Skip to main content

Are Superheroes Actually Following the Laws of Physics

Are Superheroes Actually Following the Laws of Physics?
While watching movies such as “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Spiderman: Homecoming,” and “Batman vs. Superman” most people do not think about the physics behind what the superheroes are doing.  Would it really be possible for Spiderman to swing across buildings, or for Superman to fly?  
In the beginning of “Spiderman: Homecoming,” Peter is sitting in a physics class trying to solve a problem.  The scene goes like this:
Teacher: OK, so. How do we calculate linear acceleration between points A and B?
Flash: Product of sine of angle and gravity divided by the mass.
Teacher: Nope. Peter?
Peter: Ummm ... mass cancels out so it's just gravity times sine.
Rhett Allain tried to figure out the answer to this problem, and found many faults with both the question and the picture that was presented to the class.  First of all, there is no point A and B, it was labeled in the picture as point 1 and 2.  Allain decided that “linear acceleration” must mean “the component of acceleration in the direction of motion.”  He solved for this using a force diagram, which ends up giving the answer that Peter Parker gave.  
So in reality, it is not easy math to solve the equation that Peter Parker did, and some roundabout assumptions need to be made to find the answer.  However, what more people are wondering is the physics behind what the superheroes are actually doing.  For example, Superman being able to fly could be plausible in physics if there was some upward force.  One theory behind this is “that he is able to emit high-velocity streams of air through the pores of his skin. As he forces the air out of his body, according to Newton's Third Law, the expelled air must push back. And since Superman can survive in space, his lungs clearly aren't needed for respiration—maybe they're auxiliary air tanks.”  

These examples prompt the question of is it ok to sacrifice physics and mathematics for the sake of the movie.  Some people who are more intellectual that I would say that no, it is not ok for movies to not be mathematically correct, that it is more important to learn than to have cool scenes in movies.  Personally, I would say that it is more important to make a good movie.  If someone is paying to see a movie about superheroes, then they are probably not going to be calculating the average acceleration of someone swinging between buildings or the plausibility of someone flying.  Superhero movies are works of fiction, they do not have to be academically correct. I don't think that the barriers for making these movies should be the laws of physics. Superpowers are obviously not something that occur in the real world. It does not make sense that they should be put in the boundaries of the world that humans would think of. They belong to a different realm, and it makes for better movies if they are not restricted by the laws that are true in our world.
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzKAU07oZww


Works Cited


Allain, Rhett. “Could Spider-Man Actually Pass Physics?” Wired, Conde Nast, 10 Oct. 2017, www.wired.com/story/could-spider-man-actually-pass-physics/.

PBS. “Stan Lee on the 'Science' of Comic Book Superheroes | SUPERHEROES | PBS.”YouTube, YouTube, 10 Oct. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzKAU07oZww.

Weiner, Adam. “The Science of Superheroes.” Popular Science, 31 Jan. 2008, www.popsci.com/entertainment-gaming/article/2008-01/science-superheroes#page-3.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Physics of Black Holes...Or Lack Thereof

Isabella Jacavone To comprehend how the universe works, we must dwell into the most basic building blocks of existence; matter, energy, space, and time. NASA's  Physics of the Cosmos program involves cosmology, astrophysics, and fundamental physics intended to answer questions about the elusiveness of complex concepts such as black holes, neutron stars, dark energy, and gravitational waves. In this blog post, I'd like to elaborate on a subject that is very intriguing  to me; Black holes. And more specifically, what would happen if we got near one. A black hole is anything but a hole, but rather an immense amount of matter compacted into an extremely small area. A black hole is caused when, hypothetically, a star four times more massive than our sun collapses into a sphere no bigger than 600 square km. To put that in perspective, that's about the size of New York City. B lack holes were predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity, which showed that when a...

Aerodynamics of a Golf Ball

One may wonder how a small golf ball can travel at incredibly high speeds for such long distances.  While the swing of the club is a major component, the structure of the golf ball is quite important.  Unlike a baseball or tennis ball, a golf ball has dimples all over it (usually 336 dimples).  These dimples allow the golf ball to travel without facing much air resistance.  This diagram shows how air travels around the golf ball. The dimples on the golf ball also prevent drag that would occur in the wake region, resulting in further distance.  Also due to the contact with the club during the swing, the golf ball has backspin during its entire flight.  This diagram shows the motion of the golf ball mid flight with the lift force of F. There are hundreds of different types of golf balls that a player can choose.  Some show little affect to a player's game while others can alter their performance completely.  Personally, I prefer Callaway Supers...

What Would Happen if Everyone in the World Jumped at Once?

Hypothetical and far out questions are what create great physicists and allow for us to discover and test things that have never been thought of before. Even as kids, we let our minds wander and ask questions that we never knew could be proved or disproved by physics. One question that I, as a young questioning child, and many other highly regarded physicists ask is simple; what would happen if every single person got together and jumped at once? This situation is completely unlikely to ever happen, so the only way we could ever know what would happen is through physics. Okay, so lets set the scene. Everyone, all 7 billion people, could fit into an area the size of Rhode Island, so lets assume that everyone did  travel to the smallest state in the US.  Finally, in unison, all 7 billion people jump. The push against the earth doesn't affect the earth at all, considering the Earth outweighs everyone by a factor of a mere 10 trillion. Even if the Earth were rigid and responde...