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Other Technical Notes

  • Dan Brown describes Vittoria as a 'Bio-entanglement Physicist' who has disproved Einstein by observing fish behavior (page 38, 42, 407). While such a job description does not presently exist, the notion of quantum entanglement (studied by particle physicists) is a real and strange phenomenon. For more see the EPR Paradox.
  • On page 54 we learn that Vittoria's research partner (Vetra) discovered the Z particle, and that is has no mass. In fact the Z particle was discovered at CERN in 1995, and does have a very small mass. (See wikipedia)
  • On page 9 the book mentions the X-33 spaceplane. This was a real project, a collaboration between NASA and Lockheed-Martin, but was quite different from the 'Boeing X-33' described in the book (and absent from the film). It was an unmanned experimental vehicle that required a one-of-a-kind launch site, and so could not have been used to ferry Professor Langdon between cities. The project ran into technical difficulties and was cancelled in 2001 before assembly was complete. The book also makes mention of the British Aerospace Hotol project on page 10. Unfortunately, this was cancelled in 1988 (while some work continued until 1991).
  • On page 14 Langdon is informed that at 60,000 ft he weighs 30% less than at sea level. This is not true. It's possible this calculation is based on the misconception that once you have left the atmosphere and are in space, you are also weightless, but this is not the case. There is general agreement that the division between the atmosphere and space (and therefore aircraft and spacecraft) is at a height of 100 km (62 miles), but the atmosphere extends much higher than this, getting ever more thin. 100 km was chosen because it is at roughly this altitude that wings become useless because the lift they provide is so slight that it does not offset the weight of the wings. In fact, astronauts in the International Space Station weigh substantially the same as at sea level because they are not appreciably further from Earth's center of gravity.
  • The mobile phones in the book appear to use technology unlike that in the real world. For example, the have dial-tones, and can receive signals deep underground (p98). The wireless cameras also have this ability (p412).

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Other Technical Notes

Dan Brown's Angels and Demons - Introduction
Angels and Demons vs The Da Vinci Code: Similarities and Differences
Angels and Demons: Fact and/or Fiction?
Evaluating Angels and Demons: As Fiction
Evaluating Angels and Demons: As based on Facts
Anti-Matter
The God Particle
The Physics of Creation
Galileo’s Illuminati
The Purga of 1668 and Catholic Suppression of Science
The Galileo Affair
Science and Religion in Conflict
Plot Twists and Secrets in the Film and Book
Suggested Links

Source:

Adrian Wyard

Related Topics

History
Physics
Controversy

The Relation of Science and Religion