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James Kakalios

The Physics of Superheroes Paperback – Illustrated, September 21, 2006

by James Kakalios (Author)

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James Kakalios explores the scientific plausibility of the powers and feats of the most famous superheroes — and discovers that in many cases the comic writers got their science surprisingly right. Along the way he provides an engaging and witty commentary while introducing the lay reader to both classic and cutting-edge concepts in physics, including:

What Superman’s strength can tell us about the Newtonian physics of force, mass, and acceleration
How Iceman’s and Storm’s powers illustrate the principles of thermal dynamics
The physics behind the death of Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy
Why physics professors gone bad are the most dangerous evil geniuses!

Print length

384 pages
Language:

English
Publisher

Avery
Publication date

September 21, 2006
Dimensions

5.39 x 1.01 x 7.94 inches
ISBN-10

1592402429
ISBN-13

978-1592402427
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Physics of Superheroes

"Surprisingly enough, according to Kakalios, comic books get their physics right more often than youd think."
The Boston Globe

"Writing with tongue firmly planted in cheek, Kakalios looks at classic comics with a physicists eye. . . . Outstanding."
The Orlando Sentinel

"Kakalios, a University of Minnesota physicist and unrepentant comics nerd, offers up jovial, largely equation-free deconstructions of Ant-Mans shrinking ability, the centripetal acceleration of Spider-Mans swing, and the strength of his silk web."
Discover

"Wildly entertaining, yet scientifically accurate Comprises a fairly solid introductory education in physics, sweetened with a history lesson in classic comic book superheroes."
Metro

"Offers a droll but sincere look at what Superman and Spider-Man can teach about physics. . . . Entertaining. . . . His explanations are lucid and smooth."
Science magazine

About the Author

James Kakalios is a professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Minnesota, where he has taught since 1988, and where his class "Everything I Needed to Know About Physics I Learned from Reading Comic Books" is a popular freshman seminar. He received his Ph.D. in 1985 from the University of Chicago, and has been reading comic books for much longer.

Product details

Publisher : Avery; unknown edition (September 21, 2006)
Language: : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 1592402429
ISBN-13 : 978-1592402427
Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.39 x 1.01 x 7.94 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #715,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #247 in Comic & Graphic Novel Literary Criticism
- #306 in Comics & Graphic Novel History & Prices
- #324 in Science for Kids

Customer Reviews:
232 ratings

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If you are interested in learning basic physics in a fun way which includes the powers of superheroes this book is for you.

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018

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I had read another book by this author (The physics of Star Trek) in the past and decided to purchase and read this very informative 365 soft cover book (The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios) which I got for a bargain price on Amazon.

Like the Physics of Star Trek, the author cleverly teaches traditional physics while evaluating comic book super heroes relating what is and what is not possible according to the theories of basic physics.

This book is organized into four sections: the first section covers mechanics such as forces and motion, Newton’s law of gravity, special relativity and other topics. Section two focuses on heat and light where he explains the three laws of thermodynamics, electrical currents and other subjects. The third part explains modern physics such as atomic physics, Quantum mechanics, tunneling phenomena and solid-state physics. The final section asks the question “what have we learned? This part is essential reading if you want to better understand key equations and further reading on this subject. This section also has a detailed notes section on each chapter.

If you are into comic book superheroes and would like to learn the possible real life physics behind some of the amazing abilities of superheroes this book is for you.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Training alone in Combatives and self-defense)

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

A fun way to learn physics concepts

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

This book presents the concepts and (some of the equations) in physics without getting bogged down in the weeds. It is not the presentation you get in a textbook with all the formulas being derived and examples of worked out problems. It reads more like a novel with than a textbook with the author explaining the concepts as he goes along, but not really showing the work. In fact, I think doing some of that (giving a problem statement and working out the math) would have made the book a bit better. That said, he was not going for a rigorous academic presentation of the material, so it is understandable that he took the approach he did. Each chapter is devoted to a concept and then tied to a particular superhero (Aquaman with fluid mechanics, The Flash with friction, etc). In some chapters, he will give an equation and in others, he just explains things without any equations.

For a student, it is actually the perfect kind of book to read before you take a class in physics because it is rigorous enough that you will actually learn the material, and presented in a fun enough way that the concepts are more likely to stick with you. It is not a book that I would say will ever help you pass a physics exam or assist in solving homework problems, but it will give you the all-important base of knowledge and understanding of the concepts you need when you do get to the point where the math, and working out the problems is critical.

5 people found this helpful

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Just another reviewer

... physics course that uses this book instead of the terribly dry college physics I took many years ago

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2017

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I wish that I could have taken the author's physics course that uses this book instead of the terribly dry college physics I took many years ago. This is a very fun but also serious book and a wonderful job by the author. (Aside: If you are thinking of taking a standard physics book, you might read this one first; also, my experience as a college student taught me that probably a better thing to do before taking a standard college physics course would be to take something more fun that uses physics heavily, such as a first astronomy-for-majors course, to develop a stronger reason to be interested in learning physics BEFORE subjecting oneself to the dry way most physicists teach their subject. But better yet, find a way to go up to the University of Minnesota to take this author's course and transfer the credits!)

4 people found this helpful

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Justin

Fascinating - but there is a mistake in there

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2011

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I really enjoyed this book because I'm geeky enough to have thought about these types of issues. I vaguely recall my mechanics from my high school days but not well enough to work this out for myself. So it is great having a really solid discussion from a real physicist.

Having said that, I think there is a mistake in this book. The first chapter is about the original version of Superman, who is merely really strong because he grew up on Krpton and Krypton has much stronger gravity on Earth. The original Superman did not have the ability to fly or X-Ray vision or anything like that. So the question is: how strong must Superman be - and how strong must Krpton's gravity be - for Superman to leap a tall building in a single bound? We do know that the original Superman could leap an eighth of a mile high. That's 660 feet high. Then he does some physics to get the answer.

Here comes the math (7% on the Kindle)

Kakalios uses the formula v^2 = 2gh to conclude that Superman's initial velocity must be 200 feet per second (that's 140 miles per hour). Now, how much force must Superman's legs generate to accelerate to that speed? Well, assume that Superman's jump - the part while he was pushing off the ground - took a quarter second. Then he'd have to accelerate at 800 feet per second per second.

Now Kakalios switches to meters. An acceleration of 800 feet/s/s is about 250 meters per second per second. Assume Superman is a relatively big guy who weighs 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and we have a total force of 25,000 Newtons. Translate back to English measurements and that works out to 5,600 pounds. Now, that's how much force Superman can generate when he's jumping as hard as he can. If he's just standing around then he'd probably only be putting out about 70% of that. So that means that Superman's weight on Krpton must be 3300 pounds, which is 15 times his earthly weight of 220 pounds. In conclusion, Krypton's gravity and Superman's strength must be about 15 times that of a regular human being.

That seemed way to low for me. So I checked his numbers and I disagree with Kakalios' simplifying assumption that Superman will spend a quarter second pushing off the earth at the start of his jump. I think that is quite wrong. Here's why. Remember that if the "push" phase of the jump takes a quarter second then Superman's acceleration must be 250 m/s/s. Then we can use the following formula and plug in acceleration of 250 and time of 1/4th.

distance = 1/2 acceleration * time^2
distance = 1/2 (250) (1/4)^2
distance = 125 (1/16)
distance = 7.8 meters

That means that for the quarter second that Superman is pushing against the Earth with his legs, he has travelled 7.8 meters. He couldn't do that unless he is also plastic man and can keep stretching his legs!

Kakalios came up with his estimates based on the assumption of a quarter second to jump. I think a better estimate is a half meter to jump (if you bend at the knees to jump, then at the lowest point you'll drop about a half meter). So if you assume that Superman has a half meter to accelerate to 205 feet per second instead of 7.8 meters, then you conclude that Superman must accelerate much, much faster. And that means he needs a much larger force. I will spare you the rest of the math, but my calculations worked out such that Superman is 330 times stronger than a man who can do a 24 inch vertical leap (which is an above average vertical leap).

I'd be curious if other reviewers would be interested in double checking my work. I think my analysis is correct, but as I said at the beginning of the review, my high school physics is pretty rusty. I could easily be missing something here!

I do want to conclude on one point that I hope is obvious, which is that Kakalios really gets you thinking about the physics of Superheroes. I enjoyed delving into Kakalios' work and look forwards to the rest of the book. It is fascinating and stimulating stuff and I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Deni

Interesting and Fun

Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2019

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Intresting and Fun book. Doesn't dwell on a single topic and eases you into the science and the math in a fun way. It also has a lot of information about superheroes, science, and physics. A great way introduction into physics.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

T. Washington

The Physics of Superheroes- everything you ever wanted to know abotu the mechanics of superheroes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2016

Verified Purchase

Ever wondered how Superman could leap tall buildings in a single bound? Or how Aquaman or Prince Namor the Sub Mariner could breath underwater? Or how Iceman's powers work(never mind Iron Man's armor). Well wonder no more: the second edition of James Kakalios's "The Physics Of Superheroes"( I hope there will be a third, forth and five editions- the subject of physics and superheroes is literally endless) answers all these and many other questions.
Much like The Law of Superheroes, Kakalios answers questions that have intrigued "nerds" for decades(such as whether it is possible for Ant Man and the Atom to shrink down to sub atomic sizes- the answer is: not yet and quite possibly never).

J. Sharkey

The Physics of Superheroes

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

This was a gift, but I did have a quick look through and it seemed great for people that like this sort of thing. I wouldn't say there is an age range on it.

Mad Ferret Lady

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2016

Verified Purchase

Bought for my son and he loved it! Packed full of really interesting info and made him want to watch all the super hero movies....much to his girlfriends annoyance!

Comic Guy

Heroic but flawed!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good little book but by about halfway through the concept was wearing thin. The physics was interesting but the narrative needed some jazzing up to make it a real page turner. Worth the read but not a re-read!

Tim G

A few months later when I asked him he said he'd read it all the way through - for this particular nephew that's pretty high pra

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

Got this as a christmas present for a nephew. His mother says that when he opened it he said that it was one of the only christmas books he'd actually read. A few months later when I asked him he said he'd read it all the way through - for this particular nephew that's pretty high praise.

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