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J.J. Abrams (co-creator of Lost, writer/director of Super 8, and director of the Star Trek reboot) is now producing Revolution, an interesting postapocalyptic series for NBC. In Revolution, the end of civilization is brought about by a sudden, simultaneous, worldwide failure of virtually every piece of modern technology. The power grid shuts down, television screens go black, and cell phones stop working. Automobile and airplane engines die, causing hundreds or possibly thousands of plane crashes. Very little technology invented after 1850 continues to operate.

The pilot episode opens with the drama of the blackout; we see cities go dark, lines of cars come to a standstill, and airplanes fall from the sky. Then the story jumps 15 years into the future to a cul-de-sac in the remains of a Chicago suburb. The few houses still standing have small garden plots, a sheep pen, and other evidence of an agricultural lifestyle. We quickly learn a militia, operating under the authority of the Monroe Republic (headed by Sebastian Monroe) collects taxes and enforces strict rules on the population, including a ban on private ownership of firearms. Ordinary citizens generally use bows, crossbows, knives, and machetes for hunting and as weapons. The body of a Prius makes a nice herb garden, and other cars have been modified to become horse-drawn vehicles.

The first few episodes follow Charlie (Charlotte) Matheson's efforts to find first her uncle Miles, then her brother Danny, who was captured by the Monroe Militia. Two other members of the Matheson community, Aaron and Maggie, also begin the quest, although they diverge to seek the mysterious Grace, who may know something about a pendant Charlie's dad gave Aaron. Regular flashbacks to the period immediately following the blackout reveal the disaster's effect on U.S. society.

I think the most engaging way to use Revolution in science would be to ask students to propose a mechanism for the blackout consistent with observations we can make from watching the episodes. In effect, I would ask students to approach the question “What caused the blackout?” scientifically. When I watched the pilot episode, I tracked what still worked, and what didn't:

After making their own lists, students could propose explanations for the blackout and see if evidence from the series supports or refutes their hypothesis. I offer two examples:

A known effect of nuclear weapons is an electromagnetic pulse (or EMP) that can disable electronic devices many miles from the explosion. A high-altitude nuclear test in 1962 damaged street lights in Hawaii approximately 900 miles (1,400 km) away from the blast. An EMP creates a short-term spike in voltage in conductors able to destroy the integrated circuits of modern computers. Perhaps a very large EMP (or many, simultaneously) caused the blackout. That would be consistent with failure of computers, cars with computer-controlled ignition, perhaps even the power grid. However, an EMP would not damage batteries, ruling out this hypothesis.

Screenshot from the trailer for the NBC television series Revolution.

A solar storm could disable much of modern technology that fails in Revolution. In 1859, a very large solar storm caused aurorae (Northern and Southern Lights) to be visible as far south as the Caribbean Sea. Telegraph operators were shocked by sudden surges of electricity in telegraph wires, and some telegraph offices caught fire from sparks. Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Weather Underground, has suggested that if a similar solar storm occurred today, the effects would include failures of communications satellites and the power grid, and could take years to repair.

So is the Revolution blackout caused by a solar storm? It would explain the failure of television, radio, and other long-distance communications that use satellites, and could explain the failure of the power grid. Batteries are again the problem. A solar storm wouldn't knock out all batteries instantly.

It turns out that batteries failing while guns continue working are real problems if we try to develop a physical explanation for the blackout. Batteries store energy and release it through chemical reactions. If those chemical reactions stop working, one would have to assume other chemical reactions would also cease. So guns—which rely on a chemical reaction in gunpowder to produce an explosion and send a projectile flying—should fail as well. In fact, plants and animals rely on chemical reactions (photosynthesis and respiration) to survive. If the blackout was caused by a failure of chemistry, nothing that relies on chemistry should survive if Revolution's plot is to remain consistent. At least in the first few episodes, we do not see any steam-powered technology in use, but we do see cooking fires and candles. Given fire and water, steam power should work, and at least a few functioning steam locomotives are around. Steam may not be modern, but it is better than animal power for things like transportation, pumping water, and processing agricultural products.

Near the end of the pilot episode, a working computer is shown—at least it works when a pendant is nearby and switched on. The computer is an old one by current standards, with a green monochrome screen and slow internet connection. That it has any internet connection at all seems to be another contradiction, since other kinds of wired and wireless communication have failed. In the third episode, two battery-powered devices start up in the presence of a lit pendant. Anyone with a five-year-old cell phone sitting in a drawer should be skeptical of a 15-year-old iPhone battery having any chance of working.

In the end, I doubt any explanation for the blackout will be consistent with real physics and chemistry, but that is okay sometimes. The series is science fiction, and it will be interesting to see what the writers have in mind for an explanation. The practice of applying scientific thinking to a series like Revolution is a fun way for students to generate and test hypotheses about an alternate universe.

Note: Revolution is a violent program, with bloody death scenes not uncommon. It may not be appropriate for students younger than age 14. This column was written after the first three episodes aired. Information revealed in later episodes was unavailable at press time.

Jacob Clark Blickenstaff is teacher education programs manager for the American Physical Society. He can be reached at blickenstaff@aps.org.

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