How does magneto stop bullets

What sort of energy would it need? Bullets are usually made of lead, maybe with a copper jacket around them, neither of which sticks to a magnet. The magnet might impart some force on the bullet via Eddy Currents. The same way a magnet falls slowly through a copper pipe, the magnetic field can induce tiny currents in the electrically conductive material, pushing it a little bit. The problem is that this is a tiny amount of force, exerted on the bullet for only a tiny period of time as it passes over a magnet.

We suspect this was because eddy currents acted more on the bottom of the bullet, closer to the magnets where the field strength is greater. The direction the bullet tumbled is consistent with this theory. It still hit the target in the same spot. So we stacked the odds in our favor! To make the bullet curving magnet possible:. We shot a steel BB instead of a lead bullet. This helps because steel is attracted to magnets. We shot the BB from a low powered, pump-action air gun. We also only pumped the gun once, instead of the recommended times.

He should have no more control of those projectiles than the plastic darts from X-Men: The Last Stand. Copper and lead are actually magnetic -- more accurately, they're diamagnetic. Thus, in theory , a magnetic field in front of the copper-jacketed lead bullet could resist the bullet's motion and, along with a field around it, suspend it in the air. Even one strong enough to suspend a bullet in mid-air is mind-boggling. Diamagnetic forces are generally very weak, and both lead and copper have very high resistances.

Further, once stopped, the bullet simply has no more momentum, period -- completely negating Magneto's implied threat by leaving it suspended in the poor cop's forehead as well as showing that the slow forward motion of the bullet during his little chat with Xavier's proxies was his deliberate doing, not an effect of him holding the bullet back. Even granting the existence of the controlled manipulation of magnetic fields such as Magneto's powers , this scene is just not possible, and you're exactly right -- Magneto should have effectively no more control of lead-and-copper bullets than he does of the plastic darts encountered later.

But see next section below. On the other hand, it is conceivable albeit unlikely that the cops here were loaded up with armor-piercing rounds. These are generally steel- or brass-core bullets the heavier, harder metals resisting deformation on impact, thus resisting the dispersion of their inertia , the former of which is more conceivable to be affected by Magneto's powers I'm unsure about brass, however.

On the third appendage, bringing a heavy steel bullet from supersonic velocity to a complete stop that quickly would, still, require a magnetic field of such staggering power it defies belief even in a world where shape-shifters and metal-clawed mutants are commonplace. All of that being said, though, as pointed out by several commenters below Magneto's powers seem to be less reliant upon magnetic forces, and behave more like telekinesis that is usually limited to metal objects perhaps because he believes his powers are magnetic, and thus he subconsciously limits himself to only those materials he believes can be affected by such.

If that's the case, then stopping a bullet is merely an act of will, and magnetic forces per se don't really play any part in it.

To be sure, he does seem to have at least some form of limited telepathic powers, in that even without his telepathy-blocking helmet he does seem to be able to resist Prof. X's telepathy to some degree; in a world where telepathy and telekinesis seem to be linked if not outright confused , that could be a sign of a telekinetic basis to his magnetic personality nyuk nyuk!

Most of the answers have been pretty good, but let me add a few points. Sci-fi culturally speaking, Adamantium is worked from meteoric iron, with slightly different properties. Most notably, it is much easier to work into an amorphous metal structure, making for a virtually indestructible metal. There are a few other amorphous metals, most notably silica glass. Most of us don't typically think of glass as metal though it actually is.

If Magneto had direct manipulative powers over all metals, this would include glass as well as most crystalline solids. Mystique had to inject a guard with high quantities of iron in order for Magneto to sense its presence and begin to manipulate it. Following this line of thinking leads credence to Magneto's power being mastery over magnetic fields, and not over metals in general.

The copper jackets on most bullets are actually gilding metal, which is mostly copper with small amounts of tin, if I remember correctly. Virtually all commercially made pistol bullets are some combination of copper and lead, or just one of the two.

None are magnetic enough for Magneto to exploit. As an aside, while it does appear to be a. This is not hypersonic, it is supersonic. I can hand load them a bit hotter, but nowhere near hypersonic velocity. As a gun owner and hand loader of ammunition, my fastest velocities are from my RUM. I have clocked a grain bullet at fps. Thats still not hypersonic. Also, steel core bullets are most commonly found in. Their use is based more on economics than any armor piercing qualities.

They aren't usually considered armor piercing at all, though any center-fire rifle will punch through basic bullet resistant fabrics commonly found in BP vests. While possible, I am not aware of any pistol bullets using steel cores. Someone mentioned steel cores being heavier Lead is by far heavier than steel, though steel is harder. To be AP, bullets will typically have a hardened steel core or tip designed to shatter armor plating. Commonly found on. While called AP, they are far from anything serious.

Typical pistol caliber bullets are never going to be true armor piercing, despite the claims made by nefarious political machinery. Please be aware that most BP vests will stop a 44 magnum and a 12ga slug. What kind of bullet can you make that will make a 9mm anywhere near as potent as 12ga? In the meantime, X-Men is a good movie. Do remember it is based on comic books and is fantasy.

These guys and gals get a lot of leeway and creative license with their story lines. I am a big fan of Magneto but until recently have been away from comics for a long long time 30 years , so please forgive me if this question has been answered before, but I've always wondered what Magneto would do if the cops, or anyone really, just used plastic bullets against him?

I know this sort of cropped up in X Men Last stand, but that film wasn't the best, so what is the answer? He probably has some loop hole against that with his powers but at the same time it is comics, so if someone tries that against him it will probably work.

Kind of like how you're not supposed to be able to punch a green lantern but people do it all the time. If the guns were metal, he could probably do something to them to stop the bullets firing. Can you make guns out of plastic? I suppose its fair enough, I mean powerful characters have to have some sort of weakness to make it interesting! Magneto's powers are to do with electromagnetism not magnetism so chances are unless a writer is ignoring that or ignorant of that, Magneto should actually be able to affect even plastic bullets, that being said his powers naturally work best with metals.

In some ways its better t think go Magneto as a telekinetic who finds metals much much easier to manipulate.