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Inspeculative fiction, aforce field, sometimes known as anenergy shield,force shield,energy bubble, ordeflector shield, is a barrier produced by something likeenergy,negative energy,dark energy,electromagnetic fields,gravitational fields,electric fields,quantum fields,telekinetic fields,plasma,particles,radiation,solid light,magic, or pureforce. It protects a person, area, or object from attacks or intrusions, or even deflects energy attacks back at the attacker. Thisfictional technology is created as afield of energy without matter that acts as a wall, so that objects affected by the particular force relating to the field are unable to pass through the field and reach the other side, instead being deflected or destroyed. Actual research in the 21st century has looked into the potential to deflectradiation orcosmic rays, as well as more extensive shielding.
This concept has become a staple of manyscience-fiction works, so much so that authors frequently do not even bother to explain or justify them to their readers, treating them almost as established fact and attributing whatever capabilities the plot requires. The ability to create force fields has become a frequentsuperpower insuperhero media.
The concept of a force field goes back at least as far as early 20th century.The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction suggests that the first use of the term in science fiction was in 1931, inSpacehounds of IPC byE.E. 'Doc' Smith.[1]
An early precursor of what is now called "force field" may be found inEugenio Taquechel's Spanish historical-fiction novel"La Alhambra Romántica: Leyenda Morisca" published in Madrid in 1928, where in its 11th chapter it describes (translated) "... in front of his palace a wall as thin as a hair, strong and transparent as a diamond, had been raised which defended from ..."[2] An earlier precursor is that ofWilliam Hope Hodgson'sThe Night Land (1912), where the Last Redoubt, the fortress of the remnants of a far-future humanity, is kept safe by "The Air Clog" generated by the burning "Earth-Current".[3][1] An even earlier precursor isFlorence Carpenter Dieudonné's 1887 novelRondah, or Thirty-Three Years in a Star,[1] where the far-off Sun Island is enclosed by a "wall in the air" that blocks access by land, sea and air, which is occasionally disabled.[4]
InIsaac Asimov'sFoundation universe, personal shields have been developed by scientists specializing in the miniaturization of planet-based shields. As they are primarily used by Foundation Traders, most other inhabitants of theGalactic Empire do not know about this technology. In an unrelated short storyBreeds There a Man...? by Asimov, scientists are working on a force field ("energy so channelled as to create a wall of matter-less inertia"), capable of protecting the population in case of a nuclear war. When activated by radiation, the force field becomes a solid hemisphere, completely opaque and reflective from both sides. Asimov explores the force field concept again in the short storyNot Final!.
The concept of force fields as a defensive measure from enemy attack or as a form of attack can be regularly found in films such asThe War of the Worlds (1953, George Pál) andIndependence Day, as well as modernvideo games.
The ability to create a force field has been a commonsuperpower incomic books and associated media. While only a few characters have the explicit ability to create force fields (for example, theInvisible Woman of theFantastic Four andViolet Parr fromThe Incredibles), it has been emulated via other powers, such asGreen Lantern's energy constructs,Jean Grey's telekinesis, andMagneto's manipulation of electromagnetic fields. Apart from this, its importance is also highlighted inDr. Michio Kaku's books (such asPhysics of the Impossible).
Science fiction and fantasy avenues suggest a number of potential uses of force fields:[5]
The capabilities and functionality of force fields vary; in some works of fiction (such as in theStar Trek universe), energy shields can nullify or mitigate the effects of both energy and particle (e.g.,phasers) and conventional weapons. In many fictional scenarios, theshields function primarily as a defensive measure against weapons fired from other spacecraft. Force fields in these stories also generally preventtransporting. There are generally two kinds of force fields postulated: one in which energy is projected as a flat plane from emitters around the edges of a spacecraft and another where energy surrounds a ship like a bubble.
The ability to create force fields has become a frequent superpower insuperhero media. While sometimes an explicit power on their own, force fields have also been attributed to other fictional abilities.Marvel Comics'Jean Grey is able to use her telekinesis to create a barrier of telekinetic energy that acts as a force field by repelling objects. Similarly, Magneto is able to use his magnetism to manipulate magnetic fields into acting as shields.The most common superpower link seen with force fields is the power ofinvisibility. This is seen with Marvel Comics'Invisible Woman andDisney Pixar'sViolet Parr.A further variation on the force field is a protective armor which constantly encompasses the user, seen in characters such asCecilia Reye's bio-field orSkid's frictionless force field.[6]
Force fields often vary in what they are made of, though are commonly made of energy. The 2017 seriesThe Gifted featured characterLauren Strucker who had the ability to create shields by pushing molecules together. This resulted in her being able to construct force fields out of air and water particles rather than energy.
In 2005, theNASAInstitute for Advanced Concepts devised a way to protect from radiation by applying an electric field to spheres made of a thin, non-conductive material coated with a layer of gold with either positive or negative charges, which could be arranged to bend a stream of charged particles to protect from radiation.[7]
In 2006, aUniversity of Washington group inSeattle, Washington, had been experimenting with using a bubble of chargedplasma, contained by a fine mesh of superconducting wire, to surround a spacecraft.[8] This would protect the spacecraft from interstellar radiation and some particles without needing physicalshielding.
TheRutherford Appleton Laboratory was in 2007 attempting to design an actual test satellite, which would orbit Earth with a charged plasma field around it.[9][10][11][12]
In 2008,Cosmos Magazine reported on research into creating an artificial replica of Earth'smagnetic field around a spacecraft to protect astronauts from dangerouscosmic rays.[13] British and Portuguese scientists used a mathematical simulation to prove that it would be possible to create a "mini-magnetosphere" bubble several hundred meters across, possibly generated by a small uncrewed vessel that could accompany a future crewed mission to Mars.
In 2014, a group of students from theUniversity of Leicester released a study describing functioning of spaceship plasma deflector shields.[14]
In 2015,Boeing was granted apatent on a force field system designed to protect againstshock waves generated by explosions. It is not intended to protect against projectiles, radiation, or energy weapons such as lasers. The field purportedly works by using a combination of lasers, electricity and microwaves to rapidly heat the air creating a field of (ionised) superheated air-plasma which disrupts, or at least attenuates, the shock wave. As of March 2016, no working models were known to have been demonstrated.[15][16]
In 2016,Rice University scientists discovered thatTesla coils can generate force fields able to manipulate matter (process calledteslaphoresis).[17][18][19]
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