Is it possible to create Ironman's Arc Reactor?

60 years ago a computer took up the space of a whole room/warehouse. 30 years ago a computer took up the space of a desk. Today... wait... what's that in your hand? A computer??? I believe that given time, most dreams are possible.

quantumrift said, "A small fusion reactor would be nice to have, but we cannot control fusion in a LARGE reactor to any usable degree, nor will we in the foreseeable future." I am a fusion physicist and you are incorrect. The ITER fusion reactor will begin assembly soon and is predicted to produce more than 400MW. In the movie, the so-called 'arc reactor' is in fact a tokamak. That glowing stuff you see throughout the movie is plasma which we intend on heating to thermonuclear temps in order to achieve fusion. One of the challenges for fusion will be to make tokamaks (or laser fusion devices) smaller and thus more economically attractive. In the end, its worth the effort as fusion is the holy grail of energy research. Its pure, its unlimited, its safe, and its nature's choice for producing energy in the universe.

Anything that is impossible is possible... Look threw time over the years of how advance that civilization have become. For instance look at helicopters they are not be able to suppose to even work, but man has design them and made them work. Also look at the atomic bomb that wasn't suppose to work... Ones mind is only limited by its imagination.

Matter/antimatter reactor gives near 100% matter to energy conversion. It would outperform his arc reactor and it's theoretically possible. We just don't have any good sources for antimatter.

Possible---Yes! Likely----No! Movie producers can make their characters appear to do anything they want, but don't be fooled, it is possible. It seems like the Arc Reactor is powered by a electromagnetic source of energy (probably from the sun or Iron Man's food). It also seems like its also powered by decayed particles of molecular energy forming the plasma needed to make Iron Man's supernatural strength & protection. However, in reality, such a electromagnet would be gigantic in order to produce a subatomic mutation within the suit. Also, the device needed to build a subatomic structure would be much too heavey since it requires gigantic machines to manipulate microscopic matter. But most of all, the design & manufactuering of such a suit would extremely exspensive.

Stark seems to use Palladium isotope from his missiles as the reactor's fuel. Once the reaction starts, the energy harnessed is enourmous at 3 GJ/s or equivalent to 3 GW. (That's more than twice energy required for time-travelling (which needed only 1.21 GW of power) in Back to the Future films). This power can be used to power up his suit for a long time for his enhanced reactor, not the first one. To make this extremely efficient power supply, I believe we can. And I believe it is possible. But I think that it can be done only in a few hundred years. The movie is purely fictional and I believe that the writer are just fantasizing about the perfect energy source. (Dreams mostly become true eventually). If we are living in 19th century, people won't believe you if you can send sound wave and pictures accross the globe. Now, it's possible. So what makes an arc reactor impossible? It can be done. But not in recent time.

A small fusion reactor would be nice to have, but we cannot control fusion in a LARGE reactor to any usable degree, nor will we in the foreseeable future. Remember, Iron Man is a COMIC BOOK. There were many THINGS in that movie that were not really true, and a lot of things didn't make sense. For example: If you were using an Arc Reactor, why would he have 'rocket' exhaust coming from his boots. And why would the "Evil" Iron Man have to look like a Space Shuttle or Saturn IV rocket lifting off? But the biggest thing I got a laugh out of was this: If he needed a 'battery' (and subsequent Arc reactor) to power some electromagnet in his chest to keep some 'steel' shrapnel out of his heart, why didn't he just get surgery when he went back home to get the injury fixed. Made no sense at all... It's called 'suspension of disbelief' because you have to do that to sit there for 2 hours and believe Iron Man is real.

if you think logically it cant be done. we have huge factories producing 1 gigajoule so i doubt we could be so advanced that we can produce 3 gigajoules (first arc reactor) in something hand held. the second arc reactor is said to power 4 times that of the first one. so 12 gigajoules in something hand-held? im no scientist but i highly doubt it could be done

yes but you would have to be an extremely intelligent physicist with a great understanding of tokamaks and fusion energy.