Seminar Abstract
March 29, 2006
"The Uncanny Physics of Superhero Comic Books"
Prof. James Kakalios
School of Physics and Astronomy
University of Minnesota
While it is not quite true that one can learn physics from superhero
comic books, it is the motivation for a Freshman Seminar class I teach
at the University of Minnesota entitled: "Everything I Know About
Science I Learned from Reading Comic Books". This class covers
everything in physics from Isaac Newton to the transistor, but there's
not an inclined plane or pulley in sight. Rather, all of the examples
come from superhero comic books, and as much as possible, those times
that the superheroes get their physics right! This class inspired me
to write a general audience popular science book: THE PHYSICS OF
SUPERHEROES.
In this talk I will describe some of the examples from the four-color
pages of comic books, along with recent Hollywood movies, used in this
class and my book to illustrate basic physical principles such as
forces and motion, conservation of energy, electricity and magnetism
and elementary quantum mechanics. For example, have you ever wondered
how strong you would have to be to "leap a tall building in a single
bound?" If you could run as fast as the Flash, could you run up the
side of a building or across the ocean, and more importantly, how
frequently would you need to eat? If Spider-Man's webbing is as strong
as real spider's silk, could it support his weight as he swings
between buildings? And who is faster: Superman or the Flash? These
and other pressing, real-life questions will be answered in this talk.
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