Superfan builds working Captain America shield
Captain America is one of Marvel universe's strongest and most resilient superheroes, but, for some, Cap is nothing without his extraordinary shield. The Captain uses it to protect himself and others and throws it around like a boomerang. Who wouldn't want one of their own?
Even without vibranium or a place in Africa called Wakanda, James Hobson, a.k.a. The Hacksmith, fulfilled this super hero dream and built a realistic and relatively functional Captain America Shield.
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Hobson's shield looks the part, but instead of being powered by Marvel superhero magic, it uses two powerful electromagnets to stay attached to Hobson's forearm.
The magnets, which when powered on with 66 volts (as opposed to the standard 12 v), can hold approximately 3,000 pounds. Hobson demonstrated their power by lifting a variety of metal debris in his metal-working workshop.
The design of the shield itself was actually crafted by Machina Props.
In the video and teaser (there's a longer video coming, which promises to show more Captain America Electromagnet Shield action), Hobson, who previously built a working Batman grappling hook and Batarangs, is shown throwing the metal shield at a cushioned wall, but he doesn't catch it like Captain America. In fact, Hobson notes that despite the electromagnets' impressive power, it cannot draw back the shield from any distance.
Sorry, Cap -- maybe this isn't the shield for you.
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Topics Cybersecurity
Lance Ulanoff was Chief Correspondent and Editor-at-Large of Mashable. Lance acted as a senior member of the editing team, with a focus on defining internal and curated opinion content. He also helped develop staff-wide alternative story-telling skills and implementation of social media tools during live events. Prior to joining Mashable in September 2011 Lance Ulanoff served as Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for the Ziff Davis, Inc. While there, he guided the brand to a 100% digital existence and oversaw content strategy for all of Ziff Davis’ Web sites. His long-running column on PCMag.com earned him a Bronze award from the ASBPE. Winmag.com, HomePC.com and PCMag.com were all been honored under Lance’s guidance.He makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Fox News, the Today Show, Good Morning America, Kelly and Michael, CNBC, CNN and the BBC.He has also offered commentary on National Public Radio and been interviewed by newspapers and radio stations around the country. Lance has been an invited guest speaker at numerous technology conferences including SXSW, Think Mobile, CEA Line Shows, Digital Life, RoboBusiness, RoboNexus, Business Foresight and Digital Media Wire’s Games and Mobile Forum.
