A more in-depth evaluation of Angels and Demons
Dan Brown's novels are, without a doubt, some of the most action packed, fast-paced novels around. His stories follow Robert Langdon, a symbology professor at Harvard, on whirlwind journeys travelling all around the world. Langdon comes face to face with technology that seems so be years ahead; but is it? In this post I will investigate how real the inventions are in Brown's Angels and Demons.
Brown opens up this story by saying everything is real and that the technologies exist. While some do, no doubt, exist, some leave us wondering.
In Angels and Demons, Brown's first novel following Robert Langdon, we are whisked away on a 24 hour journey through Rome. Someone has stolen antimatter from CERN and placed it, as a ticking bomb, somewhere in the city. While still searching for the bomb, we find out that four cardinals up for election to become pope have gone missing and are turning up one by one murdered in the four "gods" of science. Earth, Air, Fire, Water. We follow the path of illumination to save the cardinals, and the city, from destruction.
But how does Langdon get from the US to Rome in such an urgent situation? The X-33 of course! This aircraft can "travel at mach-15 (over 10,000 mph). The X-33 space plane cruises at an altitude of almost 100 miles, on the edge of space. (Brown, Dan)" But what is the truth behind this plane? While there was indeed a X-33 and even X-34 project, it no longer exists. "NASA announced...that the problem plagued X-33 spaceplane project, a venture that aimed to create a single-stage-to-orbit spaceliner, has been scrapped. In addition, the American space agency announced that another reusable rocket, the X-34, is being axed. (David, Leonard)" So, while a program did exist, it appears there will never be a X-33 flying us from New York to Tokyo in an hour.
On to the main event, antimatter. Antimatter is a substance that is "extremely unstable and explodes when it comes into contact with absolutely anything (even air). (Brown, Dan)" CERN makes the substance using a hadron collider. Brown says in his novel that it can be a wonderful energy source, but a deadly weapon. I took a look through the CERN webpage. "In 2002 two experiments...managed to produce tens of thousands of antihydrogen atoms, later even millions. However, although "tens of thousands" may sound a lot, it's really a very, very small amount...If we could somehow store our daily production, it would take us several billion years to fill the balloon...the Angels and Demons scenario is pure fiction. (CERN)" CERN also says that not only is there no way to hold the antimatter, you can not make a bomb and it is not an efficient energy source.
While Dan Brown's novels are fun based on cool technologies, we can certainly make from this that while entertaining, it is purely fiction based on technologies. This story shows how science can be misinterpreted in the art world. People can take this art as fact when it is simply not so.
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Read my Sources
These are all valid sources as they are reputable. Brown and CERN are also original sources. There is no room for bias as these sources just state facts.
