Comic books have seat in classroom
U of M professor connects physics and superheroes
Faster than a speeding bullet and flying through the air, Superman has a crime-fighting lifestyle.
But some people often wonder what he and other superheroes are physically capable of achieving.
One man decided to do more than just wonder: he wrote a book on the subject.
James Kakalios, author of “The Physics of Superheroes,” will speak at NDSU Wednesday to discuss material from his new book. The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Festival Concert Hall. Kakalios is a physics professor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
In early 2000, professors at the U of M began thinking up new ways to teach the freshman seminar classes. The professors wanted to grab students’ attentions in a more “innovative way,” Kakalios said.
“ Being a comic book nerd, I decided to try one (teaching a freshman seminar) a couple of years ago — ‘Everything I Need to Know That I Learned in Comic Books,’” he said. “It was a fun way of teaching a real physics class.”
When he was a kid, Kakalios had a passion for reading comic books about superheroes, such as the Flash and Superman. He ditched the paperbacks after discovering girls but referred to them once again in graduate school to relieve some of the stress of studying, Kakalios said.
Kakalios began teaching the freshman seminar class about the riveting men and women of the “super” world in 2001. He said students seemed to enjoy the class more because of the reference to superheroes.
Dan Kroll, head of the physics department, heard about the progress Kakalios’ seminars were giving students. He decided to invite Kakalios to NDSU to enlighten students about basic physics.
“ It makes elementary physics interesting to the younger students and other people,” Kroll said. “It’s a great approach. The real problem that I see here is that many students have the feeling that physics is kind of boring and dry.”
Kroll said the class could be a vehicle for student interest in physics. He said it would be appealing to have a similar class instructed at NDSU, since Kakalios’ seminars proved successful and popular.
The class could be a part of the University 189 requirement for all students, Kroll said.
The upcoming lecture will include answers to the mind-boggling questions children think about when reading comic books, Kakalios said. In his seminars, Kakalios and his students try to solve the problems using physics equations and studies.
“ If you were super strong, could you leap tall buildings, and how fast can the Flash run?” are some of the questions Kakalios tries to answer.
One controversial topic in the comic book underworld involved Spiderman and his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, Kakalios said.
Stacy is pushed off a bridge tower yet is caught by Spiderman’s webbing. But for the wall-crawling superhero, his girlfriend dies from the rough impact of hitting the web.
“ Comic books got the physics right,” Kakalios said. “It actually follows Newton’s second law of motion.”
If a person is willing to accept the idea of the superheroes’ powers, most of the physics after the power is used are consistent with real-world physics, Kroll said.
Kroll hopes to continue a fascinating lecture about physics every year.
Wednesday night’s lecture is not intended only for physic students but should be understandable to the general public, Kroll said.
Kakalios decided after much research on comic book superheroes that if he could have any superpower, he would choose super speed like the Flash.
“ Many times when I’m stuck in traffic, boy do I wish I had super speed,” he said.
After the lecture, Kakalios will be available for book signing. “The Physics of Superheroes” will be available to buy at a discounted price.