Stranger Things Science
There is a small town right next to a mysterious lab and portals to another world. Of course, it’s “Stranger Things”, the hit series set in 1980’s Indiana. A group of young people discover supernatural forces and secret government activity, Russians and much more. Along the way, these young people discover psychokinetic powers and go the Upside Down, an alternate dimension accessed through a portal. As well as being highly entertaining, it provides a great opportunity to explore some real science as the show does include real science concepts like parallel dimensions, sensory deprivation, and the potential for hive minds. These are often explained through analogies in the show. The series also draws from real-world historical events and scientific theories, such as the government experiments of Project MKUltra and the physics of quantum mechanics.
The Upside Down isn’t the most hospitable place to live. The demogorgon can be compared to some of the peculiar and scary creatures found in deep oceans. They have evolved to live in their environment, with little oxygen or food and there on sunlight. In such places in the ocean, there are bioluminescent or transparent fish and seaworms, giant spider crabs, vampire squid and anglerfish.
In “Stranger Things,” Hawkins Middle School science teacher Scott Clarke tells the story of a famous neuroscience patient, Phineas Gage. He was a 25 year old foreman of a railroad crew in 1848. A tamping rod ripped through his left cheek, brain and skull and he survived. He lost his left eye and his personality and it was the first recorded case of brain trauma being linked with personality change. This story links well with the Mindflayer creature in the series. He uses a character Will as a spy, taking over his brain until he no longer knows who he is.
Project MKUltra is a good real life link to the show’s Hawkins National Laboratory and the experiments conducted there. The real-life CIA experiments of Project MKUltra involved mind control and psychotropic drugs. CIA chemist Sidney Gottlieb headed up the agency’s secret programme, which was charged with developing a mind control drug that could be weaponized against enemies. In 1977, a Freedom of Information Act request uncovered a cache of 20,000 documents relating to MKUltra, which led to Senate hearings. Some surviving information about MKUltra was declassified in 2001.
Are there parallel universes in real life? Theoretically, yes. String Theory, a theory in quantum physics tries to explain the existence of the multiverse — multiple parallel universes. Recent discoveries in physics explore the idea that our universe may be one of many universes in a greater multiverse, and String Theory, which attempts to link two seemingly irreconcilable yet fundamental theories of physics — Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and quantum mechanics — does so by basically admitting the possibility of multiple dimensions. “String theory smooths out the mathematical inconsistencies that currently exist between quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. It proposes that the entire universe can be explained in terms of very tiny strings that vibrate in 10 or 11 dimensions — meaning dimensions we can’t see. If they exist, this could explain literally everything in the universe — from subatomic particles to the laws of speed and gravity. Maybe nothing is stranger than reality and science.
There are lots of scientific prompts in “Stranger Things “— so when you start the much-anticipated fifth season, watch out for them, do some research, and unlock the show’s unexpected benefit of being a portal into science.
