Download Superhero science 2

Hovering…
Among other powers the Ironman suit is capable of flight. But how
much energy and force does it take to fly and hover?
Ironman has a mass of 115 kg (from Marvel). So to hover Ironman
simply needs to prove a force of 1127 N of lift to act against gravity.
If Ironman fell for 1 second the amount of energy needed to return
him to his original height is the same as the energy needed to hover
for a second (or the power).
In 1 second he would fall 4.9 m (d = ½ a t2 = ½ x 9.8 x 12). The energy
to move back up the 4.9 m would be equal to the change in
gravitational potential energy = mass x gravity x height = 115 x 9.8 x
4.9 = 5522.3 J.
So it takes 5522.3 J/s or watts of power for Ironman to hover.
Creating Lift
The lift is created by firing fuel (particles) downwards. By pushing particles
down with a force and equal and opposite force pushes Ironman up
(Newton’s third law).
The mass of fuel (particles) used and the speed it leaves combine to
produce the thrust. So you can fire less fuel faster or lots of fuel slower.
http://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/t/tokamak.htm
Arc Reactor…
Ironman’s energy supply, the arc reactor, can produce vast amounts of
energy. It is similar in design to nuclear fusion power stations called a
Tokomak.
In a Tokomak a magnetic field is used to hold an extremely hot plasma of
isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium). The isotopes collide and undergo fusion to create a
helium atom and a neutron. This process releases vast amounts of energy and once we have a
continuous process will change the way we generate electricity. Possibly in the future these large
devices will be reduced in size, but for now they are neither small nor sustainably producing
electricity.
Ironman’s arc reactor uses Palladium in its core which has been proposed
(although largely discredited) as a possible material for fusion at lower
temperatures (cold fusion). It is more likely that the Palladium is
involved in an electron and gamma ray exchange.
These gamma rays could be used as power or sent externally as the
Unibeam weapon (although this rapidly drains the fuel source).
The blue glow.
This is common in nuclear reactors when a high speed particle enters a
new medium at a speed higher than the speed of light for that medium.
For example the speed of light in water is about 2.25 x 108 m/s a beta
particle (very high speed electron) can enter the water faster than this
and it would cause the blue glow.
Inspired by: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/what-is-the-theoryconcept_b_3456241.html
Scream…
The Black Canary’s main power is a scream of epic proportions that can do one of two things:
1. Incapacitation  Making it very hard to concentrate or do anything.
2. Produce a blast/shock wave Which Physically knock people off their feet with a wave of air.
First we need to understand the loudness of sound which is measured in decibels (dB). The decibel
scale is a logarithmic scale, from 0 dB (near silence) to 10 dB (low whisper) the sound will be 10 times
more powerful, 0dB to 20dB will be 100 times more powerful.
A normal conversation is about 60 dB, a car horn can be over 100 dB and a jet engine about 120 dB.
1. Incapacitation.
There are devices already in use that produce sound above 120 dB, which is
where sound becomes painful to humans and makes it difficult to do anything
but try and get away. These devices have been used in riot situations for crowd
control. However at 140 dB the eardrum will be damaged and actual physical
pain will be caused which means these devices can be very dangerous if misused.
2. Blast or Shock wave.
Can sound knock over a person? Kind of, if it becomes a shockwave much like an
air blast from a bomb. If you can compress the air enough to send a wave with a
big increase in pressure it can cause damage. A wave with pressure 1 psi (pound
per square inch) above normal air pressure travelling at 40 mph can shatter
glass. A compression of 2-3 psi above normal pressure travelling at 100 mph can
cause structural damage and physical injury. 5 psi would be enough to level
buildings but that would take the energy from a nuclear bomb.
Leap…
The Hulk is capable of leaping massive heights and distances,
but how much force does it take for him to leap?
The first thing we need is the Hulk’s mass, which according to
Marvel is around 1400 lbs (635 kg).
The Hulk has been known to jump to the edge of space in
Marvel comics, but for now we will focus on an easy jump of a
mile high (1600 m).
We can use gravitational potential energy and the work done to find the force.
𝑮𝑷𝑬 = 𝒎 × 𝒈 × 𝒉  In order for the hulk to get a mile high he would need to change his
gravitational potential energy by 10,160,000 J (= mgh = 635 x 10 x 1600), this energy would have to
come from kinetic energy as he left the ground.
𝑭 = 𝑾 ÷ 𝒅  He only has the short distance of his legs extending in which to create the kinetic
energy needed to jump, for the Hulk this is a distance of about 0.8 m meaning he needs an average
force of 12,700,000 N (= W/d = 10160000/0.8) while in contact with the ground to jump 1 mile high.
Just to keep this in perspective an average human can produce about 850 N to a jump an average
jump of 0.6 m.
The Hulk would need to leave the ground at a speed of 178.9 m/s (644 km/h) to make the mile high
jump, a little below the speed of sound at 330 m/s.
Inspired by: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/the-physics-of-the-hulks-jump/
Dense…
How dense is The Hulk? (in terms of his mass per volume, not his stupidity).
During his transformation The Hulk goes from being Bruce Banner at 5’9” and 58 kg to The Hulk at 8’
and 635 kg (according to the Marvel database).
Density.
In physics we like to make things simple so we’ll turn Bruce and the
Hulk into cylinders (much like a spherical chicken in a vacuum).
Using the density of water 1000 kg/m3 which is largely what a human
is, Bruce’s volume would be 0.058 m3
Bruce
Hulk
Scaling the Hulks volume using the cylinder and his 8 foot height his
volume would be about 0.156 m3.
The hulks density is then 635 kg / 0.156 m3 = 4072.8 kg / m3. This is similar to
the density of titanium at 4500 kg / m3.
Where does the mass come from?
The other point to consider is how The Hulk gains almost 600 kg in
transforming from Bruce. The suggested theory is he uses the nuclear energy
from his gamma exposure converting it into mass (a reverse of most nuclear
processes), if so we can use E= mc2 to calculate that he would need to convert
51,930,000,000,000,000,000 J of energy into the extra 577 kg he gains. This
is about 300 times more energy than earth gets from the sun every second.
Protection…
Aside from a ridiculous arsenal of weapons the Punisher has been known
to use a bullet proof vest for protection.
A Kevlar bullet proof vest works a bit like a tennis racket. The woven
strings of a racket easily take the force of hitting a tennis ball at over 100
kph because the force gets spread out over the netting. In a bullet proof
vest the Kevlar is woven into a net so that the force can be spread out.
Kevlar molecules
Kevlar itself is an exceptionally strong fibre that is five times
stronger than a piece of steel the same weight. Kevlar gets its
strength from its polymer nature. A polymer is a long chain of
repeating subunits, they make up many everyday plastics. Kevlar
also gets extra strength from interactions between the strands called
Van der Waals interactions.
Next generation vests.
Vectran is another polymer using liquid crystals that is twice as strong
as Kevlar and can take more force from a bullet.
Vectran molecules
Non-Newtonian fluids are also now being used for bullet proof vests. A non-Newtonian
fluid is a liquid and makes a flexible vest, but when hit with an impact force it becomes
solid.
Mjölnir…
Odin, Thor’s father, ordered the dwarfs to forge Mjölnir (Thor’s
Hammer). The blacksmiths Eitri, Brok, and Buri used the core of a dying
star to forge the hammer.
According to marvel Mjölnir is made of ‘Uru’ and has a mass of 42.3
pounds (about 19 kg). Uru is a fictional metal from the realm of Asgard.
So what might Uru be?
Using the volume of Mjölnir given by Marvel the hammer would have a
density of 2.13 g / cm3. This is lighter than aluminium with a density of
2.71 g/cm3.
What it could be is a form of metallic hydrogen which has been predicted to exist in the core of large
planets like Jupiter and in the core of stars. This metallic hydrogen would be about the right density to
match Mjölnir’s statistics. Hydrogen takes on metallic properties under extreme pressures and becomes
a superconductor. A superconductor is a material with zero resistance to electric current (which would
make it an excellent lightning conductor).
The only small problem with this is that so far only liquid metallic hydrogen has been formed and only
under extremely high pressure. So maybe an alloy (combination of metals) using hydrogen and another
metal like lithium would reduce the required pressure and make it solid.
The other question is how does Mjölnir prevent itself from being picked up by anyone unworthy? A
possible explanation is that it doesn’t change its mass, but only the force acting on it due to gravity.
The key…
Superman leaves the key to his arctic fortress sitting out in the open on the
doorstep, but this doesn’t make it much of a security risk as it is apparently
made of dwarf star material and weighs 500,000 Tons.
Star life cycles depend on the size of the star.
As an average size star will start
off fusing hydrogen atoms to
make helium, eventually the
hydrogen fuel runs out and the
start starts to fuse helium to
make larger atoms like carbon.
As this happens the star expands
to become a red giant. Once the
helium runs out the star expands further into a planetary
http://www.seasky.org/celestial-objects/stars.html
nebula before the remaining core becomes a white dwarf.
A dwarf star has a density of 1,000,000 g/cm3. So according to Superman’s statement the
key must have a volume of 0.5 m3, which is really a bit large for a key. In some comics it is,
however, shown to be a massive key. A normal key has a volume of less than 2 cm3
(0.000002 m3) which if made of a white dwarf would make the key weigh 2,000,000 g
(2,000 kg).
Alternatively the material Superman used might have a higher density than a white dwarf.
To match Superman’s statement and the size of the key its density would be 2.5 x 1014 kg/m3
(250,000,000,000 g/cm3). It is possible, although not from a white dwarf. A neutron star
has a density of between 3.7 x 1017 and 5.9 x 1017 kg/m3 (370,000,000,000,000 g/cm3).
Lightning…
Storm’s power is to manipulate weather. Science is yet to be able to manipulate
weather beyond encouraging or preventing rain. Lightning can be produced
on a small scale, however, with a device called a Tesla Coil or on an even
smaller scale with a Van de Graaff generator.
Charging up.
All it takes to get lightning is to separate positive and negative charges (take
electrons from one object and put them on another.). Once charge is separated
an electric field exists between the charges and a voltage exists (energy
difference acting on the charge). With enough voltage electrons will jump
through the air to get from the negative object to the positive object.
Voltage of lightning.
The best Van de Graaff generators can build up around 300,000 V and so
make a 10-15 cm long spark (lightning) through the air. This lightning has an
estimated voltage of typical lightning is several hundred million volts.
Storm’s control of Lightning.
In order to create lightning Storm must be able to separate charge in herself.
However to control and direct lightning she must be able to induce a charge
separation in other objects. If she couldn’t control which objects get an induced
charge then she would have absolutely no control over where the lightning
went beyond it going to the closest earthed point. Lightning will always try and
get to Earth – the biggest source of atoms and charge there is.
Metabolism…
Spider-Women has no lasting effects from any form of metabolism-altering chemical
substances, including non-corrosive poisons, alcohol, and other drugs. After an exposure to
a given substance (which would induce in her a short period of sickness or weakness), her
body would metabolize and protect itself against the foreign substance.
Spider-Women’s metabolism.
Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical processes in the
body. In order for spider-Women to cope with toxins and
poisons her metabolism must be extremely quick,
particularly her catabolism.
Catabolism refers to chemical reactions that result in the
breakdown of more complex organic molecules into simpler
substances. So for Spider-Women when a dangerous
complex chemical is introduced into her body she is able to
very quickly break the chemical down into harmless smaller
chemicals.
Spider-Women also has the ability to create pheromones
that can create fear, elicit attraction and/or repulsion on
others. This is the other half of metabolism called Anabolism
in which new complex molecules are produced from smaller
molecules.
Also on the web: http://paul2378.wix.com/superhero-science
Main references:
The Hulk: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/05/the-physics-of-the-hulks-jump/
Ironman Arc Reactor: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/quora/what-is-the-theoryconcept_b_3456241.html
Shock waves: http://gizmodo.com/5963652/what-happens-when-you-stand-next-to-an-explosion
Sound canon: http://gizmodo.com/5860592/what-is-the-lrad-sound-cannon
Sound: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question124.htm
Thor’s Hammer: http://io9.com/5985161/sorry-neil-degrasse-tyson-but-youre-wrong-about-thors-hammer/all
Bullet proof vest: http://science.howstuffworks.com/body-armor.htm