The Science Behind Our Favorite Comic Characters

 Did you know that it's possible for Superman to actually fly? Maybe you think about the actual possibility of a man being able to run as fast as the Flash. Well, James Kakalios' book, The Physics of Superheroes, explains everything from the very famous Superman to the more infamous Melter. In this book, he describes how comic book writers for Marvel and DC Comics actually use scientific laws and mathematical equations when describing and writing their comics and characters.

In the first two chapters, Mr. Kakalios describes Superman and how it is scientifically possible for him to have the superpowers and abilities he does. For example, many of his powers are based on the fact that Earth's gravity is much less powerful than that of Krypton, his home planet. Also, the fact that Earth revolves around a yellow sun, rather than Krypton's red sun, is what allows him to bend steel with his bare hands; but, this ability is one of the effects of the Earth's special atmosphere. Here, Mr. Kakalios also describes how Krypton is able to have a gravity that is 15 times as strong as the one on Earth. This is possible because although no normal matter can have a density of 75 grams per centimeter cubed on a planet of Krypton's size and force of gravity, exotic matter can create these conditions. Astronauts have found samples of this type of exotic matter; thus, if  Krypton was the same size of Earth, but had a core of such matter, its density would be 75 grams per centimeter cubed, and its gravity would be 15 times as powerful as Earth's. Having a core of such dense material would also lead to the creation of the matter of a neutron star, which would place massive strains on Krypton's surface, eventually causing the planet to explode; this proves Superman's story to be completely possible.

This is just an example of one of the many characters that Mr. Kakalios explains in his novel. In the later chapters, he discusses the Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, the Flash, Ant Man, Iron Man, and many more. He uses the three laws of thermodynamics, thermal conductivity, Newton's laws of motion, light and its laws, and energy in general to describe how characters received and sustained their powers and abilities.

In comparison to the other scientific books that I've read, this is one of the best. Out of a possible five stars, I would rate the novel with four and a half. It made comic book characters seem more realistic. The scientific facts used to prove the possibility of the characters actually being able to exist were very interesting and helped me learn more about the characters themselves and about science in general. I would recommend this book to  anyone who really loves science and is interested in reading stories that prove things true that were previously seen as only a fantasy.

The Physics of Superheroes: Miracle Exceptions Make Comic Books (sort of) Realistic

The cover of the book

Have you ever been reading a comic book and think that what your favorite superhero is doing is completely unrealistic? No? Welp, James Kakalios made a book about it anyway, and (kind of) busts these myths by showing how superheroes can do what they do in his book "The Physics of Superheroes," with a lot of explanation for how much better they would have to do things in order to accomplish certain tasks. For example, the Flash would have to have a crazy metabolism in order to run at even 1 percent the speed of light, because in order to run that fast, he would have to eat over 150 million cheeseburgers... without becoming obese... or becoming broke.

 And what about Superman? He could jump over a 660-foot skyscraper.... if Krypton was 15 times denser than earth. Except... the problem with that is finding denser matter to make such a planet. The Flash could run up the same skyscraper... kind of. He would scale the skyscraper between steps. (For more on the Flash, see this link.

Shrinking things is another subject covered in this book. Ant-Man has the ability to shrink himself without becoming incredibly dense and possibly unable to move. Why would he be so dense? Well, he would need to either make the atoms smaller (not that easy), remove large quantities of atoms (all your senses would be impaired, plus you would have to find somewhere to keep them all), or push the atoms closer together. (That would make them really dense.)

And if the Flash were to say "Flash Rules" while running towards you, what would you hear him say? Welp, the answer seems obvious, "Flash Rules," but it is more complicated than you might think. There are three ways you could hear it. If he were running slower than the speed of sound, you would hear "Flash Rules," as you would expect. If he were running faster than the speed of sound, you would hear "Rules Flash," because you would hear him say "Rules" before the word "Flash" could travel to you. If he was running at exactly the speed of sound, you would hear both words at the same time, so something like, "Frlualsehs." (Flash and Rules hitting your ears at the exact same time)  Note that all of this is assuming he starts at a certain distance, says, "Flash," and then runs halfway towards you, then says, "Rules."

These topics, and many more, are covered in this book, with simple physics calculations, and simple explanations. You can follow along easily with these calculations, and as James Kakalios said in the beginning of the book, you would not need to know anything too complicated.

This book was amazing. It's like a physics textbook, but mixed with a history of comic books, with a sprinkle of humor. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know how superheroes do what they do without getting motion sickness, becoming morbidly obese, or killing themselves. I found myself reading it in the car on the way home from school, even with my tablet within reach. It's that good.

The Vsauce3 video below shows another example of what Superman can do that wasn't mentioned in this book.

Oh yeah, and here's the author's website.