Research Catalog

Title

The physics of superheroes / James Kakalios.

Author

Kakalios, James, 1958-

Publication

New York : Gotham, c2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xvi, 365 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"In The Physics of Superheroes acclaimed university professor James Kakalios shows that comic-book heroes and villains get their physics right more often than you think." "In this scientific survey of superpowers you'll learn what the physics of forces and motion can reveal about Superman's strength and the true cause of the destruction of his home planet, Krypton; what villains Magneto and Electro can teach us about the nature of electricity; and finally get the definitive answer about whether it was the Green Goblin or Spider-Man's webbing that killed the Wall Crawler's girlfriend Gwen Stacy in that fateful plunge from the George Washington Bridge!" "Along the way, The Physics of Superheroes explores everything from energy, to thermodynamics, to solid state physics, and Kakalios relates the physics in comic books to such real-world applications as automobile air bags, microwave ovens, and transistors. You'll also see how comic books have often been ahead of science in explaining recent topics in quantum mechanics (with Kitty Pryde of the X-Men) and string theory (with Crisis on Infinite Earths)." "This is the book you need to read if you ever wondered how the Invisible Woman of the Fantastic Four can see when she turns transparent, if the Atom could travel on an electron through a phone line, or if electromagnetic theory can explain how Professor X reads minds. Fun, provocative, and packed with more superheroes and superpowers than an Avengers-Justice League crossover, The Physics of Superheroes will make both comic-book fans and physicists exclaim, 'Excelsior!'"--Jacket.

Subject

• Physics > Study and teaching
• Science in popular culture
• Comic books, strips, etc., in education
• Comic books, strips, etc. > History

Genre/Form

Comics (Graphic works) – History.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [323]-344) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction : secret origins : how science saved superhero comic books -- Up, up, and away : forces and motion -- Deconstructing Krypton : Newton's law of gravity -- The day Gwen Stacy died : impulse and momentum -- Can he swing from a thread? : centripetal acceleration -- Flash facts : friction, drag, and sound -- Like a flash of lightning : special relativity -- If this be my density : properties of matter -- Can Ant-Man punch his way out of a paper bag? : torque and rotation -- Is Ant-Man deaf, dumb, and blind? : simple harmonic motion -- Does size matter? : the cube-square law -- The Central City diet plan : conservation of energy -- The case of the missing work : the three laws of thermodynamics -- Mutant meteorology : conduction and convection -- How the monstrous menace of the mysterious melter makes dinner preparation a breeze : phase transitions -- Electro's clinging ways : electrostatics -- Superman schools Spider-Man : electrical currents -- How Electro becomes Magneto when he runs : Ampere's law -- How Magneto becomes Electro when he runs : magnetism and Faraday's law -- Electro and Magneto do the wave : electromagnetism and light -- Journey into the microverse : atomic physics -- Not a dream! Not a hoax! Not an imaginary tale! : quantum mechanics -- Through a wall lightly : tunneling phenomena -- Sock it to Shellhead : solid-state physics -- Me am Bizarro! : superhero bloopers -- Afterword : Lo, there shall be an ending! -- Ask Dr. K! -- Key equations.

ISBN

1592401465

LCCN

^^2005046095

OCLC

• 58920001
• SCSB-10004480

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library