Bacta Tanks and Carbonite | Science and Star Wars

On this week’s episode of Science and Star Wars!
I have built a tank that will probably be my demise.
Bacta tanks and Carbonite
(Intro music theme)
Hello and welcome to Science and Star Wars where we explore how close real world sciences
come to our favorite Star Wars technology.
I’m Anthony Carboni, and as always to my right…
Hello.
My name is Watson.
He’s my best friend in the whole wide world is all.
Today we will find out how close we can get to healing in a Bacta tank and getting frozen
in Carbonite.
Hopefully without an extended stay in Jabba’s Palace.
You get hurt in Star Wars, you get a vacation in the Bacta tank while science heals your
body.
And guess what, that’s starting to really happen.
On a decidedly much smaller scale.
You looks strong enough to pull the ears off a Gundark.
Science is working towards enhancing and advancing our ability to heal.
Doctors can now use artificial skin to protect and regrow damaged areas.
Or, lets say you get involved in a Wampa attack…
(Wampa roar) Scientists are now working on ways to use
certain types of skin bacteria to speed recovery.
It’s even possible one day we could have a Bacta tank filled with bacteria.
A sort of…Bacta-teria-tank!
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry.
Scientists at Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles have also discovered a way to use tiny bubbles
filled with genetic material to speed up bone healing.
And if you think being frozen in Carbonite is bad…well it is.
I can’t see.
New techniques are using extremely cold temperatures to help accelerate healing.
And these aren’t the only exciting developments happening in the world of medicine.
Some new discoveries feel like they’re still science fiction.
IBM scientists are developing what they’re calling lab on a chip technology that could
make it faster and easier for doctors to diagnose diseases.
This technology allows us to isolate biomarkers relevant to a number of diseases.
What this enables us to do is get out ahead of a disease.
If you have the technology that’s convenient enough, you can test daily, you can test weekly,
so that you can get results immediately instead of having to wait.
So right now you’re probably thinking, Anthony these are medical marvels that will change
our lives forever BUT I WAS PROMISED I WOULD GET TO SEE YOU TRAPPED IN CARBONITE.
Fine, jackals.
Fine.
Give the people what they want!
Hi Andi Gutierrez!
Hi Anthony Carboni!
You are are my co-host on The Star Wars Show.
That I am.
Watson you know Andi, right?
Yes.
You and Andi began working together in April 2015.
We have worked together since July 2017.
Ooh.
That’s awkward.
Yeah, if I didn’t know any better I’d say Watson was a little jealous.
On with the science.
So, as someone who hangs out with me quite a bit…you have probably always dreamed of
seeing me trapped in Carbonite.
Frequently.
Yeah, I thought so.
Well, Carbonite is not real so we can’t do exactly that but let’s get as close as
we can.
This is sodium polyachlorade.
It’s a polymer, so just chains of the same molecule essentially, right?
Exactly it’s repeating polyacrylate compounds together.
So why don’t you add some water and see what happens.
Whoa!
So sodium polyacrylate is a super absorber.
It will absorb 200-300 times it’s own mass in water.
So it’s like the stuff that’s inside diapers and freezer packs?
Yeah, there are 1,000 uses for this stuff including Carbonite today.
Give it a stir and see what happens.
Ooh it’s thick.
This is difficult to stir.
In this case, I will be the stirrer.
Oh great!
And as I move around it will absorb more water around me and will basically turn into a hydrogel.
I’m barely going to be able to move if I will be able to move at all.
Great!
Hello, welcome to the smartest thing I’ve ever done.
This is going to be amazing.
I cannot believe I am giving you control over this.
I’m so thankful.
As I’m mixing it.
It’s definitely starting to expand and resist a bit more.
It’s neat because when I pour it in I can actually see it expanding really quickly.
This stuff absorbs a ton of water.
So I’m hearing some cracks…
Yeah…but we should be good.
Yeah.
I do wish that my legs had frozen in a slightly straighter position at this point
My knees are locked in like a slight bend.
This stuff is expanding so much now and there’s a little air down there now.
The cracking is getting disconcerting…yeah, I’ll say that!
That is 25lbs of powder and the tank is holding.
I mean, we have immobilized my thighs.
That’s cool.
Don’t lean back.
Okay.
Because it’s just going to crack (cracking sounds)
whoa!
This wall is coming down It’s cracking!
(screaming) NO CAGE CAN HOLD ME
Andi Gutierrez were mistakes made in terms of water pressure calculations.
Obviously.
Sure.
Did it work out anyway in a strange way?
Better than expected.
I would say so.
Thank you so much for coming by.
Thank you this was fun!
And remember we also have more science videos at IBM.com/StarWars
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Bacta Tanks and Carbonite | Science and Star Wars

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