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Superman Scenario 2

tjpapaleo

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Last blog post, we concluded that Sheldon was right; Superman could not catch Lois Lane because he would not be able to get fast enough. For this post, we will assume he is able to get up to speed without reversing time. But, there is still a problem with the scenario, making Sheldon right again (spoiler again). Using the same distance and same time interval (30,000 miles in 3 seconds)  he would then need to have an acceleration equal to 1.787 x 10^10 m/s^2, using the equation v = v0 + at. Next, if we assume that Superman has a relatively low mass, about 7 kilograms, that would still mean he would have to travel with a force equal to 1.2 x 10^11 newtons. That force is about 300,000,000 times the amount of force the body can withstand. Also even if Superman was still strong enough to survive that, there is no way that Lois Lane could. So, to conclude, Sheldon is right; Superman would not be able to come miles away and catch Lois from falling. She would either die by the force or Superman would never be able to get to her in time.

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