At the Wetzlar Mathematics Center, physicist Sascha Vogel took a look at physical phenomena from Hollywood blockbusters in a lecture supported by IBC Roller Bearings.

Do light swords really work? Why does James Bond always win? What does Spiderman have to do with physics and how does Iron Man build his particle accelerator so fast? To answer these questions, the Wetzlar Mathematics Center had invited the Goethe School to an event in their classroom. In front of more than 250 interested viewers, Sascha Vogel of the Science Birds explained these and other physical problems encountered when watching famous Hollywood movies.

Vogel explained in an entertaining way (even with some formulas) how the physical effects would work in reality – or not. This is how the monkey in the movie “Curse of the Caribbean”  “Shot down by a cannon, never reached the enemy ship, but would have sunk into the sea after a few meters. Spiderman’s spider thread would have been in his acrobatic pursuit While he can keep hunting (spinning threads are very durable), his arms and shoulders would cause him problems. Professor Bruce Banner would have to feed 22 trillion Big Macs to gain the energy that makes his body the green Hulk.

The doctoral theoretical physicist Vogel succeeded, to guide its large and small audiences with real entertainer qualities and in-depth expertise through the physical inconsistencies of the big blockbusters.

One might have guessed that Hollywood films with the application of physical laws are not always taken so precisely. But for the enthusiastic audience, it was amazing how far away from the lowlands of reality the superheroes act in their films. The speaker concluded: Physics in Hollywood is somehow different.

The chair of the Mathematics Center thanked Vogel for his captivating and partly astonishing lecture. In addition, he thanked IBC Roller Bearing for the support without which the Mathematics Center could not realize such lectures.