History Main / MagicHarmsTechnology

This trope is when the presence of magic actively interferes with or harms technological devices. These magical energy/forces act as a setting-wide version of a WalkingTechbane -- thus ensuring that magic and technology could never coexist in the same vicinity, [[EnforcedTechnologyLevels resulting]] in a MedievalStasis.

Related to ElectromagneticGhosts, where ghosts can interfere with electronics.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'': Like the comics, ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes uses a piece of alien technology called a Scarab that allows him to don a [[PoweredArmor powerful suit of armor]] which grants him a number of different abilities and weaponry. The Scarab was created by an alien society known as the Reach to act as the vanguard of their invasions by infiltrating worlds and taking control of one of the natives. However, Jaime's Scarab initially did not take control of him because it had been cleansed of Reach control when it first landed on Earth by ancient human magic. It was cleansed in another magic ritual near the end of Season Two, in order to free Jaime when the Reach managed to regain control of it. The same ritual also cleansed another beetle warrior, a Martian called [[CanonForeigner Green Beetle]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* While not necessarily ''magic'' places, believers in paranormal phenomena will assert that certain areas ({{Haunted House}}s, TheBermudaTriangle, the Oregon Vortex, etc.) will make equipment malfunction, cell phones and watches no longer work, compasses no longer point towards magnetic north, etc. Of course, the EMF detectors always seem to work perfectly...
[[/folder]]

* ''Literature/NightWatchSeries'', unusually, averts this completely. One magic user even goes into low Earth orbit in a space shuttle to cast a spell on all the Earth - and then [[HoistByHisOwnPetard runs into]][[KarmicDeath severe problems]] when his magic stops working because he is so far from other living beings (whom magic draws its power from)...

Of course, this trope almost invariably assumes NoTechButHighTech, and the only devices affected by magic are of the modern—usually the electrical and/or digital—kind. Things like wooden wheels and smithing tools (which technically counts as technology) are safe.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' While the setting at large adheres to this, Tony Stark (who is not a wizard himself but works with many magic users) has managed to "magic proof" certain pieces of technology (like his smart phone). As a result, he has to put up with being called "Midgard's most skilled blacksmith" and the like by his Asgardian allies. He doesn't mind, in fact he rather [[AwesomeMcCoolname enjoys]] the title of "Lord Stark" that this brings with it.

** In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, smokepowder, the literally God-approved equivalent of gunpowder, is vulnerable to ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin dispel magic]]''. Certain areas have wizards who hunt down illegal stockpiles of smokepowder to render it inert.

* ''Literature/TheDarkIsRising'': Implied -- One sign of Will coming into his Old One magic is how the radio turns to static in his presence.

* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'': Using magic will automatically destroy complex and new (generally anything post-eighties) forms of technology. It's acknowledged by [[GentlemanWizard DCI Nightingale]] that this is a relatively new phenomenon, as he's lived most of his life (as in from the early 1900s to the present) without it being a problem. Peter Grant, being naturally scientifically minded, dedicates a large amount of time experimenting to try to explain this arbitrariness and eventually discovers that magic destroys microchips and compressors (to the point of literally reducing them to sand). He also discovers this only applies whilst the circuit is functioning, to the point that simply removing the battery before using magic is an effective safeguard. Whilst the exact reason for this is still unknown, it's generally agreed to be part of the same process how Magic absorbs its energy from the surroundings (including people if not used properly).

* While not necessarily ''magic'' places, believers in paranormal phenomena will assert that certain areas ({{Haunted House}}s, TheBermudaTriangle, the Oregon Vortex, etc.) will make equipment malfunction, cell phones and watches no longer work, compasses no longer point towards magnetic north, etc.) Of course, the EMF detectors always seem to work perfectly...

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', active human magic destroys all post-WWII technology, and a wizard can fry modern electronics just by being close to it for a while even if they don't use magic in its presence. [[MuggleWithADegreeInMagic Butters]] speculates that wizards project a sort of entropy field that in the current era manifests as glitches in electronics. Every hundred years or so, magic changes what its side effects are: previously this field was responsible for curdling milk or giving wizards skin blemishes like warts and moles. None-human magic uses, like the FairFolk, do not have this limitation: one of the major advantages the Red Court vampires had in their war against the White Council was that they could freely use modern technology like smart phones to communicate with each other.

** Bringing any gunpowder to [[TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}} Oerth]], a GenericMedievalFantasy planet brimming with magic, immediately renders it useless. [[LoopholeAbuse The same can't be said for laser guns carried by crashed alien ships, however.]]

!Examples

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', active human magic destroys all post-[=WWII=] technology, and a wizard can fry modern electronics just by being close to it for a while even if they don't use magic in its presence. [[MuggleWithADegreeInMagic Butters]] speculates that wizards project a sort of entropy field that in the current era manifests as glitches in electronics. Every hundred years or so, magic changes what its side effects are: previously this field was responsible for curdling milk or giving wizards skin blemishes like warts and moles. None-human magic uses, like the FairFolk, do not have this limitation: one of the major advantages the Red Court vampires had in their war against the White Council was that they could freely use modern technology like smart phones to communicate with each other.

* TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons:
** In the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, smokepowder, the literally God-approved equivalent of gunpowder, is vulnerable to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Dispel Magic]]. Certain areas have wizards who hunt down illegal stockpiles of smokepowder to render it inert.
** Bringing any gunpowder to [[TabletopGame/{{Grayhawk}} Oerth]], a GenericMedievalFantasy planet brimming with magic, immediately renders it useless. [[LoopholeAbuse The same can't be said for laser guns carried by crashed alien ships, however.]]

* ''Videogame/{{Arcanum}}'': Because the ScienceVersusMagic rules that govern the world, magick twists the laws of physics that technology relies on to function, increasing the odds that technological items will break in unpredictable ways. At the same time, ScienceDestroysMagic is also in effect -- skilled technologists & powerful technological items subtly reinforce the laws of physics in the areas immediately around them, acting as magick dampeners that can stop spells from functioning in their presence.
* {{Downplayed}} in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': Any technology developed more recently than the [=1980s=] or so will [[ExplosiveInstrumentation blow up]] or [[ArtifactOfDoom turn into a anomaly]] when taken into the [[EldritchLocation Oldest House]]. This restricts the [=FBC=] to a CassetteFuturism style aesthetic, using film projectors, heavy vacuum-tube-laden computer consoles, and antique firearms.
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Zigzagged, while electronic devices can work in Gensokyo as long as you have a means of powering them, the Great Hakurei Barrier prevents wireless communications from cell phones and the like from connecting to the Outside World and vice versa.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Like the comics, ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes uses a piece of alien technology called a Scarab that allows him to don a [[PoweredArmor powerful suit of armor]] which grants him a number of different abilities and weaponry. The Scarab was created by an alien society known as the Reach to act as the vanguard of their invasions by infiltrating worlds and taking control of one of the natives. However, Jaime's Scarab initially did not take control of him because it had been cleansed of Reach control when it first landed on Earth by ancient human magic. It was cleansed in another magic ritual near the end of Season Two, in order to free Jaime when the Reach managed to regain control of it. The same ritual also cleansed another beetle warrior, a Martian called [[CanonForeigner Green Beetle]].

[[ScienceVersusMagic Science and magic don't get along]], according to a lot of fiction. A HighFantasy setting where magical forces are the norm rarely has modern conveniences. Conversely, a modern or futuristic setting saturated with technology is unlikely to feature overt mystical powers and spells, even if certain high-end gadgets [[ClarkesThirdLaw have borderline fantastic abilities and functions]].

* ''Fanfic/HarryIsADragonAndThatsOk'' manages to get to the bottom of why various electronics don't work at Hogwarts: [[spoiler:Hogwarts has spells to protect it from lightning, which have the side effect of preventing cathode ray tubes from working]]. Once that's sorted out, certain types of technology are able to be introduced.

* {{Downplayed}} in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': Any technology developed more recently than the [=1980s=] or so will [[ExplosiveInstrumentation blow up]] when taken into the [[EldritchLocation Oldest House]]. This restricts the [=FBC=] to a CassetteFuturism style aesthetic, using film projectors, heavy vacuum-tube-laden computer consoles, and antique firearms.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', active magic destroys all post-[=WWII=] technology. [[MuggleWithADegreeInMagic Butters]] speculates that wizards project a sort of entropy field that in the current era manifests as glitches in electronics. Previously this field was responsible for legends of witches curdling milk or giving people warts.

* ''Series/WandaVision'': Downplayed. Wanda's magical hex on Westview allows technology, but only to the level appropriate for the sitcom-style "show" being depicted. Any outside technology that doesn't fit into Wanda's world, whether because it's too modern or it's being utilized to harm her, gets transformed by her magic to fit in (i.e. a SWORD drone becomes a toy helicopter, a military tank becomes a truck). Monica tried to get around this in Episode 5 using a drone contemporary to TheEighties, the era for the episode, which worked... until Wanda saw it and threw it out herself.

[[ScienceVersusMagic Science and magic don't get along]], according to a lot of fiction. A HighFantasy setting where magical forces are the norm rarely has modern conveniences. Conversely, a modern or futuristic setting saturated with technology are unlikely to feature overt mystical powers and spells, even if certain high-end gadgets [[ClarkesThirdLaw have borderline fantastic abilities and functions]].

--> '''Hermione''', ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''

Of course, this trope almost invariably assumes NoTechButHighTech, and the only devices affected by magic are of the modern -- usually the electrical and/or digital -- kind. Things like wooden wheels and smithing tools (which technically counts as technology) are safe.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

->''"All those substitutes for magic Muggles use--electricity, and computers and radar, and all those things--they all go haywire around Hogwarts, there's too much magic in the air."''

[[ScienceVersusMagic Science and magic don't get along]], according to a lot of fiction. A HighFantasy setting where magical forces are the norm rarely have modern conveniences. Conversely, a modern or futuristic setting saturated with technology are unlikely to feature overt mystical powers and spells, even if certain high-end gadgets [[ClarkesThirdLaw have borderline fantastic abilities and functions]].

This trope is when the presence of magic actively interferes with or harms technological devices. These magical energy/forces act as a setting-wide version of a WalkingTechbane--thus ensuring that magic and technology could never coexist in the same vicinity, [[EnforcedTechnologyLevels resulting]] in a MedievalStasis.

Of course, this trope almost invariably assumes NoTechButHighTech, and the only devices affected by magic are of the modern--usually the electrical and/or digital--kind. Things like wooden wheels and smithing tools (which technically counts as technology) are safe.

* ''Manga/InterspeciesReviewers:'' Part of the reason why the world is stuck in MedievalStasis even though [[TrappedInAnotherWorld there are people who have come from other worlds]] is because the existence of mana would interfere with their technology, making it impossible to recreate any of them beyond possibly steam engines.

** According to ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire'', magic interferes with electricity, which explains why Wizards don't have things like phones, television and computers. However, WordOfGod also adds that most Wizards, especially Purebloods, pride themselves of not needing Muggle-made conveniences, since magic can fulfill most of the basic functions of technology, thus widening the technological gap between muggles and wizards.

* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'': Using magic will automatically destroy complex and new (generally anything post eighties) forms of technology. Its acknowledged by [[GentlemanWizard DCI Nightingale]] that this is a relatively new phenomenon, as he's lived most of his life (as in from the early 1900's to present) without it being a problem. Peter Grant, being naturally scientifically minded, dedicates a large amount of time experimenting to try to explain this arbitrariness and eventually discovers that magic destroys microchips and compressors (to the point of literally reducing them to sand). He also discovers this only applies whilst the circuit is functioning, to the point that simply removing the battery before using magic is an effective safeguard. Whilst the exact reason for this is still unknown, its generally agreed to be part of the same process how Magic absorbs its energy from the surroundings (including people if not used properly).

* {{Downplayed}} in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'': Any technology developed more recently than the [=1980s=] or so will [[ExplosiveInstrumentation blow up]] when taken into the [[EldritchLocation Oldest House]]. This restricts the [=FBC=] to a CassetteFuturism style aesthetic, using film projectors, heavy vacuum-tube-laden computer consoles and antique firearms.

* ''Webcomic/CodeNameHunter'': The pixie Merrybell is working with British Intelligence to determine why magical phenomena are occurring in London, especially in the vicinity of Westminster Abbey. In chapter 2 page 22, an old vacuum tube radio is playing in the background, and Merrybell sits on it (she's small). Soon, the radio begins malfunctioning, and bursts into flames. It's discovered that magical creatures can, to some degree, monkey-wrench technology. Earlier, in page 18, a stone dragon is able to cause a revolver to jam.

[[/folder]]

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Like the comics, ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes uses a piece of alien technology called a Scarab that allows him to don a [[PoweredArmor powerful suit of armor]] which grants him a number of different abilities and weaponry. The Scarab was created by an alien society known as the Reach to act as the vanguard of their invasions by infiltrating worlds and taking control of one of the natives. However, the Scarab Jaime has initially did not take control of him because it had been cleansed of Reach control when it initially landed on Earth by ancient human magic. It was cleansed in another magic ritual near the end of Season Two, in order to free Jaime when the Reach managed to regain control of it. The same ritual also cleansed another beetle warrior, a Martian called [[CanonForeigner Green Beetle]].

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Like the comics, ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime Reyes uses a piece of alien technology called a Scarab that allows him to don a [[PoweredArmor powerful suit of armor]] which grants him a number of different abilities and weaponry. The Scarab was created by an alien society known as the Reach to act as the vanguard of their invasions by infiltrating worlds and taking control of one of the natives. However, the Scarab Jaime has initially did not take control of him because it had been cleansed of Reach control when it initially landed on Earth by ancient human magic. It was cleansed in another magic ritual near the end of Season Two, in order to free Jaime when the Reach managed to regain control of it. The same ritual also cleansed another beetle warrior named [[CanonForeigner Green Beetle]], a Martian named, B'arzz O'oomm, who found a scarab on Mars and was turned into a slave of the Reach when it took control of him.