Is an Iron-Man suit physically possible?

[DAL59]

 

[Lego_Prodigy]

It most likely runs on some form on self sustaining plasma reactor, that uses iridium and/or palladium probably for some sort of neutron absorbing material. As for the fuel tanks, it might work like a very compressed version of a xenon tank, or something similar. Remember, the ORIGINAL iron man suit "flew" using jet-like fiery exhaust. and also as for the hand cannons, maybe a compressed form of plasma or excited gas bust might be used.

[DAL59]

1 hour ago, Lego_Prodigy said:

It most likely runs on some form on self sustaining plasma reactor, that uses iridium and/or palladium probably for some sort of neutron absorbing material. As for the fuel tanks, it might work like a very compressed version of a xenon tank, or something similar. Remember, the ORIGINAL iron man suit "flew" using jet-like fiery exhaust. and also as for the hand cannons, maybe a compressed form of plasma or excited gas bust might be used.

With current tech, we could build an iron man suit that doesn't fly, or a suit that does nothing but fly, but not both.

[ARS]

The thing is, no matter how human wants to fly with their own body with propulsion strapped in, it simply unfeasible, with the same reason as jetpacks: no matter how sophisticated you make a jetpack, human body is never aerodynamic in the first place

[Lego_Prodigy]

The problem is, he somehow pressurized a suit of high tech armor and can fly as high as a U2 (as seen in the first movie, where he gets so high it starts to ice), or even space for limited amounts of time (as seen in the first avengers movie) without any sort of visible pressure suit underneath. And another problem is that he also used his hand cannons and even the arc reactor it's self as beam weapons AND as a sort of thruster.

[roboslacker]

Actually, in one of the comic books the suit went full on SSTO. The suit was also composed entirely of nanobots or the like.

[wumpus]

11 hours ago, ARS said:

The thing is, no matter how human wants to fly with their own body with propulsion strapped in, it simply unfeasible, with the same reason as jetpacks: no matter how sophisticated you make a jetpack, human body is never aerodynamic in the first place

It isn't that the human body isn't aerodynamic: look up wingsuits.  It is that it the "aerodynamic mode" (superman position) doesn't lend itself to takeoff and landing.  There's also the issue that even the glide ratio of a wingsuit implies a pretty high thrust out of an engine: you wind up with a similar issue as the Isp issue with the jetpacks.

I suspect "the chance to fly around" will be a big draw for space tourism.  I'd guess Icarus style in the lunar indoors would be most popular, but jetpacks might also be popular.  But hardly enough of a draw at today's (and possibly with BFR) prices.

[DAL59]

4 hours ago, wumpus said:

It isn't that the human body isn't aerodynamic: look up wingsuits.  It is that it the "aerodynamic mode" (superman position) doesn't lend itself to takeoff and landing.  There's also the issue that even the glide ratio of a wingsuit implies a pretty high thrust out of an engine: you wind up with a similar issue as the Isp issue with the jetpacks.

(Why not just have a normal wingsuit w/ rocket boots instead of metal expanding things)

 

[wumpus]

23 minutes ago, DAL59 said:

(Why not just have a normal wingsuit w/ rocket boots instead of metal expanding things)

I don't think you'll see metal expanding things ever work on Earth (outside of movie SFX).

SCUBA has been holding on to propellers for years to get where they want to go.  Is the propwash too unpleasant for wingsuits, or is it insufficiently cool compared to jets?  I suspect the main point of winged flying is getting youtube views, so coolness is probably the big selling point.

[sevenperforce]

17 hours ago, wumpus said:

SCUBA has been holding on to propellers for years to get where they want to go.  Is the propwash too unpleasant for wingsuits, or is it insufficiently cool compared to jets?  I suspect the main point of winged flying is getting youtube views, so coolness is probably the big selling point.

SCUBA is neutral-buoyancy and you're not actively depending on aerodynamic lift to maintain heading. I'd imagine that holding a big prop mechanism in front of you while flying would be extremely strenuous, bordering on impossible. Plus, you need your hands free to maneuver your forward winglets.

18 hours ago, DAL59 said:

(Why not just have a normal wingsuit w/ rocket boots instead of metal expanding things)

<video snipped>

Damn, that's cool.

Why not have an electric ducted fan with a mass injection system to boost thrust? You only need a few seconds of high thrust (TWR > 1.5) to get off the ground and get moving. You'd need a smallish GN₂ around your lower back and a smallish water reservoir strapped to each thigh. Stand up straight, spin up your electric ducted fans, and then push a button to open the valve on the nitrogen tank, forcing water out of the reservoirs and into the fan exhaust at high pressure. A few seconds of flow is all you need to get up into the air and moving forward, and then you can close the valve and let your ducted fans keep you moving forward fast enough to use your wingsuit for lift.

Might need a fold-out wing extension to get enough lift for positive climb, but it wouldn't be too difficult.

[commanderHR]

Based off of Iron-Man's thrusters, it looks like either Xenon or plasma thrusters. So, it is physically possible, but it would be one of the hardest engineering feats to pull off. You'd need advanced AI and Electrical systems, as well as the thrusters only being able to work in space due to Xenon thruster's low thrust. 

[sevenperforce]

14 hours ago, commanderHR said:

Based off of Iron-Man's thrusters, it looks like either Xenon or plasma thrusters. So, it is physically possible, but it would be one of the hardest engineering feats to pull off. You'd need advanced AI and Electrical systems, as well as the thrusters only being able to work in space due to Xenon thruster's low thrust. 

Plasma thrusters. Xenon has next to no thrust. Presumably the "repulsors" (somehow) pull in the surrounding air, ionize it, and then fire it out. Ridiculously high energy with massive heat losses. Clearly involves a lot of room-temperature superconductors.

[DAL59]

6 hours ago, sevenperforce said:

Plasma thrusters. Xenon has next to no thrust. Presumably the "repulsors" (somehow) pull in the surrounding air, ionize it, and then fire it out. Ridiculously high energy with massive heat losses. Clearly involves a lot of room-temperature superconductors.

Lol he should melt.  

[magnemoe]

On 4/23/2018 at 4:30 AM, DAL59 said:

With current tech, we could build an iron man suit that doesn't fly, or a suit that does nothing but fly, but not both.

This, note that its plenty of research into various sort of power armor or power rigs, last is more like the stuff in alien 2, power armor is less fancy version of than in fallout 4. Mostly as in it help you walk or run with 50 kg armor.

[DAL59]

1 minute ago, magnemoe said:

This, note that its plenty of research into various sort of power armor or power rigs, last is more like the stuff in alien 2, power armor is less fancy version of than in fallout 4. Mostly as in it help you walk or run with 50 kg armor.

Hacksmith made one strong enough to pick up a car, but he disappointed by taking off the leg pistons, putting them under the car, and then activating them, which sort of goes against the whole point.  

As I posted earlier in this thread, various people have made all the components, but surprisingly nobody has combined them.  

[sevenperforce]

1 hour ago, DAL59 said:

Hacksmith made one strong enough to pick up a car, but he disappointed by taking off the leg pistons, putting them under the car, and then activating them, which sort of goes against the whole point.  

As I posted earlier in this thread, various people have made all the components, but surprisingly nobody has combined them.  

Not surprising as much as predictable.

[DAL59]

 

[G'th]

My question is is it ever explicitly stated that the thrusters and the repulsors are the same thing? Obviously based on the same technology, but from how the first movie portrayed it it always seemed as though they were two separate mechanisms, or at the very least two separate modes for one mechanism. 

 

[DDE]

3 hours ago, anchor.fm/alphawave said:

Elon Musk

None of the achievements of Musk’s hired wrench-monkeys outright defies the realms of physical possibility. His propulsion guys come straight from Northrop Grumman.

[Xd the great]

If he used photonic propulsion in space and solid state ion engines in atmosphere, he can fly. And blast people at will with lasers/ionized air.

He would need a lightweight nuclear plant though. Something that will burn off his heart, unless he has sufficient heat shields and radiation shields.

[DDE]

33 minutes ago, Xd the great said:

If he used photonic propulsion in space

*Iron Man hits wall.gif*

300 MW per 1 N of thrust, assuming 100% efficiency. We’re talking a planet’s worth of power generation in his chest.

[magnemoe]

You have this 
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/iron-man-jet-pack-flier-just-set-new-world-speed-ncna819766
6 jet engines each with 22 Kg trust. interesting in that they are mounted on the arms and this thing flies for multiple minutes. Obviosly if you wear an exoskeleton and armor your weight go up so you need more engines or larger ones.