Antman at subatomic size

[the game]

So when antman is at subatomic size I assume he's smaller than oxygen molecules? Does his suit have an oxygen supply that shrinks with him when he's that small? What does he do when he runs out of that air supply?

[Doctor Amadeus]

No he doesn’t. But from a scientific perspective it’s a good question. I don’t think it would be possible.

The human body developed the way it has specifically to our environment. I think for a human to survive that they will have to have a chance completely different biology.

A suits Not likely to change that reality

[the game]

No he doesn’t. But from a scientific perspective it’s a good question. I don’t think it would be possible.

The human body developed the way it has specifically to our environment. I think for a human to survive that they will have to have a chance completely different biology.

A suits Not likely to change that reality

I assume at the very least there's some residual oxygen in the suit that would shrink with him but how long that could realistically last him I'm not sure.

[PrimiOne]

So when antman is at subatomic size I assume he's smaller than oxygen molecules?

You are gonna hit a wall of incoherence sooner or later because the genre is not about this but if want to dig into the canon...let's try.

Pym particles work by interacting with another dimension called the Kosmos Dimension. You can see these particles as mini portals that open to that other dimension so when Ant-Man/Yellow Jacket/Goliath/Whatever grows they take mass from that dimension and when he shrinks they displace mass to that other dimension.

And this is the moment you are thinking:"Wait right here!!!! I thought the shrinking process conserve the mass...." Well It can do both: keep the mass or reduce it. We can see this even in the MCU: Scott is still 80 Kg when he punches a bad guy but it's not obviously 80Kg when riding a ant....or the tank that Hank and Hope use to scape in "AntMan" does not weight several tons....or the bulding that goes into the suitcase in "Ant-man & the Wasp"...so therefore it can affect mass and scale, only mass or only scale.

Pym particles only affect the subject (allthough the growing/shriking process generate a force that can be quite powerful as is often used as a fighting move) so once he is smaller than oxygen molecules he can't breath....but he does not need to breath or eat (or sleep for that matter): the Pym particles sustain his biology at that scale ( credit to Hank McCoy for discovering this effect).

So when you are asking (in the MCU) ...how the fuck Janet Van Dyne survived for years into the Quantum Realm? what the fuck did she eat or drink? The answer is nothing: Pym particles kept her alive.

[merli]

@PrimiOne Wow thanks for explaining it. Didn't think there's an in universe explanation for these things.

[Very Tired]

The real question is how did Ant Man damage a suit, and how did Hope's mom damage a rocket, when they went subatomic? If you're small enough to squeeze between atoms, you aren't going to be able to do much damage.

[Egomaniac]

So when antman is at subatomic size I assume he's smaller than oxygen molecules? Does his suit have an oxygen supply that shrinks with him when he's that small? What does he do when he runs out of that air supply?

Comic Book physics are not governed by real world physics.

They are governed by whatever the comic book writer wants to happen.

If the writer says he can still breathe...then he can still breathe.
If the writer says that his mass stays the same when he shrinks but increases when he goes Giant...that's what happens.
It doesn't even have to follow the rules set by other writers. When you are writing the comic...you can re-write the laws of physics.

[Shadowferal]

Yeah, I certainly wouldn't try to te-hash physics to answer the op question. I mean the answer will always be magic I mean the Pym particle. And to prevent messing the wet dream of comics we just lie back and simply have fun with imagination.

[SavoirFaire]

They played fast and loose with it even in the MCU, though they tried to keep it someone under control in the first one. He went through the floor when he first got the suit, admittedly should have gone through the record player, survived getting stepped on, and generally felt like he had mass at that level much more than he should have. Second movie threw all that out the window, though.

I thought his suit was a type of SCUBA gear thing to allow breathing (I don’t ever recall him shrinking with his face showing). What I never got about Janet surviving was how did she age in a realm where time was... iffy?

[Dhrizzle]

In the comics if you shrink down to subatomic size you fall through cracks in the universe and end up in the Microverse.

[Skulltaker]

The way they describe the shrinking in the movie doesn't make sense anyway. They say that the Pym Particle shrinks the distance inbetween the molecules, which would mean that Scott keeps his mass, but in that case no ant could carry him, and the Sherman that Hank Pym has on his key chain would still be the weight of a Sherman. Don't poke at superhero movie logic, there is no consistency to be found.

[DatToffer]

The way they describe the shrinking in the movie doesn't make sense anyway.

Let's not forget that since it's supposed to shrink the space between atoms(or molecules idk), then he's not supposed to shrink below the sizes of said atoms/molecules. Therefore, the subatomic scale shouldn't be accessible.

Pym particles work by interacting with another dimension called the Kosmos Dimension. You can see these particles as mini portals that open to that other dimension so when Ant-Man/Yellow Jacket/Goliath/Whatever grows they take mass from that dimension and when he shrinks they displace mass to that other dimension.

This is a good example of the mystical pseudo science fiction Marvel uses to fluff its universe and all the odd side effects of super powers. Sadly, the MCU stays on the line of the abridged version, which leads to many "plotholes".

[Hellobolis]

his helm looks like it has a breathing apparatus on it to me.

also technically subatomic means protons/neutrons or smaller, which is a lot lot lot smaller than being around molecule size.

[Shadowferal]

Pym particle allows him to keep his mass, but lose the weight.

[JDL49]

Pym particle allows him to keep his mass, but lose the weight.

If that's the case, and I think it is, how can the flying ants move Scotts mass ?

[Shadowferal]

If that's the case, and I think it is, how can the flying ants move Scotts mass ?

Because he doesn't weigh anything.
Yeah, I fully grasp the dissonance and ill-logic. Maybe size does matter?

I recall another comic that had a guy make a runaway train weigh nothing so he...stopped it safely. (WTF??) And that made no sense to me...he still has to move massive tonnage...

[everydaygamer]

Isn't the whole point of Pym Particles to get around the obvious problems with the idea of a person shrinking or growing. Basically any question you might have can be answered with Pym Particles.

That said I know in one of the cartoons it was stated that Ant Man's suit is what allows him to retain the same strength and speed he would have at normal size while shrunk down. Not sure if that's also the case in the comics but I know it's definitely not the case in the movies since they state he gets super strength while shrunk which doesn't make as much sense.

[Kokolums]

If Thanos' team had the ability to reverse-engineer and reproduce Pym Particles, why didn't Thanos designate 1 member of his team to stay back as a failsafe with a collection of Pym Particles while he assaulted Avengers' HQ in Endgame? If Thanos gets killed, the failsafe person could use the Pym Particles to undo the loss and bring Thanos back.

[Adam Jensen]

The way they describe the shrinking in the movie doesn't make sense anyway. They say that the Pym Particle shrinks the distance inbetween the molecules, which would mean that Scott keeps his mass, but in that case no ant could carry him, and the Sherman that Hank Pym has on his key chain would still be the weight of a Sherman. Don't poke at superhero movie logic, there is no consistency to be found.

Shrinking the distance between molecules would, I think, in the real world, just turn Antman into a tiny neutron star and kill him.

But hey, it's a fun movie.

[Ophenia]

The real question is how did Ant Man damage a suit, and how did Hope's mom damage a rocket, when they went subatomic? If you're small enough to squeeze between atoms, you aren't going to be able to do much damage.

I think we see that when Ant-Man goes subatomic. He isn't instantaneously sub-atomic, he damages the suit while shrinking, so between "small enough to enter inside the suit" and "subatomic scale".