The Incredible Hulk is a hero defined by his incredible feats of strength. Bruce Banner’s gamma ray-altered alter-ego has done everything from ripping Wolverine in half to stopping an earthquake with his bare hands. But this kind of strength is so terrestrial. Is the Hulk strong enough to do something really otherworldly? Could he jump into space?
In my latest episode of Because Science, I’m taking a look at some of the Hulk’s most mind-blowing exhibitions of swoleness, while using physics to figure out if a single leap could take him out of our atmosphere. First, we’ll have to figure out whether or not Banner can bound with escape velocity — the speed needed to leave Earth’s “gravity well” behind him. But even if an object has escape velocity, it may not escape. The atmosphere can be a drag, literally. Move fast enough, and air will bunch up against you so hard and fast that you will vaporize (sorry, Flash). So what would really happen to Hulk?
Maybe the most controversial underground nuclear tests in U.S. history can shed some gamma ray light on the question…
After you watch the new episode, check out my last video on the Death Star’s other fatal flaw, buy a Because Science shirt, mug, hat, or collectible pin, and follow me on Twitter or on Instagram to give me a suggestion for the next episode. Want Because Science days before anyone else? Subscribe to Alpha for access to the show two full days before anyone else.
