Absolute Zero (film)
Encyclopedia
Absolute Zero is a 2006 disaster film
, directed by Robert Lee, and written by Sarah Watson. It stars Jeff Fahey
, and Erika Eleniak
. The film is about polar shift, which brings a new ice age
in Florida
.
), a climatologist employed by Inter Sci, proposes a theory that the last ice age
was triggered by Earth
's polar shift in a single day. When unusually cold weather
strikes Miami and the birds start to return from the south a few months earlier, he is sent to Antarctica to find out what is happening.
Once there, he discovers a frozen body of a human which is at least 10,000 years old. What is interesting is his appearance—he looks as if he was instantly frozen in place. He also discovers cave painting
s that show the sun
falling down. A sudden blizzard
then destroys a base camp and kills some members of his team.
Back in Miami, he presents his findings to his co-workers and his boss. He claims that another polar shift is only a couple of hours away and the new ice age is inevitable. However, nobody believes him. According to the current theories, the shifting of the poles should last at least 200 years so the climate changes, if any, wouldn't appear overnight. David's one-time love Bryn (Erika Eleniak
) supports his theory with numerous stories about the falling sun followed by a darkness and terrible cold.
When the weather in Miami starts getting colder and colder, the evacuation is ordered and the people start to move to the north. David, Bryn, and a group of people miss the chance to escape, and their only hope is to hide in a special room at Inter Sci. In a couple of hours, everything from 30° north and south of the equator turns to absolute zero
(–273°C) turning the Southern United States
, Mexico
, Central America, north of South America
, and Africa
into an ice desert.
They manage to survive although everything is frozen outside the room. When the polar shift is over and the sun appears again, they are rescued.
As a consequence of polar shift, many people die and the world's climate changes completely—Florida is completely frozen, Northern Canada
and Siberia
become hot desert
s; Greenland
, Iceland
, Northern Europe
, New York
, Alaska
, and Antarctica now have a tropical climate
.
, which affords lower latitudes more direct sun rays. Furthermore, the movement of the poles, not the magnetic poles, would move both arctic and temporate regions, but would not necessarily trigger an ice age. It would not cause a ice age localised to Miami, as the film suggests.
The depiction of the Earth's areas that experience a decline in temperature, (ultimately to -273°C) is not scientifically accurate. Below -196°C (-320°F), the two dominant gases of Earth's atmosphere (Oxygen
and Nitrogen
) would have liquefied and fallen to the surface. Once the temperature dropped below -220°C (-365°F), the liquefied gases would have solidified. Neither of these events occur in the film.
It is impossible to reach absolute zero naturally, nor would a movement of poles induce any reduction in Earth temperatures.
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
, directed by Robert Lee, and written by Sarah Watson. It stars Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
, and Erika Eleniak
Erika Eleniak
Erika Eleniak is an American Playboy Playmate and actress, perhaps best known for her role in Baywatch as Shauni McClain. She also starred in the films Under Siege and The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
. The film is about polar shift, which brings a new ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Plot
David Koch (Jeff FaheyJeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
), a climatologist employed by Inter Sci, proposes a theory that the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
was triggered by Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's polar shift in a single day. When unusually cold weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
strikes Miami and the birds start to return from the south a few months earlier, he is sent to Antarctica to find out what is happening.
Once there, he discovers a frozen body of a human which is at least 10,000 years old. What is interesting is his appearance—he looks as if he was instantly frozen in place. He also discovers cave painting
Cave painting
Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known...
s that show the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
falling down. A sudden blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
then destroys a base camp and kills some members of his team.
Back in Miami, he presents his findings to his co-workers and his boss. He claims that another polar shift is only a couple of hours away and the new ice age is inevitable. However, nobody believes him. According to the current theories, the shifting of the poles should last at least 200 years so the climate changes, if any, wouldn't appear overnight. David's one-time love Bryn (Erika Eleniak
Erika Eleniak
Erika Eleniak is an American Playboy Playmate and actress, perhaps best known for her role in Baywatch as Shauni McClain. She also starred in the films Under Siege and The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...
) supports his theory with numerous stories about the falling sun followed by a darkness and terrible cold.
When the weather in Miami starts getting colder and colder, the evacuation is ordered and the people start to move to the north. David, Bryn, and a group of people miss the chance to escape, and their only hope is to hide in a special room at Inter Sci. In a couple of hours, everything from 30° north and south of the equator turns to absolute zero
Absolute zero
Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature at which entropy reaches its minimum value. The laws of thermodynamics state that absolute zero cannot be reached using only thermodynamic means....
(–273°C) turning the Southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central America, north of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
into an ice desert.
They manage to survive although everything is frozen outside the room. When the polar shift is over and the sun appears again, they are rescued.
As a consequence of polar shift, many people die and the world's climate changes completely—Florida is completely frozen, Northern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
become hot desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s; Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, and Antarctica now have a tropical climate
Tropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
.
Scientific inaccuracies
The basic premise of the film, that the movement of the Earth's magnetic north and south poles to the middle latitude would cause a massive climatic shift, is only partially true. Although such an event (if it were possible) would result in dramatic effects on global weather patterns, it would not reverse the Earth's climate zones as shown in the film, since climate is governed not just by the Earth's magnetic field, but mainly by altitude and proximity to the poles via the tilt of the Earth's axisEffect of sun angle on climate
The amount of heat energy received at any location on the globe is a direct effect of sun angle on climate, as the angle at which sunlight strikes the Earth varies by location, time of day, and season due to the Earth's orbit around the sun and the Earth's rotation around its tilted axis...
, which affords lower latitudes more direct sun rays. Furthermore, the movement of the poles, not the magnetic poles, would move both arctic and temporate regions, but would not necessarily trigger an ice age. It would not cause a ice age localised to Miami, as the film suggests.
The depiction of the Earth's areas that experience a decline in temperature, (ultimately to -273°C) is not scientifically accurate. Below -196°C (-320°F), the two dominant gases of Earth's atmosphere (Oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
and Nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
) would have liquefied and fallen to the surface. Once the temperature dropped below -220°C (-365°F), the liquefied gases would have solidified. Neither of these events occur in the film.
It is impossible to reach absolute zero naturally, nor would a movement of poles induce any reduction in Earth temperatures.