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Grounded spider silk4/24/2024 The lobbyist protests that Superman will electrocute them both, but Superman knows that as long as he avoids making a connection to the ground, that they are in no more danger than the birds resting on the same wire. 1, Superman attempts to scare information out of a crooked lobbyist by slinging the man over his shoulder and running across a telephone line and hopping over the grounded poles. In his very first appearance in “Action Comics” No. Superman didn’t always have to fly or use his superhuman strength to intimidate his enemies. So the idea is that if Storm can change her cells so they absorb and reflect ultra-violet light while letting visible light pass through them, she would appear invisible to the naked eye, while she would still be able to see in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Sunlight also contains light at shorter wavelengths, like ultra violet rays, that our eyes can’t see. But there are cells in our bodies that are transparent to visible light, such as the lens of our eyes. Molecules in most of our cells absorb and re-emit light in the visible end of the spectrum. Here are some examples from Kakalios’ book of other superheroes who got their science right, or close to it:Īfter a brush with cosmic rays, The Fantastic Four’s Sue Storm develops the ability to turn transparent at will. “That’s as ridiculous as saying that water is attracted to drains,” Kakalios said. While metal is a good conductor, that doesn’t mean it attracts electricity. But in the same comic, his understanding of physics lapses when he throws metal chairs into the air to “attract” the lightning produced by the villain of that comic, Electro. 9, Spider-Man calculates his centripetal forces correctly when swinging from building to building. Superheroes get their facts wrong more often than right, Kakalios said. Namely, by running the same speed in the same direction as the bullet, the flying bullet appears stationary to him, and he is thus able to grab it. When the Flash from the 1960’s comic of the same name catches a bullet, he is operating under Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, for example. In the 1960’s, writers began weaving more science into the story lines of comic books, after comics were accused of being too violent and lacking educational value. Watch Hari Sreenivasan’s interview with him in the video above. Kakalios has also turned his love of comic books into an introductory physics course called the Physics of Superheroes and has written two books on the subject. Kakalios, for example, wrote the “Decay Rate Algorithm” equation for the filmmakers, who needed an identifiable formula to explain the research of scientist-turned-giant lizard Dr. Some consultants are tapped for quick fact checks others are part of the creative process from the beginning, like Kakalios and Spider-Man. In July 2012, the group celebrated its 500th consult. The program helps match filmmakers with scientists on an as-needed basis. He volunteers through a program run by the National Academy of Sciences called the Science and Entertainment Exchange. But Kakalios is committed to bringing science fiction closer to science fact. Sure, comic book superheroes have powers that transcend science. His hang glider cape would in reality shatter his knees, Kakalios said. Batman’s cape, for example, lacks the wingspan to set the Dark Knight gently on the ground after leaping off a Gotham skyscraper. When it comes to the science behind the fantasy, some superhero scenes fall shorter than others. “He needs a backpack of silk to do it,” Garibaldi said. Of course, this all depends on Spider-Man bringing enough silk for the job. Elasticity means there’s less “jerk” on the cars and the passengers trapped inside when they come to a stop. It’s the elasticity of spider silk that makes this scene even more plausible, said Skip Garibaldi, professor of mathematics at Emory University. That’s according to Jim Kakalios, physics professor at the University of Minnesota and a science consultant for the film, which was released July 2012. In other words, produced in mass quantities, it could, plausibly, dangle a car and child from a New York City bridge. And in mass quantities, spider silk is extraordinarily strong, stretchier than nylon and, pound for pound, stronger than steel cable. To work, this technique relies on the strength of spider silk. He does this by shooting a web of spider silk from a gadget on his wrist, catching the car mid-air and eventually, using the spider silk to reel the child back to safety. Toward the end of “The Amazing Spider-Man”, Peter Parker saves a small child trapped in a car as the car is tossed from New York City’s Williamsburg Bridge by the movie’s villain, the Lizard.
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