JET goes Hollywood

When the producers of new Hollywood blockbuster 'Iron Man' wanted to set a scene in a futuristic science lab they knew who to call. And experts at the JET (Joint European Torus) fusion experiment at Culham in Oxfordshire were happy to help. They sent photos and videos of JET to the producers in California, who used the material when designing the movie set. Culham's Media Manager Nick Holloway explains: "In the film, an arc reactor similar to JET is built as a device for creating clean energy. The production company, Iron Works, contacted us to get an idea of how a fusion reactor should look. JET is the world's largest fusion experiment so it was natural that they came to us. Although the designers have used artistic licence in their set, it was good to get some science fact into science fiction! "

The film shows fusion as the future of energy, so naturally we were pleased to contribute." Iron Man, released on Friday 2 May, is set to be one of the biggest movies of 2008. It stars Robert Downey Jr as the eponymous comic-book superhero, who dons a flying armoured iron suit to protect the planet and fight his arch-enemy the Iron Monger.