When people watch superhero movies like the "X-Men," they aren't really worried about the physics behind everything they are seeing -- but, the science behind these superhero scenes is something Hollywood hones to enhance the action.
Professor Jim Kakalios, at the University of Minnesota, actually gets paid to think about the physics of those super-human fight scenes. In fact, he recently served as a science consultant for "The Amazing Spider-Man." He joined FOX 9 News to talk about how he helped make the movie more realistic.
Watch the video for more information.
He worked with the directors on two of Spider-Man's most important traits: wall crawling and the tensile strength of spider's webbing.
Kakalios' most important contribution, however, came when film prop master Andy Siegel needed a mathematical expression so distinctive and memorable that the audience would recognize it at various points throughout the movie. The result was the "Decay Rate Algorithm," an equation relating to cell regeneration and human mortality.
Kakalios also authored the book, "The Physics of Superheroes," and he teaches a class at the university on the subject.
