Thor is the mythical god of thunder, lightning, and apparently momentum, if you want to know how he flies at least.
In my latest Because Science, I explore a concept in physics called the conservation of momentum and apply it to Thor’s flight. It actually makes a lot of scientific sense! If the hammer can make itself arbitrarily heavily (as I explored in another video), then the hammer can drag Thor along at any speed he can throw Mjölnir.
I’m totally with Stan Lee on this one. I don’t like plot points that only confuse the reader, like how Superman flies (he just does), and I applaud his effort to make a god scientifically sound.
—
Check out my last video on TARDISpace, subscribe to this playlist to stay current with the show, and follow me on Twitter to barrage me with nerdiness!
Would you be able to explain how the Doctor’s Sonic screwdriver works?
Also (because I nitpicker) when you feel over after you grabbed onto Mjolnir, why did you fall backwards? Based on where you grabbed it, you should have fallen to your side or forward.
I never got the impression from comics that Mjolnir actually changed its mass. If it does have a *constant* mass (and Thor has a constant mass), then the flight thing won’t work. If it has enough mass to drag Thor along with it, then he won’t be able to spin it without its momentum causing him to fall down or be dragged along as it spins. Unless, I suppose, he holds onto something more massive with his other hand, which he never does.
I believe that Mee-Ol-Neer changes weight exactly at the point of release.
Still haven’t cut your hair, I see.
But on the point of Superman … that’s a Because Science I’d like to see. (Or an Ask Kyle, I’m not picky.) I always understood that Superman just jumps really far to “fly”. If this is the case, how far could he actually go?