The physics of superheroes

Many of the feats that superheroes perform, such as flying, lifting massive objects, or moving faster than the speed of light, would defy the known laws of nature. However, some scientific principles can be applied to explain, or at least give a glimpse of how these powers might work.

1. Super Strength

One of the most iconic powers in superhero lore is superhuman strength. Characters like Superman, the Hulk, and Wonder Woman can lift cars, planes, or even entire buildings. From a physics standpoint, this power directly conflicts with the concept of force. In classical mechanics, force is defined by the equation:

𝐹 = 𝑚 𝑎

Where

• F is force,
• m is mass, and
• a is acceleration.

The force required to move or lift an object is directly proportional to its mass and the acceleration at which it is moved. For a human-sized character to lift a car, they would need to exert an enormous amount of force, potentially far beyond the limits of the human body, which is built for relatively small amounts of strength.

Superheroes like Superman, who can lift massive objects without apparent strain, would need an extraordinary amount of muscle strength, not just to lift the objects, but also to withstand the forces involved without sustaining injury. The Hulk, whose strength increases with his anger, presents another challenge to physics. His muscles would need to generate energy at an enormous rate, likely far beyond what is possible for human tissues.

2. Flying

Flying, as seen with characters like Superman, Iron Man, and even Spider-Man (via web-slinging), is another challenge for physics. For flight to be possible, an object must generate lift, which counteracts gravity. The basic principle of flight relies on the difference in air pressure above and below an object, achieved by the shape of the wings (or equivalent).

Superman doesn’t need wings or any form of propulsion to fly, and that defies basic principles of aerodynamics. In reality, for a human-sized being to fly, they would need to overcome the force of gravity with sufficient lift. This would either require an absurdly high speed (the typical speed of an airplane) or some kind of energy source to deflect gravity.

Iron Man solves this problem with his suit’s technology. The suit uses repulsor technology to generate a counteracting force, allowing him to fly. While repulsors are purely fictional, they could theoretically work in a high-tech world with advanced physics beyond what we currently understand—perhaps some form of manipulating gravitational forces or utilizing magnetic fields to float.

3. Speed

Super-speed is a common trait for superheroes like the Flash, Quicksilver, and others. But if someone could run at the speed of light or faster, they would encounter numerous challenges from the laws of physics. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, as an object approaches the speed of light, its mass increases, requiring exponentially more energy to continue accelerating. This means that, practically speaking, no object with mass can reach the speed of light.

For characters like the Flash, speed isn’t just a matter of running fast. If he were running at speeds approaching the speed of light, the consequences would be catastrophic. At high velocities, air resistance would create an incredible amount of friction and heat, likely causing him to burn up. In addition, moving at such high speeds would make it nearly impossible to avoid objects in the environment, as reaction times wouldn’t be fast enough to avoid collision. These characters might operate in an alternate reality, have access to some exotic form of energy, or rely on a force field that protects them.

4. Teleportation

Teleportation, another popular power, would be impossible under current physics. To teleport, a superhero would have to rearrange the atoms of their body and move them to a new location without destroying the structure of their cells. Even if you could theoretically manipulate matter at such a fine scale, the sheer computational and energetic demands of such a task would be astronomical.

For teleportation to occur instantaneously, the amount of information needed to describe every particle in the body would be immense. According to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, knowing both the position and momentum of particles at the same time with absolute certainty is impossible. This creates a fundamental barrier to the possibility of teleporting an object or person without violating the laws of quantum mechanics.

5. Invisibility

The power of invisibility, as seen in characters like the Invisible Woman or Violet Parr from The Incredibles, could theoretically be explained by manipulating light. For someone to become invisible, they would need to control the path of photons (light particles) around their body, bending light in such a way that it does not reflect off them and instead passes through or around them.

While it’s theoretically possible to bend light using materials with a unique optical property called a "metamaterial," achieving full invisibility would require extremely advanced technology. Metamaterials can bend light around an object, but this would work only under very specific conditions and on a limited scale, not for an entire human-sized object.

IN THE END

While superheroes are ultimately products of imagination and fantasy, they are grounded in physics, even if the rules of nature are bent. Their powers present an opportunity to stretch the boundaries of science, using fictional technologies or undiscovered laws of physics. As we continue to push the boundaries of scientific discovery, perhaps some day we’ll unlock the secrets behind superhuman feats—but for now, we can only enjoy their amazing powers on the page or the big screen.