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I get that. They are only kids' stories most of the time.
Comic physics - what can you think of?
- Thread starter Leigh
- Start date
Alright I got sick of not knowing exactly how much he could lift using just the energy from the sun (not including chemical energy that may be provided from food he eats like a normal person).
To make this work, we have to assume that superman absorbs all the energy from the sun that reaches the earth. We know he doesn't because, again, he'd be pitch black if he did. We also have to assume he's naked. That's ok, because he'd look like an empty void, so you'd only get a sense of his junk. We need to assume his conversion to mechanical energy is without waste (human's are only about 15% efficient at converting chemical energy to mechanical) We also have to assume it's sunny, there are no clouds, it's daytime and he's somewhere within about 30 degrees of the equator. Finally, we need to assume that the sun is hitting every part of his nude body evenly, which wouldn't happen, but let's see what it amounts to.
Ok. With those assumptions we will estimate approximately 100 watts of solar energy get to each square foot of superman per hour:
100 w/hour = 86 kcals/hour
20 sq ft of skin = 2000 w/hours
2000 w/hours = 1719 kcal/hours
1719 kcal/hours = 5,304,765 ftlbs/hour
Avg car = 4079 lbs
5,304,765ftlbshrs/4079lbs = 1300fthr
Ergo, superman would, with all of the above assumptions, be able to lift a car using only the sun's energy. In fact, if all he did was lift the car overhead a total distance of about 6 feet, he could bust out about 217 reps per hour. That would make superman, pretty damn strong on a sunny day.
He could lift the H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose) 6 feet overhead 3 times in an hour.
He could lift a blue whale or a 3 story American home 6 feet overhead twice in an hour.
If we allowed for 12 hours of such sun per day, he'd need to store energy for an entire month (assuming it works that way) to lift the Golden Gate Bridge once, and then it would be only one foot. He'd need 6 months to lift it as far as the car.
Very strong, no doubt, but only a tiny fraction of the strength that supes is often attributed with. And certainly no match for Goku.
To make this work, we have to assume that superman absorbs all the energy from the sun that reaches the earth. We know he doesn't because, again, he'd be pitch black if he did. We also have to assume he's naked. That's ok, because he'd look like an empty void, so you'd only get a sense of his junk. We need to assume his conversion to mechanical energy is without waste (human's are only about 15% efficient at converting chemical energy to mechanical) We also have to assume it's sunny, there are no clouds, it's daytime and he's somewhere within about 30 degrees of the equator. Finally, we need to assume that the sun is hitting every part of his nude body evenly, which wouldn't happen, but let's see what it amounts to.
Ok. With those assumptions we will estimate approximately 100 watts of solar energy get to each square foot of superman per hour:
100 w/hour = 86 kcals/hour
20 sq ft of skin = 2000 w/hours
2000 w/hours = 1719 kcal/hours
1719 kcal/hours = 5,304,765 ftlbs/hour
Avg car = 4079 lbs
5,304,765ftlbshrs/4079lbs = 1300fthr
Ergo, superman would, with all of the above assumptions, be able to lift a car using only the sun's energy. In fact, if all he did was lift the car overhead a total distance of about 6 feet, he could bust out about 217 reps per hour. That would make superman, pretty damn strong on a sunny day.
He could lift the H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose) 6 feet overhead 3 times in an hour.
He could lift a blue whale or a 3 story American home 6 feet overhead twice in an hour.
If we allowed for 12 hours of such sun per day, he'd need to store energy for an entire month (assuming it works that way) to lift the Golden Gate Bridge once, and then it would be only one foot. He'd need 6 months to lift it as far as the car.
Very strong, no doubt, but only a tiny fraction of the strength that supes is often attributed with. And certainly no match for Goku.
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From the DC wiki: Superman (Clark Kent) - DC Comics Database
Powers
Powers
- Kryptonian Physiology: Superman's cellular structure is much more dense, resilient, and biologically more effective than human tissue. He does not possess superhuman strength levels despite his enhanced cellular ability without his cellular structure charged with yellow solar energy. Without such charging, his physical capabilities are identical to a human of his height and weight who engages in regular physical activity. As an alien, he possesses several organs whose functions are not yet disclosed or understood, but are believed to be part of or the source of his bio-matrix force field and reclamation aura. Superman's body also stores energy actively within his bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to his body's electromagnetic field. This energy powers most of his electromagnetic capabilities such as flight, heat vision and other "sight"-based abilities while supplementing his physical abilities to superhuman levels.
- Solar Radiation Absorption: As a Kryptonian, his cells function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable living functions and/or superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on Superman's physiology and well being, but his cells cannot absorb or utilize all types of radiation. The wavelength of his home solar system's red sun enables his body to function on an identical level of a healthy human while the Earth's solar radiation in both its raw and filtered state through the Earth's atmosphere acts as fuel to enable all of his powers. Every time Superman uses any of his superhuman abilities, his body expends absorbed sunlight and he is capable utilizing any of them to various degrees through controlled circumstances. The solar-based radiation of a foreign blue star proved to increase his known abilities under a yellow sun to a higher degree and enabled additional powers. The existence and constant exposure to proven "healthy" radiation sources is not required for him to live and utilize his powers, but prolonged periods without exposure to them and/or utilizing his powers will require Kal-El to recharge in order to live and continue using his powers.
- Superhuman Strength: The exact limits of Superman's strength is unknown, but he is capable lifting far in excess of 100 tons. Different periods and intensities of exposure to Earth's solar radiation can cause his strength to fluctuate over time. Superman's known feats include lifting an enormous pyramid and flying it to Mars without any strain,[445] physically defeating Darkseid in combat,[446] moving Earth away from the Sun while Starbreaker was pushing it toward the Sun,[447] and having the strength necessary to shatter small planets[448] Unhealthy levels of high exposure to specific radiation can exceed Superman's "normal" strength level.
- Invulnerability: His body is nigh-invulnerable due to his superhumanly dense cellular and anatomical structure as well as his radiating bio-electrical aura. Superman is under some circumstances resistant or immune to different forms and levels of lacerations, blunt force trauma, energy-based assaults, falls from great heights, explosions, the cold void of space, toxins and all known diseases on Earth. His supercharged bio-electric "aura" acts as an invisible "force field" radiating within a few millimeters from his skin. He can willfully utilize his aura strengthening it's power to a greater degree to provide an additional defense against certain levels of physical and energy attacks for a considerably short period of time, but doing so can endanger him should the attempted feat prove inefficient for any reason. Superman utilizes his aura by expanding it around a person(s) or object(s) to enable their structural stability when lifting or traveling with them. Superman's invulnerability has been in constant flux over the years. He has been shown surviving the blast of nuclear warheads,[449] entering the Earth's sun and emerging unharmed[450] and surviving the impact of an exploding sun.[451]
- Longevity: Superman can live almost indefinitely if he resides under continuous exposure of Earth's sunlight.
- Superhuman Stamina: He has the ability to maintain continuous physical actions for an undefined period. Clark is shown to have unlimited stamina if he is consistently exposed to Earth sunlight.[452]
- Flight: Superman is capable of flying at supersonic speeds (over two thousand miles per second[453]) in a planetary atmosphere and at faster-than-light speeds while in space.[454]
- Superhuman Speed: He is capable of moving, reacting, running and flying at superhuman speeds. While not as fast as the Flash on a planet, Superman can fly at speeds faster than light and is considered one of the fastest beings in the universe. He can use this power to disarm opponents, catch bullets or shrapnel and cross vast distances in seconds.
- Superhuman Hearing: Superman has incredible hearing at extreme variances of sound and pitch frequency, allowing him to pick up noises from across the globe. He has shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency.
- Super Smell: On various occasions, Superman has demonstrated that his sense of smell is significantly enhanced to the point he can smell odors across the entire planet.
Heat Vision - Self-Sustenance: He does not need to eat or sleep (but is still capable of doing so) and doesn't require oxygen to breathe enabling him to travel in space and underwater unprotected.[274]
- Healing Factor: Superman has been shown to have an accelerated "healing factor" enabling him to heal almost instantaneously from most wounds.
- Super-Breath: Superman can create hurricane force winds by blowing, and also chill his breath to freeze a target. He can also breathe in large amounts of air to dispel clouds of gas by exhaling it.
- Heat Vision: Superman can fire beams of intense heat from his eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing him to work undetected, and can be adjusted to affect matter on a microscopic level. Feats include powering up the giant ion planet moving engines, annihilating an army of Doomsday clones in one blast,[455] potentially rivaling the heat of a Star and bypassing a target's outer shell, avoiding damage to a person's skull for surgical purposes.[456]
- Super Vision: Superman also possesses a superior sensory arrangement of visual capabilities.
- Electro-magnetic Spectrum Vision: He can see into all of the EM Spectrum. Superman can see and identify radio/television and any and all broadcast/transmitted frequencies, allowing him to avoid detection through radar or satellite monitoring methods.
- Telescopic Vision: The ability to focus his vision to see something at a great distance, without violating the laws of physics.
- Microscopic Vision: The ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the sub atomic level.
- X-Ray Vision: The ability to see through anything except lead. Since it is passive, this ability would not generate harmful radiation in the same manner as a focused projection of hard X-rays.
- Super Vision: Superman also possesses a superior sensory arrangement of visual capabilities.
- Solar Radiation Absorption: As a Kryptonian, his cells function like a super battery, hyper metabolizing specific wavelengths of radiation as fuel to enable living functions and/or superhuman abilities. Different wavelengths of radiation have different effects on Superman's physiology and well being, but his cells cannot absorb or utilize all types of radiation. The wavelength of his home solar system's red sun enables his body to function on an identical level of a healthy human while the Earth's solar radiation in both its raw and filtered state through the Earth's atmosphere acts as fuel to enable all of his powers. Every time Superman uses any of his superhuman abilities, his body expends absorbed sunlight and he is capable utilizing any of them to various degrees through controlled circumstances. The solar-based radiation of a foreign blue star proved to increase his known abilities under a yellow sun to a higher degree and enabled additional powers. The existence and constant exposure to proven "healthy" radiation sources is not required for him to live and utilize his powers, but prolonged periods without exposure to them and/or utilizing his powers will require Kal-El to recharge in order to live and continue using his powers.
...so you're saying their explanation is more complex than I'm giving it credit for? Unfortunately, that complexity doesn't seem to make it any more accurate.
E.g. terms like "bio cellular matrix" are made up nonsense designed to mask a vacuous text wall that actually explains nothing.
To that end, the author of that trite bs can say that superman "hypermetabolizes specific wavelengths" until he's blue in the face, but that wouldn't make it any more meaningful. I actually described above how a complete absorption of the sun's radiation would look and what it would get him. Calling it "hyper" doesn't explain how supes obtains energy that isnt there.
E.g. terms like "bio cellular matrix" are made up nonsense designed to mask a vacuous text wall that actually explains nothing.
To that end, the author of that trite bs can say that superman "hypermetabolizes specific wavelengths" until he's blue in the face, but that wouldn't make it any more meaningful. I actually described above how a complete absorption of the sun's radiation would look and what it would get him. Calling it "hyper" doesn't explain how supes obtains energy that isnt there.
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Fuck no it's not accurate. It's about a big buff movie star looking alien with demigod powers, that just so happens to punch things reeeeeally hard that want to harm humans all while trying to blend in with us. LMAO! This is awesome.
If you can lift 10 tons over your head, your skin must at least be able to tolerate 10 tons per 10 square inches (or whatever). Basically, the more you can lift, the more pressure your body must be able to tolerate
Solar panels generate a decent amount of power and can drive a car continuously. Still, those numbers are surprising (but not doubted).Alright I got sick of not knowing exactly how much he could lift using just the energy from the sun (not including chemical energy that may be provided from food he eats like a normal person).
To make this work, we have to assume that superman absorbs all the energy from the sun that reaches the earth. We know he doesn't because, again, he'd be pitch black if he did. We also have to assume he's naked. That's ok, because he'd look like an empty void, so you'd only get a sense of his junk. We need to assume his conversion to mechanical energy is without waste (human's are only about 15% efficient at converting chemical energy to mechanical) We also have to assume it's sunny, there are no clouds, it's daytime and he's somewhere within about 30 degrees of the equator. Finally, we need to assume that the sun is hitting every part of his nude body evenly, which wouldn't happen, but let's see what it amounts to.
Ok. With those assumptions we will estimate approximately 100 watts of solar energy get to each square foot of superman per hour:
100 w/hour = 86 kcals/hour
20 sq ft of skin = 2000 w/hours
2000 w/hours = 1719 kcal/hours
1719 kcal/hours = 5,304,765 ftlbs/hour
Avg car = 4079 lbs
5,304,765ftlbshrs/4079lbs = 1300fthr
Ergo, superman would, with all of the above assumptions, be able to lift a car using only the sun's energy. In fact, if all he did was lift the car overhead a total distance of about 6 feet, he could bust out about 217 reps per hour. That would make superman, pretty damn strong on a sunny day.
He could lift the H-4 Hercules (the Spruce Goose) 6 feet overhead 3 times in an hour.
He could lift a blue whale or a 3 story American home 6 feet overhead twice in an hour.
If we allowed for 12 hours of such sun per day, he'd need to store energy for an entire month (assuming it works that way) to lift the Golden Gate Bridge once, and then it would be only one foot. He'd need 6 months to lift it as far as the car.
Very strong, no doubt, but only a tiny fraction of the strength that supes is often attributed with. And certainly no match for Goku.
But even if the sun gave him the energy levels in the comics, that doesn't explain his non-energetic powers like x ray vision, super hearing and flash level reflexes, all of which he loses when he exhausts his solar energy stores
I'm not that scientifically-minded so I have no pro or con about this in logical explanations
Plastic Man is probably the most powerful of all the pliable/elastic/rubbery characters from Mr Fantastic to Elastic Man
Plastic Man can stretch but ALSO morph his body into functioning objects. Vaguely recall him morphing into a working car
How does that work?
Plastic Man is probably the most powerful of all the pliable/elastic/rubbery characters from Mr Fantastic to Elastic Man
Plastic Man can stretch but ALSO morph his body into functioning objects. Vaguely recall him morphing into a working car
How does that work?
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Ok, so how does the Speed Force allow the Flash to go back in time?
As I recall from my time at college, exceeding the speed of light will cause such massive time dilation that you'll go backwards in time
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Can anyone explain the physics of hard-light constructs to me?
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I cannot. My guess is it's pure science fiction, with no logical explanation.
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I found this article on them.
Photokinetic Constructs - Superpower Wiki
Doesn't really tell you shit.
It depends on what you mean specifically, but star trek does a good job of making them scientifically plausible on the holodeck. And image is projected onto an (otherwise) invisible forcefield to make it appear real, but also have physical force.
That said, in physics, the four forces each theoretically have a carrier particle (although gravity either doesn't have one or it hasn't been discovered). Besides the effect of gravity the preponderance of directly observable day-to-day phenomena are a result of the electromagnetic force, whose particle is the photon. This includes our perception of solidity. So I can see a feasible scientific route to an object being made of light and also being solid.
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Never saw it. I was thinking more about the green lantern constructs, but i'm pretty sure there's no basis for emotion making a giant fist in science... yet.
Superman should not be able to fly FTL. Supersonic speeds I can buy, but FTL, his molecules would come apart and he'd go back in time. Also, wherever he stopped when he got to his destination would be destroyed by the particles traveling with him, even if there was a gradual deceleration. Benching or pulling planets is equally ridiculous because of the local spacetime distortion effects, but I can buy that level of nonsense more than FTL travel.
Flash is only able to manage this feat because he's tapping into another dimension so in a sense you could argue he's warping through spacetime using this dimension rather than really running or vibrating. If Superman has a field of some sort around him, it might make some sense.
Flash is only able to manage this feat because he's tapping into another dimension so in a sense you could argue he's warping through spacetime using this dimension rather than really running or vibrating. If Superman has a field of some sort around him, it might make some sense.
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I thought this was the explanation for all their unexplainable shit.
Right, a bubble of space time around you that you warp, like an albecurrie drive