Disclosure Day is all fi and no sci #shorts

Let’s break down the science in Disclosure Day, the new film from Steven Speilberg, could any of this actually work in the real Universe? ... BUT there is no science in Disclosure Day, it's all just magic. I love sci-fi, and I love breaking it down for you all of you so you understand where the line is between science and fiction in your favourite stories. So I was really excited when I got invited to an advanced screening in London, it meant I had time to prepare a 15 minute science filled YouTube video before it was released in the cinema. But after seeing the film, there was almost nothing for me to talk about. There was one scene, which without any spoilers, humans can’t see something that an infrared thermal camera can because of alien technology magic - that’s not anything going on with physics though, it just means the alien tech works on people’s perception of the world, on their brains, rather than physically obscuring an object by bending light around it. Humans can only see visible light, not infrared light, so hence why they can’t see it but an infrared camera can - presumably any normal camera would’ve also done the trick. So on the spectrum of scifi from the most rooted in science on this side with the likes of the Martian, and the Expanse, to the fiction side of the spectrum as you start to get into fantasy with the likes of Star Wars, it's safe to say Disclosure Day sits very firmly over on the fiction, fantasy, magic side of the spectrum. I think I came out of the cinema the first words out of my mouth were “armageddon had more science in it than that” - now that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the film, it was an interesting 2 hour take on a “what if aliens had been kept secret from us” story, which was even funny at times, shout out to "evil Captain America". So just know if you’re planning to go see Disclosure Day in the cinema, and you’re watching the film and wondering “that’s cool, would that happen in real life?” or “does that check out with current science” - no. None of it is science, it’s all just magic! Video filmed on a Sony ⍺7 IV Video edited by Martino Gasparrini: [email protected] Video produced by Marina Hui & Dr Becky Smethurst --- 📚 My book, "A Brief History of Black Holes", out NOW in hardback, paperback, e-book and audiobook (which I narrated myself!): http://lnk.to/DrBecky --- 👕 My merch, including JWST designs, are available here (with worldwide shipping!): https://dr-becky.teemill.com/ --- 🎧 Royal Astronomical Society Podcast that I co-host: podfollow.com/supermassive --- 🔔 Don't forget to subscribe and click the little bell icon to be notified when I post a new video! --- 👩🏽‍💻 I'm Dr. Becky Smethurst, an astrophysicist at the University of Oxford. I love making videos about science with an unnatural level of enthusiasm. I like to focus on how we know things, not just what we know. And especially, the things we still don't know. If you've ever wondered about something in space and couldn't find an answer online - you can ask me! My day job is to do research into how supermassive black holes can affect the galaxies that they live in. In particular, I look at whether the energy output from the disk of material orbiting around a growing supermassive black hole can stop a galaxy from forming stars. http://drbecky.uk.com