by Tom Rogers
Raiders of the Lost Ark [PGP-13] (1981), and incendiary bullets, 282
Rail-gun, 185–190
Realistic space battles and spaceship depressurization, 75
Reality, feeling of, 6
Recoil
as backward momentum, 183
calculating, 187
cause of, 186
in Eraser, 185–190
of rail-gun, 185–190
in Star Wars Episode III, 298
Red Planet [RP] (1998)
artificial gravity, 238–240
burning bugs, 283–285
Repulsion forces between atoms, in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
Resistance, 280, 302
cars, 280
in outer space, 71
of body in Eraser, 189
Revolutions per minute (RPM), 233
Ricochet
in indoor gun battles, 76
in The Matrix Revolution,76
Rifle
bullet trajectory, 23–27
detuning to different vibration pattern, 25
disassembling and reassembling, 25
geometry of, 23–26
sniper, 25
Robots
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence [XP] (2001), 46
fuel, weight of, 46
heat from nuclear fuel, 47
machine used overtime, 47
perpetual motion machines, 44
Rotation, 247, 254
air cannons, 255
cars, 254–256
handgun, 252
kicker plates, 254–255
knife throwing, 247–249
Rotational inertia, and spear throwing, 249–251
S
Safe movie physics guidelines, 5–6
Safety glass, laminated, 87–89
Saving Private Ryan, [GP] (1998), 7, 112
Scaling machinery, 63
Second law of thermodynamics, 38
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, 44
definition, 38
electrical energy, 38
mechanical energy, 38
thermal energy, 38–40
Sensation of weight and normal force, 232–237
Shooting from the hip
and laser pointer experiment, 21
mathematics of, 21–22
recoil, bullet drop, hand tremors, and body misalignment, 20
Shrapnel, 113
SMASH! Plastic “glass,” 88
Sniper rifles, aiming. See also rifle
bullet trajectory, 23–27
geometry of, 23–26
Spear throwing, 249–251
rotational inertia in, 249
Spaceship falling, 164, 165
blast wave from, 166
depressurization and temperature, 75
high pressure and, 166
high temperature and, 166,
wind velocity and, 166
Spaceships
air resistance to, 192
antimatter and, 191
car-sized, 190–192
cloaking and stealth devices of, 76
fuel supply for, 191
mass required for liftoff of, 192
rotation and Mission to Mars [RP] (2000), 238
thrusters on, 191–192, 288
Space shuttle
Armageddon, 213
stopping in space, 213–214
Space travel, speed of, 106
Speed [PGP-13] (1994), famous vehicle jump in, 8
Speed II: Cruise Control [PGP], 149–153
Speed of light, 187
Speed = distance/time and movie calculation, 99
Spider-Man [NR] (2002), 37
Star Trek, 107, 160, 287, 288
inertial dampers, 160–161
and Nemesis, 303
warp drives, 288
warping space, 107–108
Web strands, 37
Star Trek IV and time travel, 293
Star Trek movie series, 240
artificial gravity in, 241
Star Wars, 287
Star Wars Episode I, land battles in, 295
Star Wars Episode II [NR] (2002), 91
space battles in, 297
Star Wars Episode III, 298–306
air resistance, 298
lift, 301
orbital velocity, 301
space battles, 297
thrusters, 301
velocity, 299
Yoda’s force on rocks equal to their weight, 91
Star Wars versus Star Trek, 291–293
Stress dependent on object’s material and shape, 264–265
Stretching physics to the remotely possible, 6
Sugar-pane “glass,” 88
Superheated plasma, 300
in Star Wars Episode III, 298
Surviving windows, 86
explosive charges break glass, 89
laminated safety glass, 89–91
SMASH! Plastic “glass,” 89
Sugar-pane “glass,” 90
T
Takeoff ramp, 137
horizontal component for forward motion, 137
and takeoff velocity, 140
and vertical velocity, 137
Tangential velocity around planet, effects of, 219
Target motion, 26
Temperatures and pressures
in spaceship, 75
in The Core, 9–10
Target, moving, 26
Technology, out of control, 52
in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 51–56
Terminal velocity, 128
The Core [XP] (2005), 170–171
as all-time stupid movie, 312–314
and earthquake weapon, 9
probe into Earth’s core, 10–11
scientist consultants, 9–10
The Day After Tomorrow [RP] (2004), 259, 269
effect of water pressure on Statue of Liberty, 259
storm surge, 268–269
The Italian Job [PGP-13] (2003) and car turning radius, 28–30
The Matrix [NR] (1999), 40–42, 243
human bioelectrical energy, 41
humans 25,000 btus/sec, 41–42
simulation physics altered, 243–245
victim’s center of mass, 244
The Matrix Revolutions [NR] (2003), 80
action hero in, 16
ammunition in, 16
machine gun, overheating, 16
The Mexican [PGP] (2001), 175
Theory of relativity in Eraser, 186
The Road to Perdition [GP] (2002) and bullet penetration, 79–80
Thermal energy and car bombs, 281
Thermite grenades and heat of blast, 112
Thrusters, 191, 201
Enterprise’s impulse engines are thrusters, 288
machine guns acting as (on fighter jets), 90
in Star Wars Episode III, 301
Tides
in Armageddon, 222–224
asteroid-produced, 223
atmospheric, 222
moon’s gravity and, 222
Time and explosions, 108
Time travel, 2–5
in Star Trek IV, 293
in The Terminator,4
Torque, 245–246, 252
Toxic waste, 51
Translation, 254
and horizontal aim of handgun, 251–254
Transporter as plot acceleration device, 289
True Lies and motorcycle jump calculations, 126–128
Tsunami, 260–264
and air compression, 263
and kinetic energy, 263
2001: A Space Odyssey [GP] (1968), 94, 237
V
Vehicle jump
in Speed [PGP-13] (1994), 8
ramp required for, 9
Velocity, 72, 187, 196, 233
angular, 196
and Bernouli’s equation, 262
of escape, 218
of explosions, 108
of flames, 100
horizontal, 155
a
nd lowest circular orbit, 217
in Star Wars Episode III, 298
of takeoff velocity, 140
vertical, 155
Volume in Honey I Shrunk the Kids, 52–57
Vomit comet, 120, 121, 229–230
W
WWII–style space battles
air resistance, 72
projectile trajectory, 72
resistance force, 71
Warping space in Star Trek, 107–108
Weight in Honey I Shrunk the Kids [NR] (1989), 52–57
Weightlessness and normal force, 232–237
White phosphorous grenade, 112
Wind velocity, 166
and falling spaceship, 165
World wide explosions, speed of, 99
X
XXX State of the Union [RP] (2005)
Y
Young Guns II [PGP] (1990), bullet penetration, 78–79
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Rogers is the founder and creator of the wildly popular website Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics. He has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Clemson University. He worked as an engineer for eighteen years and currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina.