How could Ant-Man become so small?

How could Ant-Man become so small? - Men in Suit Jackets Shaking Hands

In Marvel's movie Ant-Man, Scott can become small by reducing the space in atoms.

So he surely can't get smaller than atoms. But in a scene in the movie, Scott gets very smaller, even smaller than atom. Isn't it an exaggeration of his powers?



Best Answer

There is a lot of empty space in atoms.

The structure of an atom is somewhat similar to the structure of our solar system. In this picture, an the atom is on the top, and the solar system is on the bottom.

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But the diagram of the atom, and the diagram of the solar system, are both huge exaggerations. If the whole earth was the size of a map pin (a little smaller than a pea), the sun would be almost 100 feet away. And there are more planets that are much farther from the sun! So there is a lot of empty space in the solar system, and also a lot of empty space in an atom.

The Ant-Man technology says that it is "getting rid of the space in atoms". There is plenty of space in an atom to compress. And if you compress all the atoms in a human that much, you can make a person smaller than an atom.




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How does Ant-Man become small?

In the comics, Pym particles help Ant-Man shrink by pushing his matter into another dimension. The film talks about entering the Quantum Realm, a dimension in which space and time lose all meaning. It's possible that the film Pym particles are also pushing Ant-Man's matter into this Quantum Realm.

Is shrinking like Ant-Man Possible?

We are made of trillions of atoms, so it is theoretically possible to make Ant-Man with a smaller number of atoms, but this process has some real limitations. You could reduce the size of Ant-Man from 6 feet to 5 feet 7 inches, but reducing him to the size of an ant would compromise all of his biological processes.

Can Ant-Man go smaller than an atom?

While Ant-Man has the ability to shrink down to microscopic size while maintaining the same mass, The Atom has the ability to shrink down to microscopic size while maintaining the same ma\u2026

How does Ant-Man breathe when small?

In their publication, Mikel-Stites and Staples write that the masks in Ant-Man and the Wasp's suits contain \u201ca combination of an air pump, a compressor, and a molecular filter including Pym particle technology\u201d, which allows them to breathe while they are insect-sized.



How Does ANT MAN's Suit Work? (Because Science w/ Kyle Hill)




More answers regarding how could Ant-Man become so small?

Answer 2

No, it's not an exaggeration.

Ant-Man (Scott Lang) shrinking powers can go way bellow the atomic size:

Scott Lang can also shrink to sub-microscopic size, and thereby enter the countless "subatomic universes".

Wikipedia

In the movie, Hank Pym equipped the Ant-Man suit with a regulator so that it won't get into the sub-atomic quantum realm and get lost forever, like his wife (van Dyne's mother) did:

While van Dyne harbors resentment towards Pym about her mother Janet's death, he reveals that Janet, known as the Wasp, disappeared into a subatomic quantum realm while disabling a Soviet nuclear missile. Pym warns Lang that he could suffer a similar fate if he overrides his suit's regulator.

Wikipedia

Answer 3

Ant-Man can go beyond reducing the space in atoms, he can go subatomic level which Hank Pym suggested him not to go:

Hank Pym: Do not screw with the regulator. If that regulator is compromised you would go sub-atomic.

Scott Lang: What does that mean?

Hank Pym: It means that you would enter a quantum realm.

Scott Lang: What does that mean?

Hank Pym: It means that you would enter a reality where all concepts of time and space become irrelevant as you shrink for all eternity. Everything that you know, and love, gone forever.

Scott Lang: Cool. Yeah. I'm... If it ain't broke... - IMDb

So going beyond atom was possible from start but not suggested to do so because you can get lost like Hank Pym's wife did.

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Images: PNW Production, Karolina Grabowska, Tima Miroshnichenko, Thirdman