Shrink ray

In science fiction, a shrink ray is any device which uses energy to reduce the physical size of matter. Many are also capable of enlarging items as well.

1 Scientific angle
2 Appearances in popular culture
3 See also
4 References

Scientific angle

Science fiction writer and polymath Isaac Asimov wrote^[1]

Miniaturization doesn't actually make sense unless you miniaturize the very atoms of which matter is composed. Otherwise a tiny brain in a man the size of an insect, composed of normal atoms, is composed of too few atoms for the miniaturized man to be any more intelligent than the ant. And miniaturizing atoms is, I'm afraid, not the sort of thing that can be done according to the rules of quantum mechanics.

Depending on how those atoms were supposed to have been miniaturized, the man might or might not also weigh as much as he originally had; an observation that has been used to various effect over the years that Henry Pym has been featuring in comic books.

The problems of the miniaturized human do not stop there, however. Basic geometry governs such things as the relationship between cross-section, volume, and surface area. The miniature human being may be able to leap several times his own height, but he will also be shivering like a toy dog or a hairless Cat Outside In The Middle Of The Night; and for much the same reason. It may be impossible for a one-inch high human to kill themselves in a fall of any conceivable height^[2], but they may be able to drown themselves with a single drop of water.

Appearances in popular culture

Films and television

The eponymous Doctor Cyclops in the 1940 horror film of that name shrunk his victims by locking them inside an "Atomic Generator."
In the 1958 movie Attack of the Puppet People, a scientist captures people and shrinks them to 6 inches in height with a shrinking device so he can keep them as company.
The 1966 science-fiction film Fantastic Voyage (written by Harry Kleiner, novelization by Isaac Asimov) is plotted around such a device, allowing the miniaturized submarine Proteus to carry a crew inside a stricken scientist in an attempt to save his life.
In the episode "Funny, They Shrunk Michelangelo" in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, captain Talbot Breech uses a miniaturizing ray to shrink US naval ships and put them into bottles as revenge on those who turned him down for the US Naval Academy.
In the Penguins of Madagascar episode "Jiggles", Kowalski uses his shrink ray to shrink Jiggles to normal size.
In an episode "Getting Antsy" of the 1991 Darkwing Duck cartoon, a villain Lilliput uses the ray to shrink buildings and landmarks of the fictional city St. Canard. He then employs ants to haul the shrunk buildings to a miniature golf, where they become part of the course. Eventually, Lilliput also shrinks the hero Darkwing Duck to an even tinier size.
In the 1996 Tim Burton's movie, Mars Attacks!, the Martian Leader uses a shrinking ray to shrink and crush the President of the United States's main general, General Decker.
In "In the Belly of the Boss", the third segment of The Simpsons Halloween special episode "Treehouse of Horror XV", the Simpson family is shrunk by Professor Frink.
A shrink ray invented by Professor Wayne Szalinski is featured in both the movie and TV Disney series Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.
In an episode of Home Improvement, Tim and Al shrink themselves using shrink rays to work deep inside of the engine.
In Doctor Who, the Master uses a Tissue Compression Eliminator to shrink and kill people.
In the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Unremarkable Voyage", Frylock builds a shrink ray (that can also enlarge items as well). Master Shake quickly gains control of the machine and proceeds to abuse its power for his own welfare. The shrink ray turns out to be faulty, however, as items shrunk return to normal size after a period of time.
A Shrink Ray is a recurring device shown in Venture Bros, although it never seems to actually work properly.
In Despicable Me, Gru used the Shrink Ray to shrink the moon and pocket it although the Shrink Ray has a consequence, the effects are only temporary and the bigger the mass of an object, the quicker the effect wears off, called the "Nefario Principle" causing Vector's Escape Pod to carry it to satellite orbit with Vector caught in it in space.
In Innerspace, a naval aviator is selected as a guinea pig to participate in a project which places him in a submersible pod to be shrunk to microscopic size and injected into the body of a rabbit.

Radio

The "Pertwee System of Infinite Acceleration" in the Dimension X episode The Professor Was A Thief was a shrink ray (Nov 5, 1950).

Literature

Cold War in a Country Garden (Lindsay Gutteridge, Pocket 1973) concerns the adventures of miniaturized spies.
The Atom, Ant-Man, The Wasp, and Doll Man are but a few of the comic book characters who had as a primary power the ability to shrink (usually by technological means).

Video games

Engineers in World of Warcraft are capable of crafting a Gnomish Shrink Ray.
The Eiffel Tower is reduced in size, then stolen, in the game Evil Genius.
Duke Nukem 3D has a shrink gun capable of shrinking an enemy, where then protagonist, Nukem could then step on the shrunken foe, instantly killing it.
In the Men In Black game Crashdown on the PlayStation, Agent Jay uses a shrink ray to shrink himself so he may fight a group of alien insects.
Pandemonium! features a shrink ray power-up.
Call Of Duty: Black Ops Zombie mode includes weapon called 31-79JGb215, which reduces zombies size for short time so they can instantly killed no matter of weapon, or even by running towards them. Although this weapon is only seen in map Shangri-La.

References

^ Peary, D ed. (1984). Omni's Screen Flights, Screen Fantasies Doubleday ISBN 0-385-19199-5
^ J.B.S. Haldane, "On Being the Right Size",