The second lecture fills room with people and many laughs

Esa Keltamaki

Copy Editor

Last Tuesday evening, the ATAC hosted the likes of Superman, Spiderman, The Flash, Magneto, and Dr. James Kakalios, a physics professor from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. James Kakalios, the second speaker in Lakehead’s Science and Environmental Studies Speakers series, dissected the physics of comic books to a boisterous crowd. Dr. Kakalios, a man who describes the X-Men’s Phoenix Saga as “extra sweet crack,” analyzed the accuracies and blunders of the powers and actions of superheroes.

The crowd laughed during the event and left smiling, as Dr. Kakalios’ scientific stand-up hit upon the density of neutron stars, the geological makeup of Krypton, and Spiderman’s ignorance of electrodynamics. His presentation was a colourful mix of vintage villains and science, and modern heroes and physics.

Dr. Kakalios, who has given lectures in United States and Canada in venues ranging from universities to Comic-Con conventions, believes quantum mechanics and comic books go hand in hand.

“Comic book fans are the perfect audience to try and get to believe wild and impossible ideas. They believe not only that a man can fly, but a pair of eyeglasses is a perfect disguise.”

The inspiration for these talks came when Dr. Kakalios tired of hearing the common complaint of “when am I going to use this stuff in my real life?” Having been a fan of comic books since his childhood, Dr. Kakalios decided to incorporate familiar examples. Students began leaving his lectures with smiles instead of complaints.

“In regular examples in physics class, we use fiction all the time,” Dr. Kakalios said. “We’re going to drop a mass off a tower, and we’re going ignore air resistance. That’s a fiction. I want to shoot a projectile on an angle of 37 degrees from a cliff 200 meters high, and I want to find the time it takes to land below. That’s a fiction. Nobody cares how long it takes to land.”

“Interestingly enough, whenever I use superhero examples, students never wonder when they’re going to use it in their real life,” Dr. Kakalios added. “Apparently they all have plans after graduation that involve spandex.”