Since we were children, we have been fascinated by films such as Superman, Star Wars, Spider-Man, X-Men and many other science fiction films.
What fascinates us most about these films is seeing men flying, shooting lightning out of their eyes, explosions in outer space, etc. But what a lot of people don’t know is that this kind of thing is completely out of touch with reality.
The possibility of a human being, like Superman or some characters from the film X-Men, flying does not exist. For this to happen, these characters would have to have a propulsion system like airplane engines, and completely different aerodynamics that would allow them to stay in the air. Therefore, for Superman to be able to fly, he would need to have wings instead of a cape.
The Man of Steel uses his X-Ray vision to see through walls. To produce X-rays, a large potential difference must be applied to produce an electromagnetic wave. Since Superman does not have any high voltage source in his head, he would not be able to see through opaque propagation media.
In films and cartoons we can observe Spider-Man, “flying” between the buildings of a large metropolis. The error lies in the fact that the web needs a place to attach itself, and what happens in the film is that the superhero always throws his webs upwards, where there is no place for them to attach. We also know that spiders have the ability to walk along walls because they have tiny hairs on their eight legs, systematically positioned to provide them with proper balance in an upright position. Spider-Man, however, does not have this hair, which makes it impossible for him to climb the walls of a large building.
In the case of Star Wars, it is common to hear loud bangs, coming from explosions in space. Would this really be possible?
According to the laws of physics, no! Sound is a mechanical wave and requires a material medium to propagate. Space is made up of a vacuum (absence of matter), which makes it impossible for sound to propagate. The only types of waves that propagate in a vacuum are electromagnetic waves.
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Star Wars
However, what would become of fiction films if they faithfully portrayed reality?
We couldn’t even imagine what Spider-Man would be like without his ability to climb walls and fly between buildings to fight great villains, or even Superman without his X-Ray vision, to discover hidden bombs and save humanity. Without fiction, who would be able to save a plane, with more than 300 passengers, from a major disaster?
The answer is quite simple: Hollywood.
The great thing about science fiction films is the fact that they unite reality with imagination, and all we want in these films is an integration of these two elements plus lots of action and fun.
By Kléber Cavalcante
Graduated in Physics