Black Panther and Education? Any takers

Like millions of people, I felt a strange sense of pride on watching Black Panther to see East Africa so progressive and technologically advanced and wished it was true. The continent, nearly 195,000 years old is so varied and so vast with a rich history. The TED talk of Novelist Chimamanda Adichie 'Danger of a Single story' swims before my mind where she warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding. 

So when we see Black Panther, what touches us the most?

Humane values of pride for one's own culture, traditions and values, Nowhere does T’Challa feel he is inferior to the developed countries, women empowerment as every women is shown powerful and strong beginning from his mother to his younger sister, Princess Shuri, to his head of special forces, Okoye to his love interest, Nakia and finally believing that good will always triumph over evil and one should not let ego and power come in the path of doing good. 

Further, as a STEM teacher, the technology awes me. The place is hit by a meteorite containing of sound absorbing vibranium which has the property of absorbing all vibration. Thus it is used to create armor and weapons. It does not exist on earth but efforts to create something close is on. Some say, graphene’s probably the best material we have for a real-world equivalent of Vibranium. Graphene consists of a single sheet of carbon atoms that are arranged in a hexagonal pattern. It's one of the thinnest substances ever made. It's both extremely flexible and at least a hundred times stronger than steel.

So why would vibranium not exist? A key element of Vibranium is the way in which it absorbs vibration or energy. If it absorbs, it also has to release it.  Knowing what we do about the law of conservation of energy, that vibrational energy has to go somewhere. So would happens to it? We need to convert the vibration into light. Kakalios suggests a phenomenon called sonoluminescence in which waves are converted to light by imploding air bubbles in liquid.  https://acoustics-research.physics.ucla.edu/sonoluminescence/

http://aetherforce.com/creating-a-star-in-a-jar-via-sound-induced-cavitation/

The next thing that awed me was the high-speed magnetic levitation subway that runs through Wakanda's famous vibranium mine - Maglev (magnetic levitation) trains work by magnetic poles repelling and propelling a train to incredible speeds. Because of the friction-less design, Maglev trains go much faster than traditional ones with much less turbulence along the way.

Japan and Germany have become pioneers in Maglev transportation. Japan’s Chuo Shinkansen, for example, is the world’s fastest train, traveling at a max speed of 375 mph. When Japan hosts the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Maglev trains will have a global opportunity to show off just how futuristic they really are.

Elon Musk is building the Hyperloop, a high-speed, vacuum-powered railway that Musk says will someday be able to carry passengers from New York to the capitol in under 30 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A7GsAPR3J0

While writing the article, I went to to numerous sites to learn about the various materials, technology and history. How about educating our students with the same? Every student today, will have watched the 'Black Panther'. How about giving them an assignment asking them to present the technological wonders and its real life feasibility to the class. How about discussing the humane values and the rich culture depicted? How about comparing Africa today with Africa yesterday? How about 'What if this vibranium is invented? What will be the implications on world's economy and military?

The learning is immense if one wishes to digress from the prescribed syllabus and explore new avenues of learning and teaching. Be an explorer! Be a true educator.