The copper coil is left over from when Tony threw together the miniature ARC
reactor during his time as a captive. Since the ARC reactor functions as a powerful
electromagnet to keep the shrapnel out of his chest, it can be assumed that the
copper coil is really just there to act as a residual magnet if and when the main
unit needs replacing. Since Pepper pulled it out and Tony didn’t have a spare
copper coil on hand, he went into cardiac arrest. It’s really just there so he doesn’t
go into cardiac arrest every time he needs to replace his chest piece. I’m sure he
pops a new copper coil in there later on.
So, Tokamak basically is a doughnut-shaped chamber used in fusion research in

which a plasma is heated and confined by magnetic fields. The basic shape of
tokamak actually resembles the arc reactor, and the little circle of blue light
should be plasma. The huge arc reactor in the first movie could be a fancy
looking tokamak, I think., BUT there is no place for palladium (or vibranium) in
this reactor, from what I understand.
More about tokamak:
A tokamak produces a doughnut-shaped plasma. To do so it employs its

strongest currents to produce the largest magnetic fields through its toroidal
coils looped perpendicularly around the doughnut ring. A current is induced in
the plasma from high currents in the poloidal (or horizontal) coils in the middle
of the doughnut shape producing its own magnetic field. The combined effect
creates a helical magnetic field. To induce the current in the plasma fields a
changing current is required in the poloidal coils, therefore producing a more
pulsed plasma response.
This simply means that the tokamak needs power to create the fusion reaction.
This is where it differs from tony’s arc reactor.
And then there’s the problem with the cooling system. The suit may have a
sophisticated system but if you look at the one from the caves, it has a tiny fan at
the back for cooling. But the reactor should produce a lot of heat from the
thermonuclear reaction that needs coolant like water or molten lead. So when
tony is not wearing the suit, where does the heat go? Must not be very nice to be
near him with all that heat. I mean, Tony is hot but literally hot…? I don’t think
so.
I think that’s it! Most people had the same theory so it goes back to cold fusion
and tokamak, while non scientific discussions just speculate everything vaguely.
If there’s anything inaccurate, just point it out! Maybe there are info from the
comics or movies that I missed out? And if you have any question, just ask.
Footnotes:
-Vibranium is not entirely fictional. Irl it can be produced using cyclotrons, or

circular particle accelerators, like the one tony built in his house, that can smash
atoms together to generate heavier elements. But it is an unstable element that
decays immediately. Most probably not glowy and in the plasma state that tastes
like coconut and metal.
-Palladium has many isotopes. Not all of them are radioactive. I don’t think tony
used the radioactive isotope for his reactor because in the caves, he got the
palladium from the weapon components, so it cannot be radioactive.
-Please don’t start with the 3 gigajoule per second energy it produces because
even nuclear power plants irl cant produce that much energy.
-and the repulsors! They don’t obey newton’s third law for flying, sorry. There
aren’t much discussion on the repulsors but there are plasma based military
weapon in the making? Might not be as advanced as the Jericho or the iron man
but it’s real!
No hating or condemning my ~research, please :) I did this just for fun.
Source: Tumblr
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Todd Gardiner, worked at Hieroglyph Photography

Answered Oct 31, 2012
Originally Answered: What would be the most possible physics behind the Arc Reactor of Iron Man?
The Arc Reactor does not exist in the comic book series, so what little we see in
the movies is all we have to work with.
It is deliberately not explained in the movie or novelizations, because it is

impossible by our current understanding of physics. It uses no fuel, produces no
heat, is completely clean and is scalable to any size needed.
In a universe where travel to other dimensions is possible, mind controlling

staves are wielded by ancient Norse Gods, scientists transform in mass and size
due to "Gamma radiation", and aircraft carriers can hover in the sky, there is no
need to explain the physics of the entirely impossible Arc Reactor.
It you want a term, this is probably a zero-point energy device that someone
breaks the known laws of thermodynamics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zer...
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Bruce Girton, Almost 30 Years in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Answered Feb 24, 2014
I agree that the "arc reactor" comic book gadget looks vaguely like a tiny
tokamak fusion reactor, except for the transparent walls, the white glow, and the
conveniently compact size. Unfortunately, real tokamaks like the ITER are as
big as a barn and made mostly of metal. Physics does not have Iron Man on the
menu.
There is research ongoing on a different kind of thermonuclear reactor, where

the reaction takes place in a space too small to see with the unaided eye, and the
"core" of a practical device might be small enough and light enough to hold in
your hands. Cool science, but definitely not something anyone would want
strapped their chest while it was operating. Check out Lawrenceville Plasma
Physics .for more details.
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Steve Brown
Answered Nov 1, 2012
The closest energy source in real life with that high of energy density is atomic
energy. Most likely it would have to be some form of controlled atomic fission
into currently known elements since in the second movie the element he creates
is much higher in atomic number than any previously known element (if it was
fusion he would have created at least one more new element even higher in
atomi...(more)
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Kristijan Grozdanovski
Answered Jan 13, 2014
Maybe when the electro-magnets positioned toroidaly along the ring torus are
deactivated, the highly-energized particles loose confinement (as the "Magnetic
Mirror" is deactived) and are directed towards the enemy, straight from the Arch
Reactor... Problem is the particles will still have to be mirrored with magnets and
directed/focused outside the armor and body of the pilot...
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Samuel Gisita, CEO at Ipikoo Industries

Updated May 27, 2015
I think it was inspired around the nuclear pacemaker which uses promethium-
147 as a source of radioactive energy. Unlike stark however this doesn't produce
explosions or cause someone to levitate. However scientists are working on
another try of nuclear reactor known as LFTR and they hope they can make it
small enough to power cars and mobile devices. This reactors can produce a lot
of energy from very little amount of Thorium, a common radioactive metal
found everywhere. One day we may make one small enough to carry around yet
strong enough to produce an electromagnetic field that cause us to levitate. No
explosions tho cause well you know what nuclear explosions do to anything at
close range
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Greg Beck, BSME, Mechanical Engineer 19 years, Interested Observer

The closest would be a tokamak:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok...
However I concur with the other postings. It is not possible, with the current
understanding of physics.
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Matt Green, studied at New York University

Answered Aug 22, 2015
Here are some solid advancements on the ARC by a team at MIT, much smaller
and cheaper than previous designs. Apparenetlly it is possible due to improved
commercially available superconductors. They increase the magnetic field thus
increasing the amount of power. Increasing the magnetic field yields
exponential improvements on the capability of the ARC and therefore leads to
more rapid advancement.
Another key to consider is how much smaller and cheaper this would be,
compared to projects already under way. Here is the article:

Real Life Tony Stark Fusion Reactor!
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Will Black, studied at Georgia Southern University

Answered Mar 27, 2014
Interesting note: Before we 'nerds deal with it', pay a little homage. Much of
what we have today is in fact due to Tony Stark, a fictional character. Sound
odd? When Iron Man first blasted on the scene we had bulky tubes and
transistor radios. Iron Man introduced miniature transistors (fake science),
there became a secret race to build iron man style armor (ala Iron Man 2, and/or
the Armor Wars), and thus they had to in fact build micro transistors. They
failed in building the suits, but Japan won in the micro transistor race and
modern electronics sprung from that Cold War era style of thought "we got to
build this or someone else will and there will be a gap" arms race.
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Davis Seidel
Answered Mar 18, 2016
The Arc Reactor was a force center made out of unadulterated vitality, and was
the wellspring of the first Iron Man Mark suits, later changed to a propelled level
by Tony to power his suits, as they continued moving forward. The second bend
reactor is made of a component that Tony Stark made in the second film.
Stark Industries was once fueled by an Arc Reactor, however it was crushed
when Pepper over-burdened it. It is obscure what happened to the reactor after
this occasion.
The Arc Reactor is additionally the force behind Stark Tower and a scaled down
bend reactor was made to control the Iron Man suit. Requiring something better
to control the electromagnet keeping the shrapnel in his mid-section from
coming to his heart and his arranged Mark I suit, Tony manufactures his first
Mini-Arc Reactor based off the vast one fueling Stark Industries. Utilizing it, he
succeeds in getting away and later moves up to the Mark II variant while the
Mark I is surrounded by Pepper Potts as evidence that Tony has a heart.
Tony utilizes the new bend reactor to power his Mark II and Mark III suits, yet
has it stolen by Obadiah Stane to create his individual Iron Monger suit. Tony
recovers his Mark I reactor and uses it to control the Mark III in combat against
Iron Monger. The reactor isn't sufficiently capable to control the suit for long so
Tony has Pepper over-burden the Large Arc Reactor, making a vitality surge and
blast that executes Stane and demolishes the Mark II reactor while the Mark I
comes up short on force.
Tony later makes the Mark III reactor to supplant his annihilated Mark II. The
Arc is controlling off a point in like manner and positionally-stable pair of time
waves.
I recommend reading How Iron Mans Stark Arc Reactor Would Work In Real
Life .
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Malcolm Sargeant, IT guy but started in analytical chemistry, atheist.

There is none, it is entirely fictional, as it stands it breaks about a dozen laws of

physics
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Robert Lee, works at Technology Companies

Originally Answered: How does an arc-reactor work?
Well, Krestinin, et al. at the Institute of Chemical Physics in Chernogolovka

described a mathematical model of the arc reactor. The paper was published in
the Chemical Physical Letters, around '98 I think.
Start there.
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Ayush Agrawal, works at Students

Well, there are two theories in my opinion,

1st, the radiothermoelectric concept; This concept says that there is radio active
material in the reactor and its alpha, beta, gamma-rays are used to generate heat
and then makes electricity by it.
2nd syas, the arc reactor is actually a tiny fusion reactor, it contains hydrogen in
extreme temperatures to carry out nuclear fusion, the electromagnet around it
saves the plasma to touch the doughnut shaped walls of reactor. The heat so
produced is used to power the suit.
I think this Short, specific answer helps.
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David Heasman, Mentalist about life. Writes horrible blog posts

http://theheasman.com

I have no idea, but it looks to be inspired by a hypothetical nuclear fusion

reactor that can be compressed.
But then it's completely fictional, and violates more laws of physics than I can
think of right now.
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Alan Oursland, works at Google

We have four fundamental forces in our universe: gravity, electromagnetism,

strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force.
I like to pretend that the Marvel universe has several more forces that enable
things like heavy plasma and miniature high power generators and that the Arc
reactor taps into these other forces.
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Sanjay Mann
Answered Sep 17, 2013
Actually, Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR) have been shown to have some
basis in fact, which could give some credence to Palladium as a facilitator.
Google "LENR" for more details. Anyway, if you want to know how the producers
of the movie came up with their ideas, it's best to ask them, because art and
fiction are products of imagination.
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Jonathan Raflowski, Bean Bag Anthropologist

"I propose that Howard Stark found a way (using comic-book physics) to utilize
the beta decay of Pd-107 ions as an electronsource for the electron capture of Pd-
103, thereby producing an electric circuit between two different radioactive
isotopes."
What if: Decay rates are time waves or interference from nearby dimensions.
These time waves interact with our matter, which is made up of differ...(more)
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Atharva Vyas, works at Anand Niketan Shilaj

As i am an a kid studing in 7th standard, so
as per to my knowledge the next generation arc reactor would be made by

bombarding high energy electrons into pd-107 core so that it would produce
protons that would go and and hit pd-103, and would drain electricity as
mentioned above
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Treyton Nugent
I'm no physicist or engineer, but I am a theorist. If the ARC reactor in Stark's

chest can fire a high powered beam of energy, why can't the repulsors be ARC
reactors, too?
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Susan Miller, works at RR Donnelley (2010-present)

Base on the movie，the Stark Arc Reactor,including the one in his chest and the
one in the company, is probably a magnetic confinement devices,like Tokamak ,
stellarator.This kind of reactor use a magnetic field to confine the
reaction,totally different from another kind of reactor in NIF(National Ignition
Facility Project ) in California.
In fact，there is no doubt that fusion reactor will finally be used worldwide,the

most difficult part of the Stark Arc is the Fusion Reactor miniaturization.like in
the movie，the reactor is as big as a rubik'cube,absolutely an crazy size.
Recently ,the lockheed Martin fusion reactor stuff means the same theory
above.Of course that's impossible,at least in the coming a few decades.
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Rayam Sumanth, Student who is really passionate about fiction.....!

It's very simple...... Through nuclear science.......... Pd, H(isotopes like tritium)
engage with each other producing some excess electrons. Those excess elec are
stabilized by the built in core... And boom! It generates good electricity
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Drew, studied at Self Study

Answered Feb 29, 2016
The Stark Arc Reactor is most likely a Multi-Isotope Radio-Decay Cell. Since
this is a fictitious device, and it has no "official" scientific explanation in the Iron
Man canon that I'm aware of, I'm going to make something up. I'm mixing real
science and fake science here.
17 Views · Answer requested by Jay Kamdar
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Rakesh Raj Kumar, Geek

Answered Jul 6, 2015
It's a fictional theory bro, however people have answered your question & those
are very relevant answers.
136 Views · 1 Upvote · Answer requested by Jay Kamdar
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Jakub Lipka
Kelly Garner was closest to the real thing in my opinion. How I understand it, is
based on unified field theory that's why in the movie Stark could practically
convert any type of energy and still mamange to pack it all up. Stark in his
understanding of science and intuition, found where was the key error in
modern physics that has been inherited for ages and also he was able to think in
an abstract way like an quantum physicist without going to far.
3.1k Views
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Franklin Wingate, works at CareFusion

I am not a physicist, but I have a few questions (forgive my ignorance). 1) How do

you accelerate heavy ions of palladium in such a small coil? Large diameter
accelerators are needed for alpha particles. 2) Palladium 107 is a stable isotope. I
thought beta-decay was induced by the introduction of nucleons rather than
high energy photons, yes?
2.2k Views
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AHussian Hussian, studied at St.Paul's Higher Secondary School, Vepery,

Chennai
Answered Apr 11, 2015
It is not a real reactor .It is a fake,and its created to run the movie according to
the script.But real reactor is under construction
1k Views
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Sergio Demetrius Flores

I will have to say that you kind of messed up there on your investigation. It is
physically impossible for anything to be faster than light, now; There is a theory
that states that if we were somehow able to manipulate space, we could be able
to can't contract it to form smaller distance gaps (again to theoretically) beat
light. But even so we can't manipulate it yet. And there's tons of more i...(more)
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Ved Singh, works at Mechanical Engineering

Answered Jan 3, 2015
these r fake as shown there becz in arc reactor there is a combination of energies
of a kind of reaction of one atom fusion......which releases heavy energy n this is
imposible to handle by that reactor which is fixed on his chest
2.5k Views
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Eric Buenaventura, works at IBM Philippines

Answered Dec 17, 2015
It is his heart, that is the simplest way to say it.. that is why he had heart
transplant on part 3 of his movie..
10 Views
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Vishal Apex Efi, Aerospace engineering Aerospace and Aeronautical

Engineering & Astrophysics, Hindustan University (2021)
Answered Dec 20, 2014
ia wan t to say may be the suit that he is wearing draws electricity or uses the
magnetic field to create the power
2.7k Views
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Kiran Padhiyar
I Need Arc Reactor Book
21 Views
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Dhruba Sengupta
Answered Jun 15, 2015
I have discussed about this in school with many teachers and friends.They say
that it is fake.Because radiations from Pd is harmful.also it is impossible to plant
PD reactor in chest.But I will say - "WE ARE NOT GOING TO PLANT ARC
REACTOR INSIDE OUR CHEST.OUR CASE IS JUST LIKE RHODEY,NOT STARK
!!!!!!!!"
Upvote 1 Downvote
Gladson Solomon
its a self sustaining energy. made of pallidium of wt 2.6 grams and it prevents
the shrapnel from entering his heart
Upvote 1 Downvote
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HaSsan MiRza, works at Stark Industries

Answered Jun 13, 2014
thats gud technology for future ...
330 Views
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José Gregorio Hernández

Particle bot tie ring?

it what is?
12 Views
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Veeru Verma
Answered Sep 1, 2014
TODAY BUT NOT IN FUTURE

3k Views
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12/15/2017 What is the theory/concept behind the 'Miniature Arc Reactor' built by Tony Stark? How did it work?

rk? How did it work? - Quora

Arc Reactor Tony Stark (Marvel character) Concepts +1 Re

What is the theory/concept behind the "Miniature Wh

Fusion Energy Division

Iron Man 2 - Arc Reactor.jpg

There is also a remarkable lack of cooling loops, turbines, or anything that a

What else do we know about the miniature arc reactor?

The palladium is damaged by neutrons, so the speciﬁc isotope is

Has electromagnetic coils in a torus

Emits blue-white light

Can be built in a cave with tools of moderate complexity

Requires no exotic materials outside what you could scavenge from

Runs low on power at inconvenient times, meaning it must have some

Palladium isotope Pd-103 produces Rh-103 (rhodium) via electron capture.

I propose that Howard Stark found a way (using comic-book physics) to

capture of Pd-103, thereby producing an electric circuit between two

The device's geometry and electromagnetic ﬁelds route the high-energy

Here's the full proposed reactor start-up process:

Pd-107 in the inner core starts to emit high-energy electrons as it decays

The electrical current through an external load relieves the electrostatic

catalyzed. That way, the power output automatically throttles according

Miniature Arc Reactor Concept:

Iron Man Arc Reactor

It could be caused by the ionization arc, but I think Cherenkov radiation is a

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3 more comments from Thaddeus Howze, Joseph Boyle, Matt Ion

Basically, what Bruce said!

More recent theories (2005) through a complex interaction of hydrogen and a

The reactor contained a pinch of powdered nickel (or palladium as I’ve

But then I found this:

So, Tokamak basically is a doughnut-shaped chamber used in fusion research in

More about tokamak:

A tokamak produces a doughnut-shaped plasma. To do so it employs its

-Vibranium is not entirely ﬁctional. Irl it can be produced using cyclotrons, or

No hating or condemning my ~research, please :) I did this just for fun.

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Todd Gardiner, worked at Hieroglyph Photography

It is deliberately not explained in the movie or novelizations, because it is

In a universe where travel to other dimensions is possible, mind controlling

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Bruce Girton, Almost 30 Years in the Pharmaceutical Industry

There is research ongoing on a diﬀerent kind of thermonuclear reactor, where

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Samuel Gisita, CEO at Ipikoo Industries

23.3k Views · 4 Upvotes

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Greg Beck, BSME, Mechanical Engineer 19 years, Interested Observer

The closest would be a tokamak:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok...

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Matt Green, studied at New York University

compared to projects already under way. Here is the article:

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Will Black, studied at Georgia Southern University

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Malcolm Sargeant, IT guy but started in analytical chemistry, atheist.

There is none, it is entirely ﬁctional, as it stands it breaks about a dozen laws of