Forces in films and popular culture
Stories from Physics for 11-14 14-16
A paper in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics considers: ‘The Viability of Coming in Like a Wrecking Ball’. The author estimates that the deceleration experienced by a wrecking ball will be around 288 g and concludes that: ‘it is clear that a human being cannot possess the characteristics of a wrecking ball without sustaining significant injury, and other objects should be sought as an analogy’.
Another paper, in the same journal, examines whether a character in the James Bond film Skyfall could shoot through a train coupling. The analysis suggests that, assuming no plastic deformation, the force of the bullet would be less than a third that required to break the steel coupling. Another Bond related paper analysed the motion of the ejector seat in the film Goldfinger and concluded that the device exerted a force of 1,930 N on the unfortunate henchman and it is unlikely that he suffered serious injury due to ejection.
References
D. McDonagh, The Viability of coming in like a Wrecking Ball. Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, vol. 3, 2014, pp. 1-2.
C. Obee, Can The Mercenary from James Bond Shoot Through Train Coupling? Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, vol. 2, 2013, pp. 1-2
J. Nelms, D. Roberts, S. Thomas, & D. Starkey, No Mr Bond, I Expect You to Drive. Physics Special Topics, vol. 11, no. 1, 2012, 1-2