Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Science of the Flash

This week's dose of scientific fast talk and scientific straight talk is provided by our friend Jason, a.k.a. Papa Zero. In "Science of the Flash," he offers readers an in-depth examination of those scientific principles that support the scarlet speedster's astonishing superpowers. How is the fastest man alive able to seemingly sidestep the laws of physics? How do the hero's various abilities relate to one another? Possible answers to these questions may prove elusive but, fascinatingly, not impossible. This speculative essay considers the unique and extravagant abilities of the monarch of motion in the context of an ever-evolving understanding of physics and examines, in detail, conceptual quandaries relating to the sound barrier, the Doppler effect, redshift, sensory nerve impulses, and angular momentum. The resulting collection of facts and theories is utterly engrossing. This one is a must-read, folks! Visit This is Gone for a thorough look at the "Science of the Flash!"

"One of my favorite things about the Silver Age Flash comic books I used to read was how the story would incorporate a factual element of science into a fantastic situation to blur the lines between that which is possible and that which is impossible. Sometimes the writers would invent ridiculous pseudo-science to explain away some awkward loophole and sometimes that psuedo-science would turn out to be prophetic. Nevertheless, Flash always seemed ahead of the curve as relates to matters of science..."

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