Physicist Breaks Down Superhero Physics From Movies & TV
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Date: 2022-07-06
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Comments and reviews: 10
John
The scene where Superman is carrying the building, I thought the same thing when I saw it. That building would need to be made of titanium to survive being picked up like that.
The Jessica Jones fight scene, it-s a bad example because they don-t display any actual fighting technique, but I was a competitive full contact martial arts fighter. We counterbalance everything. Exactly like you described, when we punch or kick, our whole bodies are involved, and for the most powerful strike I typically describe it as picking up the ground below me feet and hitting my opponent with it. An arm or leg doesn-t weigh enough to effectively hit someone, no matter how strong you are, but with proper technique you-re hitting them with at least your whole body, and typically with the force of your body pushing off the ground, plus of course the speed you-re hitting them with. If you don-t master technique, your body mass or strength doesn-t matter at all, a much smaller person could take you down easily.
Our bones, skin, even our internal organs, are tempered by daily practice to be harder than normal, so in a way an experience fighter is superhuman, but technique is key and even after quitting fighting, becoming out of shape and all, you never lose the technique.
My film and television favorite fighting baddasses are Min-Na Wen and Michelle Yoh!
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The scene where Superman is carrying the building, I thought the same thing when I saw it. That building would need to be made of titanium to survive being picked up like that.
The Jessica Jones fight scene, it-s a bad example because they don-t display any actual fighting technique, but I was a competitive full contact martial arts fighter. We counterbalance everything. Exactly like you described, when we punch or kick, our whole bodies are involved, and for the most powerful strike I typically describe it as picking up the ground below me feet and hitting my opponent with it. An arm or leg doesn-t weigh enough to effectively hit someone, no matter how strong you are, but with proper technique you-re hitting them with at least your whole body, and typically with the force of your body pushing off the ground, plus of course the speed you-re hitting them with. If you don-t master technique, your body mass or strength doesn-t matter at all, a much smaller person could take you down easily.
Our bones, skin, even our internal organs, are tempered by daily practice to be harder than normal, so in a way an experience fighter is superhuman, but technique is key and even after quitting fighting, becoming out of shape and all, you never lose the technique.
My film and television favorite fighting baddasses are Min-Na Wen and Michelle Yoh!
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theytookmyname666
18: 30 well except, they're super strong. By which I mean, they could have the strength to absorb that equal opposite force. If a normal person has the strength to throw a punch with a given force, then they also normally have the strength to counter balance the force it applies back to then. So to me, it stands to reason that a super strong person would have the super strength to withstand that force. Like yes, Jessica Johns has very strong arms to throw punches with, but she also has super strong back muscles and super strong leg muscle and just super strength throughout her whole body to push back against that equal opposite force (to brace herself, so to speak. She also doesn't need to care if a punch (inadvertently) sends her flying into the nearest wall, because her -main power- is being kinda indestructible. So even if she did send herself flying into a wall, it wouldn't really hurt her in a meaningful way.
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18: 30 well except, they're super strong. By which I mean, they could have the strength to absorb that equal opposite force. If a normal person has the strength to throw a punch with a given force, then they also normally have the strength to counter balance the force it applies back to then. So to me, it stands to reason that a super strong person would have the super strength to withstand that force. Like yes, Jessica Johns has very strong arms to throw punches with, but she also has super strong back muscles and super strong leg muscle and just super strength throughout her whole body to push back against that equal opposite force (to brace herself, so to speak. She also doesn't need to care if a punch (inadvertently) sends her flying into the nearest wall, because her -main power- is being kinda indestructible. So even if she did send herself flying into a wall, it wouldn't really hurt her in a meaningful way.
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Romantra
Someting that just came to mind after finishing Superman and Lois is that character would can fly (defy gravity) and have full control of their power has no reason to do a -superhero landing- pose. The whole point of the -superhero landing'- Is to cushion the impact of your fall (even it doesn't really do that. A more realistic approach if such freeform flying was possible, would be to slow down on approach in an upright position then guide your feet to the ground and walk in stride.
Likewise, the start flight would just require effortlessly floating off as oppose to the usually bend and push in most circumstances.
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Someting that just came to mind after finishing Superman and Lois is that character would can fly (defy gravity) and have full control of their power has no reason to do a -superhero landing- pose. The whole point of the -superhero landing'- Is to cushion the impact of your fall (even it doesn't really do that. A more realistic approach if such freeform flying was possible, would be to slow down on approach in an upright position then guide your feet to the ground and walk in stride.
Likewise, the start flight would just require effortlessly floating off as oppose to the usually bend and push in most circumstances.
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Jim
The A-train clip. in order to travel at that speed and survive the friction he would generate (between himself and his clothes, the air, etc) and the repetitive fast pounding of his feet against the ground to facilitate his speed he would have to have some level of impervious-ness. My thought is that the tender sack of protoplasm that was the girl literally exploded on contact (watch a slo-mo bullet vs water balloon, apple, etc) causing a small amount of blow-back, which would explain why he wasn't absolutely drenched.
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The A-train clip. in order to travel at that speed and survive the friction he would generate (between himself and his clothes, the air, etc) and the repetitive fast pounding of his feet against the ground to facilitate his speed he would have to have some level of impervious-ness. My thought is that the tender sack of protoplasm that was the girl literally exploded on contact (watch a slo-mo bullet vs water balloon, apple, etc) causing a small amount of blow-back, which would explain why he wasn't absolutely drenched.
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CaillouPillar
about the punching thing, when a normal power puncher punches someone and their force acts back on them, dont they deal with this by bracing with their legs so they dont move? and in that case a super strong person would also have super strong other muscles and probably joints so couldn't they just also brace in the same way, so they wouldn't move back? I mean you'd see them move probably more than they are in the show. sorry if I'm way off its been a bit since i took a physics class
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about the punching thing, when a normal power puncher punches someone and their force acts back on them, dont they deal with this by bracing with their legs so they dont move? and in that case a super strong person would also have super strong other muscles and probably joints so couldn't they just also brace in the same way, so they wouldn't move back? I mean you'd see them move probably more than they are in the show. sorry if I'm way off its been a bit since i took a physics class
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Ronnie
I really hate when scientists talk about recoil is that equal and opposite reaction thing that everyone always says if Superman punches somebody got hard enough that he goes flying across the room shouldn't he be fine across the room the opposite way physicists will say yes I'm a hundred 50 pound man that has hit people that has outweighed me by double I have knocked them down pick them up their feet and I did not go flying backwards
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I really hate when scientists talk about recoil is that equal and opposite reaction thing that everyone always says if Superman punches somebody got hard enough that he goes flying across the room shouldn't he be fine across the room the opposite way physicists will say yes I'm a hundred 50 pound man that has hit people that has outweighed me by double I have knocked them down pick them up their feet and I did not go flying backwards
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Gary
There-s actually a popular fan theory that Superman doesn-t actually have Super Strength. He really has an overpowered form of tactile telekinesis, which would also explain why Superman can pick up massive objects without it folding into itself, also his suit typically survives his usual fights which wouldn-t be the case if he had plain invulnerability. His cape being outside of his range is why it gets torn up a lot.
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There-s actually a popular fan theory that Superman doesn-t actually have Super Strength. He really has an overpowered form of tactile telekinesis, which would also explain why Superman can pick up massive objects without it folding into itself, also his suit typically survives his usual fights which wouldn-t be the case if he had plain invulnerability. His cape being outside of his range is why it gets torn up a lot.
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Tribute-verse
Very fascinating video, but can I have two ask? First what is the name of energy that is made when object hit the object? Because maube black Panther didn't absorb kinetic energy -tell but this energy? Second is superhero whom body absorb energy pernamentlly should worry about this problem with superhero punches or not because as for me he would absorb energy that hit him
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Very fascinating video, but can I have two ask? First what is the name of energy that is made when object hit the object? Because maube black Panther didn't absorb kinetic energy -tell but this energy? Second is superhero whom body absorb energy pernamentlly should worry about this problem with superhero punches or not because as for me he would absorb energy that hit him
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Sassy
I always wondered, if an indestructible force that could not be stopped & an indestructible object that could not be moved existed & made contact. Would all time stop, would it reverse, would everything cease to be? o_o These are the kinds of questions that bounce around in my head as I wait for my brain to shut up enough for sleep to come. lol
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I always wondered, if an indestructible force that could not be stopped & an indestructible object that could not be moved existed & made contact. Would all time stop, would it reverse, would everything cease to be? o_o These are the kinds of questions that bounce around in my head as I wait for my brain to shut up enough for sleep to come. lol
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Eduardo
so superhero landing, yes is not real, but this are superbeings, there for they are way stronger, they can land on their head and be ok, physics would need to be seen with capabilities that superheroes have, not with human ones. So not in what is real, but how can this happen, what rules are they capable to break.
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so superhero landing, yes is not real, but this are superbeings, there for they are way stronger, they can land on their head and be ok, physics would need to be seen with capabilities that superheroes have, not with human ones. So not in what is real, but how can this happen, what rules are they capable to break.
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