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The Physics of Superheroes
peterwayner writes "There are few corners of the world that are more closely associated with the word "nerd" than comic books and physics. Despite the large overlap in the fan base, the two disciplines seem doomed to live forever in different corners of our minds. Superheroes don't have to obey the laws of physics and that's probably what makes them so attractive to the poor physicists who labor long and hard in the hope of making those laws work correctly. James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, has produced a book, "The Physics of Superheroes" (now in paperback). The surprise is that the two don't behave like matter and anti-matter. They don't explode on contact." Read the rest of Peter's review.
The Physics of Superheroes
author
James Kakilios
pages
340
publisher
Gotham Books
rating
9
reviewer
Peter Wayner
ISBN
1-59240242-9
summary
Why superman isn't as far fetched as it may seem.
There's no reason to spoil the book. You'll have to read it if you want to know why Superman can't change history, how Magneto becomes Electro when he runs, and whether Spiderman could really do those amazing things with spider silk. Some of the chapters are devoted to celebrating the accuracy of the comic strips by working through the physical equations. Much of what the comic book writers imagined is actually pretty reasonable. These sections bring new discipline to those old debates over who's stronger, bigger or most capable.
Other sections spell out just how wrong some of the assumptions are. Even when he's deflating the hopes of those kids who wish they could fly like Superman, he uses the disconnection with reality as a chance to riff on some what-if questions. What if Superman came from a planet that had a gravitational field 15 times stronger than earth? Would he be able to leap tall buildings? And then what would happen to a planet that was 15 times denser than earth? Would it fly apart as it rotated? Could you build one by just making a bigger version of Earth? What if you put some superdense material in the center of your new Earth? These are the questions that Kakalios works through.
The core theorem or narrative device of the book (choose your point of view) is that comic book authors can't bend too many rules. In fact, they usually can't get away with breaking more one or two. Then the hero must live a conventional life in our world and that's what makes it interesting. Spiderman may have a superstrong webbing, but he's still as vulnerable to depression as the next man. Batman may have unlimited wealth, but that won't bring back his parents. To paraphrase Robert Frost, comic book authors aren't playing tennis without a net.
In this world, science and comic narrative aren't bizarro versions of each other. Stories are sort of like free-form experiments where the scientist tries to change just one thing and measure the results. From this viewpoint, there's little difference between the two disciplines. A comic book is just a shorthand version of a scientific experiment.
This link implies an interesting and perhaps dangerous notion: science is just a longhand version of comic books. Sure, the folks at the cell phone companies have been striving mightily to make real that button on James T. Kirk's chest. That's the good news. But what about the darker notions? Anyone who's dealt with the side-effects of supposedly safe drugs like Vioxx knows that the bench scientists are as constrained as the comic book authors. They've got to come up with research that satisfies their customers and provide a simple resolution before that customer loses interest. (And won't those scientists come up with an ending for the debate about the link between cell phone-brain cancer before a jury does?)
But such speculation may kill the fun in the book. It's really just an excuse to toss around some equations and ask "what if" with a bit more rigor. This book may not be a grand, unifying theorem for the big plots of comic books and the big theories of science, but it's a neat first cut. It's as fascinating as much for its nuts and bolts description of physics as its offhand way of mixing together mathematical frameworks with narrative understanding.
Bio: Peter Wayner is the author of 13 books like Translucent Databases and Disappearing Cryptography .
You can purchase The Physics of Superheroes from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
There's no reason to spoil the book. You'll have to read it if you want to know why Superman can't change history, how Magneto becomes Electro when he runs, and whether Spiderman could really do those amazing things with spider silk. Some of the chapters are devoted to celebrating the accuracy of the comic strips by working through the physical equations. Much of what the comic book writers imagined is actually pretty reasonable. These sections bring new discipline to those old debates over who's stronger, bigger or most capable.
Other sections spell out just how wrong some of the assumptions are. Even when he's deflating the hopes of those kids who wish they could fly like Superman, he uses the disconnection with reality as a chance to riff on some what-if questions. What if Superman came from a planet that had a gravitational field 15 times stronger than earth? Would he be able to leap tall buildings? And then what would happen to a planet that was 15 times denser than earth? Would it fly apart as it rotated? Could you build one by just making a bigger version of Earth? What if you put some superdense material in the center of your new Earth? These are the questions that Kakalios works through.
The core theorem or narrative device of the book (choose your point of view) is that comic book authors can't bend too many rules. In fact, they usually can't get away with breaking more one or two. Then the hero must live a conventional life in our world and that's what makes it interesting. Spiderman may have a superstrong webbing, but he's still as vulnerable to depression as the next man. Batman may have unlimited wealth, but that won't bring back his parents. To paraphrase Robert Frost, comic book authors aren't playing tennis without a net.
In this world, science and comic narrative aren't bizarro versions of each other. Stories are sort of like free-form experiments where the scientist tries to change just one thing and measure the results. From this viewpoint, there's little difference between the two disciplines. A comic book is just a shorthand version of a scientific experiment.
This link implies an interesting and perhaps dangerous notion: science is just a longhand version of comic books. Sure, the folks at the cell phone companies have been striving mightily to make real that button on James T. Kirk's chest. That's the good news. But what about the darker notions? Anyone who's dealt with the side-effects of supposedly safe drugs like Vioxx knows that the bench scientists are as constrained as the comic book authors. They've got to come up with research that satisfies their customers and provide a simple resolution before that customer loses interest. (And won't those scientists come up with an ending for the debate about the link between cell phone-brain cancer before a jury does?)
But such speculation may kill the fun in the book. It's really just an excuse to toss around some equations and ask "what if" with a bit more rigor. This book may not be a grand, unifying theorem for the big plots of comic books and the big theories of science, but it's a neat first cut. It's as fascinating as much for its nuts and bolts description of physics as its offhand way of mixing together mathematical frameworks with narrative understanding.
Bio: Peter Wayner is the author of 13 books like Translucent Databases and Disappearing Cryptography .
You can purchase The Physics of Superheroes from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
I'd like to see what one of these explanations are, so I can actually evaluate his reasoning. The lack of a sample leaves this review with a big gaping hole of no examples to support its conclusions.
Remember, there were no nuclear weapons before women were allowed to vote.
Always got a chuckle out of "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" by Niven. http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html
I'm hoping it finally explains just how Batman came to be...obviously this would have more to do with genetics, but I'd really love to see them explain a half-bat/half-man running around a poorly disguised version of 1970s NYC. ...it's a costume you say? -looks crestfallen-
IIRC, Kirk didn't have a communicator on his chest, that was Picard.
Sure, the folks at the cell phone companies have been striving mightily to make real that button on James T. Kirk's chest.
Ummm...the last time I checked, Kirk used a hand-held communicator, and it was Picard who had the chest button.
I'm writing a book about Linux and valence electrons. It'll get slashdotted no matter how shitty it is!
The author was interviewed on NPR's Science Friday last year. They talk about some specific examples from the book, and it's an entertaining interview. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=4851397
Kirk used a bulk handheld receiver, the button style communicators weren't around until TNG times.
You passed.
This isn't a what if... A very good friend of mine went to the University of Minnesota and took a course with this professor with this book as the text for the class. He told me that they figure out some neat things.
They calculate the outrageous amount of food that Superman needs to eat on a daily basis. They use different examples to figure out what Spider-Man's web can and can't do and go so far as to calculate the tensile strength of a fresh web.
He told me lots of other neat examples that I can't even recall right now. I've been told that it's a great book and a great course.
But what about the Physics of whether Superman could beat Darth Vader in a fight?
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Am I the only one who instinctively read this summary with a voice in my head that sounded like the Simpsons Comic Book Guy???
I like the practical, "real life" methods of gaining superhero-sized muscle and strength, practically overnight, by employing the same training and diet strategies as pro bodybuilders do (no radioactive lab experiment gone awry). I've been studying and experimenting with some of these cool secrets for years. For example, try glycogen depletion and sodium manipulation followed by glycogen super-compensation. You can gain upwards of 15-20 lbs of muscle mass in 24-48 hours eating nothing but sugary, high glycemic foods (as I did) and not gain an ounce of fat (you're strength will also go through the roof). Enhanced Neural Drive, is another good example where you can trick your body into lifting much more than accustomed.
Fascinating to learn, but even better to experience for yourself.
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"There are few corners of the world that are more closely associated with the word "nerd" than comic books and physics"
Star Trek
Linux
Spectacles
Pocket Protectors
The front row of the classroom
{etc}
I could go on, but I just want to point out the tenuous nature of the link between superheroes and physics.
I would be interested to see an actual physical simulation of Spider-Man style webslinging, to see if you could actually get around New York (or anywhere) by swinging from building to building. My theory? He should crash into walls all the time.
qntm.org
Getting nerdy as I wait until this server reboots.
Superman has strength, speed and superdense skin*.
Darth Vader has the elements of the force but, as we see over and over, they aren't planet shifting.
Darth seems to lose up front but, perhaps he could sway the simple mind of Superman, as every encounter with Batman suggests Superman doesn't have a Superbrain.
Let's say they meet and exchange one-liners. Superman goes for the thoat of Vader but, a moment before Vader puts a death lock on his heart/throat/brain. This is the only way I could see of Vader getting the upperhand. Granted, Vader is dead and no where near Earth's galaxy but, if the two were to meet my bet is on Vader.
* Bullets bounce off him suggesting he does't feel pain, but then why does he long for the gentle touch of a woman? Perhaps his pain threshold is Super as well.
This professor has actually offered a seminar class (2 credits, rather informal but very fun) on this topic for the past few years. I took it a while ago and it was so much fun. The book appears to be very similar to how the class was and most likely came about because he's been teaching the class for a while.
If there's anyone at the U of M, you definitely want to check it out. He's a great prof and the class is a lot fun.
Also - 9/11/2001
I thought the subgroups were atheist and transhumanistic???
More like books on conjugating Latin verbs. ...or are nerds cool these days?
Comic books are way too cool for nerds.
If you disagree with me on social issues, then it's pretty clear that you are a narrow-minded bigot.
...more like pelicans and alka-seltzer.
Well, spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the Superman movies.
This was one area where Superman Returns impressed me. There's a plane falling from the sky uncontrollably and Superman grabs onto the end of the wing, sure enough, the wing breaks off. Saving the plane, while not destroying it and killing everyone on board was a real mental exercise for Superman.
Contrast that to Superman III (From Office Space fame), where Superman is able to hold a sheet of ice as large around as a lake with his fingers by the edge.
The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
Got any info on franchising?
Nope, no sig
I find it hard to believe the geek cred of this reviewer when he repeatedly refers to "Spider-Man" as "Spiderman". Lonely virgins everywhere know that it is hyphenated!
[/comic book guy]
Recursive: Adj. See Recursive.
I always just assumed Superman had a huge field around him that slightly pulled energy from yellow light and created a teeny tiny redshift for hundreds of miles around. It explained why a yellow sun was needed and why Krypton didn't provide super powers
Is this the end yet?...How 'bout now...how 'bout now...how 'bout now?
Save yourself $3.30 by buying the book here: The Physics of Superheroes. And if you use the "secret" A9.com discount, you can save an extra 1.57%!
On a mostly unrelated note, who would win in a fight between Superman and Doctor Who?
so it took the USers 200 years to look down? "Oh look there's me legs!"
just like it has no place in movies that aren't documentaries about physics. This book is just as bad sounding as the website Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics . Maybe i am the minority here, but i think entertainment shouldn't be subjected to scrutinty like this. Who cares if spidermans web is not able to do what it does in the comic. Whoever referenced the superman vs darth vader is right, those are the important questions (Like who would win in a fight Neo or Gandalf) not, what are the physics of superman's flying. Its called supsension of disbelief, its what allows us to go to the movies and see Logan/wolverine and not hugh jackman just wearing gardening tools on his hands.
This is a long-time debate that I have had; Who is better?
Mighty Mouse or Superman
Ofcourse it was only a one-sided debate, as I am an only child.
"The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." ~Plato (427-347 BC)
This is hardly an original idea. There are numerous other books out there covering the same subject. I'd like the review to cover why I should pick up this book as opposed to the other earlier books.
It's my book I've been researching and writing for four years. What am I supposed to do, hide it under a rock?
The whole ketosis/glycogen super-compensation cycle is a trip-and-a-half. When properly executed, your muscles get so freakin' big it's like looking at someone else's body. After my first successful carbload, I went to the gym and I couldn't believe the strength and stamina I had. I just kept going and going with bench press and shoulder presses until I got bored. I did not get tired, and I was lifting heavier than I ever did. Call it a kodak moment. It was amazing. So what if I want to share my hard work and research?
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http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/02/
Wow. I remember that story, and it seemed like 6 months ago. Scary.
The National Geographic Channel had a 1-hr special about the science of superheroes...explaining from such topics as spiderman's super-strong web, superman's thrust/drag and x-ray eyes, and dr. x's mind abilities, among others which at the moment i cannot recall. I also remember them showing a special hour dedicated just to superman on the movie's release date. As they say in the TV industry, check your local listings!
My favorite comic doesn't violate the laws of physics.
Avoid Missing Ball for High Score
And it's pretty good at stating a lot that this book had already done, except that it's X-Men exclusive. Science of the X-Men - I wonder if he cites it in his bibliography.
For whatever reason I'm able to suspend disblief when it comes to radioactive spiders, glowing meteorites, and even some of the more ridiculous time travel (flying around the world really fast?!?!). These all deal with things that are so far outside of my daily life experience that they seem "fantastic" rather than merely inaccurate and sloppy.
The real problem I have is the "super strength" type characters, and how they interact with the rest of the physical world. I'm down with super strength, that's actually one of the lead imaginative powers, and I'll even buy that their bones and ligaments are stronger to compensate. What I can't deal with, however, is that strong characters picking up amazingly heavy objects must be exerting a tremendous force with their feet on whatever they are standing. This is compounded when they use their super strength to catch or throw said item, at which time the reaction force from their inertia is also so ridiculously huge that this should cause structural failure in most materials under their feet.
This concept extends also to the point of contact with whatever they are holding. The sheer amount of force on many of these items would be more than enough to cause very severe damage. Also, the torque generated when said hero swings/flings the object around would bend or break many of these items at structural weak points, if it did not simply tear off the part that they had grabbed onto.
I think the problem for me is that, having seen how materials act all of my life (and perhaps also having a rather useless degree in Physics) has caused these things to destroy suspension of disbelief. Yes, I also know that hitting superman with a large explosion should destroy his costume, or that no one could fail to recognize Clark Kent as Superman (especially considering they are basically never seen together), that radioactive animals don't give people superpowers (yet), and that gamma ray exposure is indefinitely more likely to cause cancer than it is to cause helpful mutation, but... these do not violate my intuition about the world the same way as horribly inaccurate structural mechanics.
And yes, I know it's all just make believe, and I still watch the movies and enjoy them... most of the time.
How advanced is the physics? Can anyone follow the scientific arguments or do I need a Ph.D?
I've got it and have started reading it. A friend bought it for me last Christmas. As an avid fan of both comic books and Physics, it warms my heart to read how the author approaches each situation. That's with a very science first outlook. Essentially he's using comic books and super hero's to replace the common examples of "Man throws a 12kg ball over a cliff at 12,000meters, how much force will the ball have with the ground if F=ma". Just change ball to superman, and cliff to building, and man throwing to superman leaping.
As for an example, the first one in the book's about how to determine the velocity superman needs at ground zero to be able to jump a 30 or 40 story building given the outside forces acting upon him.
The author deals mostly with silver and golden age heros (Sorry Spawn lovers).
Any geek who has read comics for any length of time knows that the superheroes of today are *much* less powerful than they were 40 - 50 years ago. I doubt if the laws of physics have changed. Perhaps the shift has been with writers finally understanding that they can only push the boundaries of reality so far.
A Superman who can push the Earth out of its orbit isn't fun for a writer to work with, any more than it is for reader above the age of 5 to enjoy.
A specific incident that comes to mind, probably from the late '80's. I believe it was "Legion of Superheroes" #38, where the writer (Paul Levitz?) had Mon-El deliver a white dwarf star to Earth, as part of a complex plot, to act as a power source for one of Brainiac 5's experiments. The resulting letters page a few issues later completely humbled the writer, with the readers taking him to task for violating the many laws of physics that would have resulted in the Earth's complete destruction. Some readers went into great detail about where the author went wrong, and Levitz actually apologized.
Writers have to be more careful because their readers routinely take them to task when they go too far.
If you are proud of your nerd status openly display this title in your home or office. If you are not proud of your nerdiness and haven't come out the lab jacket and bowtie filed closet keep the book hidden well - or you'll out yourself.
I don't have this book, but I proudly display my 12 tall "Beaker" figure on my desk.
P226
how long does it last?
Depends on your activity level and muscle recruitment after the carbload (aka glycogen super-compensation). Let me explain how it works: 1) you strip every last vestige of glycogen from your liver and your muscles (it's not as bad as it sounds) using a low-carb diet and exercise that induces a state of ketosis. 2) Once this is achieved and you're muscle cells are starving for glycogen, you ingest high glycemic foods to raise insulin levels and transport nourishment and glycogen back into the muscles, with the aid of insulin agonists like chromium and apple cider vinegar. Your muscle cells will absorb much more glycogen than normal, or "super-compensate", just as a famished person may over-eat to compensate for lost meals.
Is the 20 pounds of muscle as strong as "real" muscle?
I would have to say comparable, but it's hard to say. With your muscles so full after a carbload like I've described, the difference in strength is appreciable.
How much this muscle mass is just water retention?
Simply put, glycogen is ingested carbohydrates converted to a syrup that is stored in, among other places, the liver and muscle stores. And carbohydrates help retain fluid, hense the word hydrate.
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Superman can just turn back time, then use his super-speed to fly to the galaxy that is "far far away" and confront Vader. In fact, he could confront Vader when he was just whiney Anaken, smash the crap out of his pod racer, and leave his dessicated corpse on the sands of Tatooine.
It is rather suspicious that Krypton exploded in much the same manner as Alderaan. My only guess would be that the Vader saw this move coming while Kal-El was still a baby.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
Well, in that same Superman Returns, he lifts a continent by his hands. I think that's just a bit less probable than the ice.
But yes, the scenes with the plane were arguably the best in the movie.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
They actually tried explaining this with the latest Superboy (who was a half-clone of Superman) by saying he has "tactile telekenisis." Basically the objects that Supes picks up are encompassed by this, and don't become susceptible to structural failure. It's lousy ret-conning, I know :) but the new Superboy actually has this ability, but a bit more enhanced. He can pick up an object, and also tear it apart/manipulate it.
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George II -- Spreading Freedom and American values, one bomb at a time.
At a quick glance, it looks good, the author seems to have a good grasp of physics.
I should think so. James Kakalios has a Ph.D. in physics and is a professor at the University of Minnesota. His area of research is condensed matter physics. He is also a part of their Physics Force team that does shows featuring exciting science demonstrations.
The surprise is that the two don't behave like matter and anti-matter. They don't explode on contact.
Well I can clearly see I'm in for some serious surprises there, totally mind-numbing physics. Come on, is this course for science majors?
Truth: There has to be some common-sense everyday physics "feel" to the bogus effects to make them enjoyable (that's why you have physics engines in games). We are not contesting that if superman threw a 80 ton ball it would flatten the ferrari and bounce off correctly. We just want you to remember that the motherf*er threw an 80-ton ball.
It's the biology that's complaining, Sherlock.
Now, I don't know how many of you dogs of the scurviest sea read comics, but I do a big pile of comics. One thing that blows my mind is how completely insane the powers in the DC universe are. Look at Superman. This guy has more powers than French restaurants have ways to say "your taste in wine is atrocious". He has powers to do with every part of his body and then some. He forgets powers sometimes. He can shoot heat rays out of his eyes, frost breath from his mouth and red son radiation from his ass. He's that sort of crazy dude. All because he absorbs solar radiation.
Look at Batman. His power? The anti-power. Sure, he should be some tame, kung fun master of not much, but instead he's the hottest shit to ever shit on a plate. You got a power? He'll find your weakness and give you seizures or heart attacks. He'll light you on fire when you're sleeping or make you recharge your green lantern ring in the power outlet. Ten thousand volts of fuck you batman. That's Batman.
But the fucking Flash, my god, my FUCKING GOD, this man has the greatest powers of all. If Superman's powers are being sucked off by twin super models and batman coming home to discover your wife is not only bisexual but has two friends she wants you to 'get in on' then the Flash is an orgy with a thousand women who also want to pay your World of Warcraft billing. And click the mouse for you. This man is just that fucking hot. They have to power him down in the comics half the time just to keep him from doing everyone else's job.
Ok first off, he can travel at lightspeed. Mother fuck! Not only does he travel at lightspeed, but time slows down for him. So he feels like he's having a casual jog or reading the paper, meanwhile, his feet are moving so fast you can hear him coming from Montana while he's already gotten to Arizona. That's fucking fast. But wait! The ability to move at Lightspeed just isn't fucking enough!
I know! Christ this guy can punch you so many times in a second you've been hit five times in the cock and two times everywhere else. You think you're about to fight the Flash and then it hits you, for the last split second he's beaned your beanbags with more blows than you had sperm. But no, there's more!
The Flash can also vibrate through walls. Now last I heard, you can not move so fast you can vibrate through walls, so what actually happens is the Flash is so fast he can pick and choose the movement of his individual molecules and move them through other solid objects, phasing through solid matter like it ain't no thing. I mean you think a guy who runs at lightspeed would run into shit but no, the Flash just goes right through them. To top that with a cherry and some whipped cream (which the Flash made in like a millisecond, fucker) he can selectively choose to cause objects to be "okay" afterwards or FUCKING EXPLODE. That's right. He can run through you and make you blow up by transfering kinetic energy into you. Like Jesus. IT's bad enough you can't hit this guy, but he doesn't even have to punch you. Now your testicles have exploded and you're thinking you're about to hit him. Jesus? Just give it up. He's the fucking Flash.
Now imagine that somehow there's someone who can get around the Flash blowing your balls up secret ninja technique. Ok. He can also control the flow of energy between objects. This power makes no sense but basically he can throw a rock at you, and you think it's going slow and then he's like WHOOHOOO WIZARDLY FLASH POWERS and bam it's going at lightspeed. So he can throw seven million rocks at you in a second then make them all goes different speeds thus striking your nads with seven million rocks one after the other.
But wait! There's more! He can also take energy from the very power of speed and make clothes out of it. Yes. Flash makes his pants out of GOES FAST. The man is so fast he can make Flash pants that GOES FAST go right into. I don't even start to understand the physics of that but basically SPEED == REALLY TIGHT UNDERWEAR AND COOL LIGHTNING THINGIES OVER T
I took Dr. Kakalios's Solid State Physics course back in my college days. I even managed to stay awake during class (a high honor, as I slept through most of my college courses). I also had the pleasure of working with him indirectly as part of a summer research program. So, if there are any UMN physics students out there, definitely take one of his courses.
Oh man, nerd time for me.
1) Kon-El, the latest Superboy is now dead. His powers were not based on Superman's, but rather designed (by Luthor) in imitation. Thus, while Kon-El had tactile telekinesis, Superman does not.
2) Kon-El is also dead, courtesy of Superboy Prime (who is imprisoned inside a red son, after having not only killed a ton of people, but acutally altered the reality of DC comics by punching the walls of heaven...seriously...).
Eesh.
"Stumble before you crawl"
Ah - that's what it is. Figures that this is not a real strength program, but merely one that makes you look big.
Nope. You get increase in strength and stamina also. Marathon runners oft carbload before a run to give them maximum muscle endurance.
bodybuilders, when actually in competition, are so weak that they can barely hold a pose for more than a few seconds
That comment is so blatantly false it's insulting.
Ever see a bodybuilder start to tremble while posing? That's the muscles failing to stay in contraction.
See above.
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With my Carbohydrates to Glycogen Conversion Formula and an aggressive eating schedule of high-glycemic foods, 15 lbs is a moderate estimation which I've personally exceeded.
And yes, I still went to the bathroom!
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I've read the book and have been to his seminar twice. He's a very entertaining guy and a true geek. He makes me want to go back to school and be a physics major. I would reccomend the book for anybody interested in math, physics, comics or any combination of the above. Also, I would reccomend his seminar for anybody in the Twin Cities.
He slips into the telephone booth, slips out of his expensive Armani suit, and into something a little more comfortable - his bearskin, often mistaken for a rug.
He has to fly. Err, umm, run, to be exact. At the speeds he gets up to, it's a wonder his bearskin doesn't burn up.
He races along the street, charges through the traffic lights and through the traffic. This is a life and death matter, and he hopes not to be too late again! While behind him he hears the shouts: "Is it an ape? Is it a bear? No, it's Subman!"
I remember seeing a similar monologue on the physics of Santa. You start with basic facts like the number of children in the world, the proportion that are Christian, the average size/weight of each gift, etc. and deduce how big the sleigh would have to be ... you fold in how fast the whole outfit would need to travel in order to deliver everything in one night ... and you end up deducing that Santa would explode or something like that. IANAP, obviously, but it was pretty funny.
No mod points at the moment, but will promise 2 of my next five to the first post of the link.
But do they answer the most important question? In a fight between Batman and Superman, who would win?
More nerding out! The telekinesis bit was already included in John Byrne's 1985 reboot of Superman.
That's when they began to bend their necks looking down. They kept bending it ever since and now have their heads firmly planted up their arses.
My favorite piece of foolishness is picking up a falling person. In an instant the person is accelerated sideways to Superman's speed, while decelerating to zero vertically. Massive internal injuries and neck snapping would be more likely than safe rescue.
He needs of course to grab the person from below and decelerate them at 1G or less to vy=0. Same with Neo.
It's not about what superman strength is (duh!), but about the center of gravity of the stuff he carries.
The ice was grabbed by an edge, and it should have just cracked.
The island was grabbed from below, and with a good enough sense of equilibrium it would have worked. If superman had gone inside the island to the center of gravity of the thing, it must have worked, except that all that kriptonite would have killed him first.
And the plane scene has something left, he should have gone to catch the plane in the belly when it goes flat to the baseball field, otherwise the nose should have bended and people in the back seats would be very injuried.
We are Turing O-Machines. The Oracle is out there.
This reminds me of a division in science fiction: Hard science fiction vs soft science fiction.
Hard science fiction autors never violate the laws of physics. Just play with future but very possible technology, or dwelve in the realms of life inside stars and so on.
Soft science fiction violates whatever law it wants, just for story-telling sake. Think warp speeds.
Some autors are definitely hard science writers, when others are not.
The point is: hard science fiction is more difficult to write. You must have some physics background and stuff.
The concept seems to be going to games too, battlefield 2142 designers don't use laser weapons and any other they consider are not realistic enough.
Maybe you would like to start writing comics, and do it the hard way.
We are Turing O-Machines. The Oracle is out there.
Kirk had the Razr. At least we've caught up with that generation.
"...to the poor physicists who labor long and hard in the hope of making those laws work correctly." I would be pretty amazed if physical laws could behave wrongly.And even greater would be that surprise if physicists could actually intervene on the working of such laws!