Physics of Smallville (effects)

[PowerofFlight]

Just like the books out "Superhero physics" I stepped back and looked at a few things we see on Smallville. The effects look cool, but in reality it would be just a bit different.

1) Catching falling people. Much like Superman: the movie, Superman caught Lois falling a great distance and stopped her just as quickly as if she hit the ground. She would have gone splat, much like falling off a 200 foot dam.

2) Moving people: Getting hit by a car at 80 mph will kill a human instantly. Now imagine that same car going supersonic speed and displacing you. It would be like a fighter jet hitting a sparrow in flight at mach 2.

3) Catching cars. Clark caught cars twice that flew a good distance. That car would crush under it's own weight as if it hit a brick wall at that speed.

4) Supersonic exits. It wouldn't be a gentle whoosh. It would be a thunderous roar, especially if he exceeded the sound barrier. As he displaced the fluid (air) at extreme velocity, objects (including nearby people) would get sucked to the ground in his vortex.

[kal-el03]

I'm not sure but also, when he jumps off a ledge or wateva,i think he would make a kick ass jump in reality. Going at the speed he goes and jumping around would make him super-jump.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by kal-el03
I'm not sure but also, when he jumps off a ledge or wateva,i think he would make a kick ass jump in reality. Going at the speed he goes and jumping around would make him super-jump.

Yeah, when he jumped from building to building, he was going almost super sonic. That would have probably thrown him 500-1000 feet or more . Maybe he would have almost gone through the building before inertia and gravity took over.

At that speed, he wouldn't drop much in 100 feet, like a bullet.

[smallvillerox05]

In the comics and apparently the show as well, Clark/Superman has an aura that extends to objects he is holding to protect them as well as to smooth the environment that surrounds him when he is at super speed.

[HalJordan4184]

the funny thing is, in the comics, clark still can't slam into people at superspeed without killing them. And he also can't just catch someone after they fall off a bridge or something. That aura really only works for flying at superspeed, not slamming into them at superspeed, in a rescue attempt.

[myankskent]

In terms of Clark catching people at superspeed or quickly grabbing someone at superspeed to save their life, I interpret it as Clark stopping for a split second as he grabs the person so there is no big impact between him and the person he is grabbing. Then he superspeeds away once he has them. You can't see this with the naked eye but that is how I interpret it.

[HalJordan4184]

It's not the actual hitting them that would kill them. It's the rapid acceleration to superspeed. Even if he stops for a nanosecond, and thent akes off at mach ten, the acceleration he puts the people under is still too much for the human body to handle.

[UpandAtom]

But if Clark stops for a nanosecond, his invulnerability aura would extend to that person and they would be able to go into superspeed without injuring themselves.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by myankskent
In terms of Clark catching people at superspeed or quickly grabbing someone at superspeed to save their life, I interpret it as Clark stopping for a split second as he grabs the person so there is no big impact between him and the person he is grabbing. Then he superspeeds away once he has them. You can't see this with the naked eye but that is how I interpret it.

I just accepted it as artistic liscence.

[smallvillerox05]

Yeah, since when does a tv show have to abide by the laws of physics anyway? :lol:

[Superkent91]

why doenst lex have powers and he waz in the middle of a metior

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by Superkent91
why doenst lex have powers and he waz in the middle of a metior

I was hoping that one of the effect would be that he develops a super-genious. And that also causes him to turn evil. Basically, his mind becomes so active that he harnesses it through obsession with power.

[randy23]

Originally posted by PowerofFlight

3) Catching cars. Clark caught cars twice that flew a good distance. That car would crush under it's own weight as if it hit a brick wall at that speed.


As long as there is significant impulse, Clark can theoretically catch a car without the car crushing itself.

[UpandAtom]

Originally posted by Superkent91
why doenst lex have powers and he waz in the middle of a metior

Lex does have powers. He has super immunity. Not to mention super gayness.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by UpandAtom
Lex does have powers. He has super immunity. Not to mention super gayness.

I don't remember the slightest implication about Lex being gay at all. He gets a lot of beautiful women.


Originally posted by randy23
As long as there is significant impulse, Clark can theoretically catch a car without the car crushing itself.

Only in the realm of the comics, via a tactile telekensis (Superboy) or the post John Byrne explanation that he could extend an aura (force field) around objects to keep them intact.

Like I say, I give the show leeway for that. There is just no possible way to do it in real life. Ever see a car hit an immovable steel object at even 15 mph? It crushes.

[randy23]

Originally posted by PowerofFlight

Only in the realm of the comics, via a tactile telekensis (Superboy) or the post John Byrne explanation that he could extend an aura (force field) around objects to keep them intact.

Like I say, I give the show leeway for that. There is just no possible way to do it in real life. Ever see a car hit an immovable steel object at even 15 mph? It crushes.

There is no need for the incident to take place in comics. Think of an egg - you can hurl the object at an open blanket as hard as you want but you can never break the shell. Why? Because the force transferred by the egg had adequate time to travel into the blanket. If the blanket, by contrast, was hard the time value would be small - meaning the majority of the egg's energy would remain constant. So the question is: did Clark have enough time to change the car's momentum? With that said, I would say he absorbed the brunt of the force (considering Clark's strength and muscle control); although, there should be crumpling in the front or rear of the car. I never had the chance to get a good look; there is a strong possibility.

[PowerofFlight]

Umm no. The car went flying at 60+ mph, Clark stopped it instantly. It would crush, end of story.

Except in comics, where Clark could extend a force field around it and keep it's structure intact.

[FireFlyFan]

I find the fact that we are debating on what the effects of a man running at super sonic speeds would have if he were to catch someone or pick them up to be kind of ironic. But I digress.

That though is not necessarily the end of story. From what I can tell in Pariah Clark appears to absorb the impact of the car. If that is the case then all force that would normally crumple the car i.e. if it hit a wall, would have been transferred to him. Take the same car drop it off a clif into a giant box of cotton balls the effect would not be anywhere near the same as if you just let it hit the ground.

[UpandAtom]

I once remember seeing someone catch an egg without it having broken in their hands. It was being they somehow cushioned the egg so it wouldn't break.

If Clark was somehow able to cushion the car it would've had no reason to break.

[randy23]

Originally posted by PowerofFlight
Umm no. The car went flying at 60+ mph, Clark stopped it instantly. It would crush, end of story.

Except in comics, where Clark could extend a force field around it and keep it's structure intact.

Regrettably, I will have to disagree. The scene in question, Clark caught the car by using his hands in a fulcrum-like way; this can be used to absorb most of the force.

[HalJordan4184]

Clark didn't catch taht car in any way that could keep it intact. He accelerated a car from 60+ miles an hour, to zero, in a span of a foot. He did very little to reduce the kinetic energy involved, and by all rights the car should have crumpled around him, in it's attempt to keep moving forward.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by randy23
Regrettably, I will have to disagree. The scene in question, Clark caught the car by using his hands in a fulcrum-like way; this can be used to absorb most of the force.

I totally disgree. It would have been crushed...end of quote.

[randy23]

Originally posted by HalJordan4184
Clark didn't catch taht car in any way that could keep it intact. He accelerated a car from 60+ miles an hour, to zero, in a span of a foot. He did very little to reduce the kinetic energy involved, and by all rights the car should have crumpled around him, in it's attempt to keep moving forward.

Then I guess it's based on interpretation.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by randy23
Then I guess it's based on interpretation.

No, I'd say it's blantently obvious by watching it. Car jumps and goes airborne, and stops almost instantly. 3,500lbs of sheetmetal at 60+ mph...CRUSH.

[randy23]

Originally posted by PowerofFlight
No, I'd say it's blantently obvious by watching it. Car jumps and goes airborne, and stops almost instantly. 3,500lbs of sheetmetal at 60+ mph...CRUSH.

Using his hands as a fulcrum coupled by putting pressure to decrease its speed would result in the absorption of most of the momentum. I've rewatched the scene and it doesn't look like he stopped the car instantly. You need only a few moments to slow down an object without inflicting harm to it.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by randy23
Using his hands as a fulcrum coupled by putting pressure to decrease its speed would result in the absorption of most of the momentum. I've rewatched the scene and it doesn't look like he stopped the car instantly. You need only a few moments to slow down an object without inflicting harm to it.

That's not physics from this universe. A car going that fast, stopped in even less than say 6 feet would incur damage. It would incur *massive* damage if it was stopped using only two points as small as Clarks hands.

High mass, low structural strength (sheetmetal) high inertia into small stopping point points, short stopping distance. Fulcrum has no means of stopping damage.

Crush.

Your explantion is not plausible at all, myth busted.

[randy23]

Originally posted by PowerofFlight
That's not physics from this universe. A car going that fast, stopped in even less than say 6 feet would incur damage. It would incur *massive* damage if it was stopped using only two points as small as Clarks hands.

High mass, low structural strength (sheetmetal) high inertia into small stopping point points, short stopping distance. Fulcrum has no means of stopping damage.

Crush.

Your explantion is not plausible at all, myth busted.

The fulcrum along with his hands is what is used to stop the car - as would brakes used on tires. You could see the car was almost rotating counter-clockwise with Clark's contact in the front of the car. By the angle it was descending, approximately 45 degrees, his hand could swing (the front portion) of the weight as a fulcrum and applying pressure at the same time; this would abate the force. You know the actual speed? Do you have a screen shot? Or is this an assumption? Myth busted? Like I said before, there should be crumpling in the front, but not to the point of total destruction.

[PowerofFlight]

Originally posted by randy23
The fulcrum along with his hands is what is used to stop the car - as would brakes used on tires. You could see the car was almost rotating counter-clockwise with Clark's contact. By the angle the car was descending, approximately 45 degrees, his hand could swing (the front portion) of the weight as a fulcrum, relatively speaking. You know the actual speed? Do you have a screen shot? Or is this an assumption? Myth busted? Like I said before, there should be crumpling in the front, but not to the point of total destruction.

It would not be destroyed, but let's put this into perspective:

A collision at 5 mph is enough to buckle the safety bumpers. This car went airborne off a ramp at least 15-20 feet before Clark stopped it.

Regardless of where Clark grabbed it (in this case by the front) the inertia of the car, combined with it's weight, and velocity getting stopped at the front end would crumble it severely. There would be a similar effect if the car rammed a stationary steel yoke at 60mph. The sheet metal and front -end crumple zone would do thier thing and buckle in Clarks hands.

Crash test reveal severe damage at 20-30mph, let alone speed sufficient to jump the car.

[randy23]

Originally posted by PowerofFlight
It would not be destroyed, but let's put this into perspective:

A collision at 5 mph is enough to buckle the safety bumpers. This car went airborne off a ramp at least 15-20 feet before Clark stopped it.

Regardless of where Clark grabbed it (in this case by the front) the inertia of the car, combined with it's weight, and velocity getting stopped at the front end would crumble it severely. There would be a similar effect if the car rammed a stationary steel yoke at 60mph. The sheet metal and front -end crumple zone would do thier thing and buckle in Clarks hands.

Crash test reveal severe damage at 20-30mph, let alone speed sufficient to jump the car.

Good points. But there is significance where Clark made contact. He never collided with the car, but basically clamped on. As I saw it: when he made initial contact - with the help of the car's descending angle, 45 degrees - the movement changed. You could see the immediate rotation of the car, which Clark's hands were used as a pivot. This is where severe crumpling would most likely occur; also, a place where pressure could be applied to stop movment - like my previous metaphor was trying to convey. I would earnestly agree with you if he just grabbed onto the front bumper - essentially meeting head on.

[PowerofFlight]

Well, I will conclude this on a positive note. It was an awesome episode, and this thread has inspired me to put the dvd back in, and crank up my 5.1 system.

In any case, it's a lot of fun.

I always wanted to see Chloe go into shock when she saw what Clark could do.

[randy23]

Agreed. I really enjoyed that scene.