I really enjoyed this movie. Among the recent superhero flicks I would put this near the top along with the X-Men movies.

For a “Physics in Film” class, obviously the whole superhero genre requires at least some suspension of our disbelief; otherwise there wouldn’t be anything particularly “super” to cheer about. Still, some superhero movies stretch credulity quite a bit further than others. In that regard, “Iron Man” is certainly not the worst. In fact, there are places in the movie where real physics actually causes problems for our hero, such as when his suit ices over on his first high-altitude test flight or when he crashes through the roof of his home because it can’t support his weight.

Assignment: Although we must be willing to accept some flaunting of the laws of physics to truly enjoy movies such as “Iron Man,” I still expect you as students of physics to be able to spot the flaws. For this week’s assignment I want you to watch a superhero movie (it doesn’t have to be “Iron Man”), and analyze the physics of at least three of the hero’s powers. As an example, for a character like Iceman (from the X-men movies), you could ask how much heat has to be removed from the air for Iceman to create an entire wall of ice from the water vapor in the air (as in X2)? As a follow-up question, one has to wonder where all that heat goes. Does Iceman absorb it? If so, how much would his body temperature have to rise as a consequence? If your chosen superhero doesn’t exhibit at least three different powers of their own, then pick additional superheroes and analyze one superpower for each.

Please post your entry to your blog by Monday, 24 Nov.