Peacemaker’s Helmet Isn’t X-Ray Vision, But How Could It Work?

Image: HBOMAX. Screenshot from Peacemaker Episode 5.

Let me be perfectly clear — I mean like x-ray clear so that you can see what I’m thinking (see what I did there). I don’t care if you couldn’t really have x-ray vision like in episode 5 of Peacemaker (on HBOMAX). Superhero shows aren’t awesome because of they have 100 percent realistic science — but because they tell fun and interesting stories.

OK, now that I’ve made my position clear let’s get into the science. You know, for fun.

How Do We See Stuff?

If you want to understand x-ray vision, you first need to understand vision. For humans, we see a small section of the electromagnetic spectrum that we call “visible light”. X-rays are also in the electromagnetic spectrum, but they have a MUCH shorter wavelength.

The most basic idea of vision is that our eyes are just light detectors. We have to have light entering our eye in order for our brain to figure out what is going on. Here is an example of how my dog see’s a toy.

Image: Rhett Allain. Illustration of light entering my dog’s eye.

The light from the flashlight above comes down and reflects off the toy. Some of this light then goes to the dog’s eye. After that, there…