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Amongst the towering, alaskan mountains coated with stark white snow sits an isolated ‘research facility’ trying to play god. They’ve created a human fetus and are trying to give it superpowers.

I’m focusing on:

  • Element Bending - specifically with Water, Air, Fire, and possibly Lightning.

What would be a scientific or at least a plausible explanation/theory behind these powers?

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  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to worldbuilding. Do you mind describing a bit more which powers are you talking about? Water power can also mean a hose spreading water on your backyard... $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Apr 20, 2018 at 5:39
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome! When you get a moment, please take our tour and review our help center to learn more about us, expecially what's on-topic, off-topic and how to ask questions. All Stack Exchange sites are one-question-one-right-answer sites, not discussion forums. This means you need to ask a specific question so we can give a specific answer. @L.Dutch, one of our best participants, makes a good point. We need to narrow the focus of this question by getting background data from you. The more you can tell us, the more inventive we can be. Cheers! $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Apr 20, 2018 at 5:45
  • $\begingroup$ The best you can probably do is psychic with different mindsets affecting which elements a person can bend (I'm going with Avatar like bending here). $\endgroup$
    – Shadowzee
    Apr 20, 2018 at 5:46
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    $\begingroup$ Could you explain what "bending" is for us non anime fans? $\endgroup$
    – komodosp
    Apr 20, 2018 at 11:26

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The simply answer is, there isn't a real scientific explanation. If there were, scientist would have discovered it and been doing it for decades. Seriously, there are all sorts of mind boggling experiments done by really every government ever willing to fund it. You could even relate it to attempts to relate various organs to the supernatural. The most prominent examples I might use would be experiments done by the Nazis on Jews to try and perfect the master race and create super soldiers during WW2, or the US government using LSD to study psychics in the '70s.

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If the scientists somehow modified the child to be able to perform acoustic levitation that would give him the ability to "bend" said "elements", I imagine this would involve him vibrating his body to create the sound waves like how a piezoelectric transducer creates ultrasound.

Acoustic levitation is a thing that exists, it's a technology that can be used to move stuff without touching it. youtube.com/watch?v=6YV0lou4L4c If I took that device and attached it to someone's prosthetic arm I've given them the ability to move a bead or a drop of water without touching it which I believe fits your definition of "bending".

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  • $\begingroup$ The question is obscure, and so is your answer. What is acoustic levitation and how can it bend "elements"? $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Apr 20, 2018 at 6:01
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    $\begingroup$ This is hardly scientific. It looks like you just put another layer of technobabble. OK for a superhero story or movie, but not quite for science-based. Can you edit this answer to include actual science? $\endgroup$
    – Mołot
    Apr 20, 2018 at 8:06
  • $\begingroup$ @Mołot Acoustic levitation and piezoelectric transducers are an actual phenomenon and a technology. This seems like actual science. I remain agnostic whether this would manipulate 'elements' or not. $\endgroup$
    – a4android
    Apr 20, 2018 at 8:15
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    $\begingroup$ @a4android acoustic levitation is a thing... like gamma radiation that "explains" Hulk, for example. It is a scientific phenomenon, but using it to explain such powers without really explaining anything is not. That's why I asked Cognisant to edit. $\endgroup$
    – Mołot
    Apr 20, 2018 at 8:24
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    $\begingroup$ @Cognisant explanations should be edited into your answer directly. for now, there is no explanation what acoustic levitation have to do with elemental bending and how it could be generated by vibrating body. Not where it should be: in the answer. $\endgroup$
    – Mołot
    Apr 20, 2018 at 9:42

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