The Physics of Superheroes: Spectacular Second Edition
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Page 144 Flash # 25 (vol. 2) (DC Comics, Apr. 1989). Written by William Messner-Loebs and drawn by Greg LaRocque.
Page 145 “physicists were confused about energy . . .” See, for example, Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: The History of Heat, Hans Christian von Baeyer (Modern Library, 1998).
Page 147 “At one point in Flash comics . . .” See, for example, Flash # 24 (vol. 2) (DC Comics, Apr. 1989). Written by William Messner Loebs and drawn by Greg LaRocque.
Page 147 “consider some basic chemistry” See, for example, The Periodic Kingdom, P. W. Atkins (Basic Books, 1995).
Page 149 “all of life is possible because the mass of a helium nucleus” Just Six Numbers, Martin Rees (Basic Books, 1999).
Page 151 Watchmen (DC Comics, 1986, 1987) Written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons.
Page 153 “The volume of oxygen use by a runner . . .” Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization, Vaclav Smil (MIT Press, 1999).
Page 153 “the Earth’s atmosphere contains . . .” There are approximately two hundred million trillion moles of gas in the Earth’s atmosphere, while each mole contains Avogadro’s number (0.6 trillion trillion) molecules. The Earth’s atmosphere is thus estimated to contain 0.12 billion trillion trillion trillion gas molecules.
Page 154 Flash # 167 (DC Comics, Feb. 1967). Written by John Broome and drawn by Carmine Infantino.
Page 155 “This is one reason why golf balls have dimples.” The Physics of Golf, Theodore P. Jorgensen (Springer, second edition, 1999); Golf Balls, Boomerangs and Asteroids: The Impact of Missiles on Society, Brian H. Kaye (VCH Publishers, 1996); 500 Years of Golf Balls: History and Collector’s Guide, John F. Hotchkiss (Antique Trader Books, 1997).
Page 156 Footnote. Technically, Superman # 130 ascribed the wrong mechanism to kryptonite’s resistance to air friction when it claimed “kryptonite can’t combine chemically with oxygen, which causes combustion.” It may indeed not be chemically reactive with oxygen, but the heat generated when an object moves at high velocity through the atmosphere is due to the work needed to push the air molecules out of the way, and is a purely physical, rather than chemical, process.
Page 156 “The first such character” Superman: The Complete History, Les Daniels (Chronicle Books, 1998).
Page 157 “Not to be outdone . . .” DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes, Les Daniels (Bulfinch Press, 1995).
Page 157 “as far as most fans of the Silver Age . . .” “Comics That Didn’t Really Happen,” by Mark Evanier, reprinted in Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002).
CHAPTER 13
Page 158 Showcase # 34 (DC Comics, Sept./Oct. 1961), reprinted in Atom Archives Volume 1 (DC Comics, 2001). Written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Gil Kane.
Page 160 Fig. 20 Atom # 4 (DC Comics, Dec./Jan. 1962), reprinted in Atom Archives Volume One (DC Comics, 2001). Written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Gil Kane.
Page 161 Atom # 2 (DC Comics, Aug./Sept. 1962), reprinted in Atom Archives Volume 1 (DC Comics, 2001). Written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Gil Kane.
Page 161 “The field of thermodynamics . . .” Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: The History of Heat, Hans Christian von Baeyer (Modern Library, 1998); A Matter of Degrees, Gino Segre (Penguin Books, 2002).
Page 164 “Another example:” Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization, Vaclav Smil (MIT Press, 1999).
Page 166 “This concept, called ‘entropy,’ is . . .” Understanding Thermodynamics, H. C. Van Ness (Dover Publications, 1969).
Page 168 West Coast Avengers # 42 (Marvel Comics, Mar. 1989). Written and drawn by John Byrne.
Page 169 “Could I use the talents of the Atom . . .” Warmth Disperses and Time Passes: The History of Heat, Hans Christian von Baeyer (Modern Library, 1998).
Page 172 “ radio-wave background radiation” Temperatures Very Low and Very High, Mark W. Zemansky (Dover Books, 1964).
Page 173 “Many of the elder statesmen of physics” Philosophy of Science: The Historical Background, Joseph J. Kockelmans (ed.) (Transaction Publishers, 1999).
Page 173 Planck quote Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers, Max K. Planck (translated by F. Gaynor) (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1968).
Page 173 “A key development” An Introduction to Stochastic Processes in Physics, Don S. Lemons (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002).
Page 173 “it was not until 1905 . . .” Investigations of the Theory of the Brownian Movement, Albert Einstein (Dover, 1956).
Page 174 “The random collisions of the air on our eardrums . . .” “How the Ear’s Works Work,” A. J. Hudspeth, Nature 341, 397 (1989); “Brownian Motion and the Ability to Detect Weak Auditory Signals,” I. C. Gebeshuber, A. Mladenka, F. Rattay, and W. A. Svrcek-Seiler, Chaos and Noise in Biology and Medicine, ed. C. Taddei-Ferretti (World Scientific, 1998). Note that this is not the high-pitch tone that many of us hear. That high frequency sound is most likely tinnitus, resulting from damage (either from loud noises or old age) to the cilia that detect sound waves in the inner ear.
CHAPTER 14
Page 175 “Stan Lee, head writer and editor, . . .” Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee, Stan Lee and George Mair (Fireside, 2002).
Page 175 X-Men # 1 (Marvel Comics, Sept. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2002). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.
Page 176 X-Men # 47 (Marvel Comics, Aug. 1968). Written by Arnold Drake and drawn by Werner Roth.
Page 176 X-Men # 8 (Marvel Comics, Nov. 1964), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2002). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.
Page 176 “A snowflake is created when . . .” The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty, Kenneth G. Libbrecht and Patricia Rasmussen (Voyageur Press, 2003).
Page 177 “Einstein’s equation for how far a fluctuating atom . . .” Investigations of the Theory of the Brownian Movement, Albert Einstein (Dover, 1956).
Page 177 “The exact details . . .” “Instabilities and Pattern Formation in Crystal Growth,” J. S. Langer, Reviews of Modern Physics 52, 1 (1980).
Page 179 Fig. 22 Amazing Spider-Man # 92 (Marvel Comics, Jan. 1971), reprinted in Spider-Man: The Death of Captain Stacy (Marvel Comics, 2004). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gil Kane and John Romita.
Page 180 All-New, All-Different X-Men # 1 (Marvel Comics, 1975), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Uncanny X-Men Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Len Wein and drawn by David Cockrum.
Page 181 “At its core, the weather . . .” The Essence of Chaos, Edward Lorenz (University of Washington Press, 1996); The Coming Storm, Mark Masline (Barron’s, 2002).
Page 183 Fig. 24 X-Men # 145 (Marvel Comics, May 1981). Written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Dave Cockrum and Joe Rubinstein.
Page 184 “A final thought . . .” Lord Kelvin and the Age of the Earth, Joe D. Burchfield (University of Chicago Press, 1990); Degrees Kelvin, David Lindley (Joseph Henry Press, 2004).
CHAPTER 15
Page 186 Tales of Suspense # 39 (Marvel Comics, Mar. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber and drawn by Don Heck.
Page 187 “When the Melter first appeared” Tales of Suspense # 47 (Marvel Comics, Nov. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
Page 187 “When this happens, a chemical bond forms . . .” The Periodic Kingdom, P. W. Atkins (Basic Books, 1995).
Page 188 “What determines the exact temperature and pressure . . .” Gases, Liquids and Solids, D. Tabor (Cambridge University Press, 1979).
Page 188 “In a conventional oven . . .” On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee (Scribner, revised and updated edition, 2004); The Science of Cooking, Peter Barham (Spring, 2001).
Page 192 Tales of Suspense # 90 (Marvel Comics, Jun.
1967), Essential Iron Man Volume 2 (Marvel Comics, 2004). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gene Colan.
Page 192 “Such a microwave-based ‘heat ray’ that...” “Report: Raytheon ‘heat beam’ weapon ready for Iraq,” Boston Business Journal, Dec. 1, 2004.
CHAPTER 16
Page 194 Footnote. West Coast Avengers # 13 (vol. 2) (Marvel Comics, Oct. 1986). Written by Steve Englehart and drawn by Al Milgrom.
Page 195 Adventure # 247 (National Comics, April 1958), reprinted in Legion of Superheroes Archives Volume 1 (DC Comics, resissue edition, 1991). Written by Otto Binder and drawn by Al Plastino.
Page 196 Adventure # 353 (National Comics, Feb. 1967) written by Jim Shooter and drawn by Curt Swan.
Page 197 Amazing Spider-Man # 9 (Marvel Comics, Feb. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
Page 198 “is approximately the same size as a carbon atom . . .” Back-of-the-Envelope Physics, Clifford Swartz (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003).
Page 200 “Wingless Wizard’s anti-gravity discs” First seen in Strange Tales # 118 (Marvel Comics, March 1964), reprinted in Essential Human Torch Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Dick Ayers.
Page 201 Flash # 208 (vol. 2) (DC Comics, May 2004). Written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Howard Porter.
Page 202 “George de Mestral’s investigations . . .” Why Didn’t I Think of That?, Allyn Freeman and Bob Golden (John Wiley and Sons, 1997).
Page 202 “Evidence for Van der Waals Adhesion in Gecko Setae,” K. Autumn, M. Sitti, Y. A. Liang, A. M. Peattie, W. R. Hansen, S. Sponberg, T. W. Kenny, R. Fearing, J. N. Israelachvili, and R. J. Full, Proc. National Acad. Sciences 99, 12,252 (2002).
Page 203 “development of ‘gecko tape,’ ” “Microfabricated Adhesive Mimicking Gecko Foot-Hair,” A. K. Geim, S. V. Dubonos, 2, I. V. Grig- orieva, K. S. Novoselov, A. A. Zhukov, and S. Yu. Shapoval, Nature Materials 2, 461 (2003).
CHAPTER 17
Page 205 Amazing Spider-Man # 9 (Marvel Comics, Feb. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
Page 207 Superman # 1 (National Comics, June 1939), reprinted in Superman Archives Volume 1 (DC Comics, 1989). Written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by Joe Shuster.
Page 208 Adventure # 301 (National Comics, Oct. 1962) written by Jerry Siegel and drawn by John Forte.
Page 209 Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 1 (Marvel Comics, Feb. 1964), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2 (Marvel Comics, 2002). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
Page 210 “a comic-book writer would generate a script . . .” Man of Two Worlds, My Life in Science Fiction and Comics, Julius Schwartz with Brian M. Thomsen (HarperEntertainment, New York), 2000.
Page 210 “in 1965, to pick a particular year . . .” Comic Book Marketplace # 99 (Gemstone Publishing, Feb. 2003).
Page 210 “With so many stories being created every month . . .” Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book, Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon (Chicago Review Press, 2003); Tales to Astonish: Jack Kirby, Stan Lee and the American Comic Book Revolution, Ronin Ro (Bloomsbury, 2004).
Page 212 Daredevil # 2 (Marvel Comics, June 1964), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2004). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Joe Orlando.
CHAPTER 18
Page 213 “a perfect illustration of one of the fundamental . . .” Amazing Spider-Man # 9 (Marvel Comics, Feb. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
Page 214 “This phenomenon, termed the Ampere effect, . . .” Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity, David Bodanis (Crown, 2005).
Page 215 Daredevil # 2 (Marvel Comics, June 1964), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2004). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Joe Orlando.
Page 215 “I’ll use a nice argument . . .” Discovering the Natural Laws: The Experimental Basis of Physics, Milton A. Rothman (Dover Press, 1989).
Page 216 “The test charge therefore sees . . .” Electricity and Magnetism—Berkeley Physics Course Vol. 2, Edward M. Purcell (McGraw Hill, 1963).
Page 217 Superboy # 1 (National Comics, Mar.-Apr. 1949). Written by Edmond Hamilton and drawn by John Sikela and Ed Dobrotka.
CHAPTER 19
Page 220 X-Men # 1 (Marvel Comics, Sept. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2002). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.
Page 221 Footnote. Atom # 3 (DC Comics, Oct.-Nov. 1962), reprinted in Atom Archives Volume 1 (DC Comics, 2001). Written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Gil Kane.
Page 222 “Hemoglobin is a very large molecule . . .” The Machinery of Life, David S. Goodsell (Springer-Verlag, 1998).
Page 222 Footnote. I thank Prof. E. Dan Dahlberg of the University of Minnesota and Dr. Roger Proksh of Asylum Research for demonstrating this low-tech “magnetic force microscope.”
Page 224 “Materials that form magnetic domains . . .” Magnets: The Education of a Physicist, Francis Bitter (Doubleday, 1959).
Page 225 “It is through our diamagnetism” “Everyone’s Magnetism,” Andrey Geim, Physics Today 51, p. 36 (Sept. 1998); “Magnet levitation at your fingertips,” A. K. Geim, M. D. Simon, M. I. Boamfa, and L. O. Heflinger. Nature 400, p. 323 (1999).
Page 225 See the web page for the High Field Magnetic Laboratory at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands: http://www.hfml.ru.nl/levitate.html for some great images of levitating objects.
Page 227 “Magnetism is, at its heart, . . .” Discovering the Natural Laws: The Experimental Basis of Physics, Milton A. Rothman (Dover Press, 1989).
Page 229 The Dark Knight Strikes Again # 1 (DC Comics, 2001). Reprinted in The Dark Knight Strikes Again (DC Comics, 2003). Written and drawn by Frank Miller.
Page 229 “Nearly all commercial power plants . . .” Energy: Its Use and the Environment, Roger A. Hinrichs and Merlin Kleinbach (Brooks/Cole, 2002), Third Edition.
CHAPTER 20
Page 231 “help keep comic-book publishers solvent” Seal of Approval, The History of the Comics Code, Amy Kiste Nyberg (University of Mississippi Press, Jackson, Mississippi), 1998.
Page 231 Western comics at DC and Marvel . . . Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History, Ron Goulart (Collectors Press Inc., 2000); DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes, Les Daniels (Bulfinch Press, 1995); Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World’s Greatest Comics, Les Daniels (Harry Abrams, 1991).
Page 232 “It was the Scottish physicist . . .” The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell, Basil Mahon (John Wiley & Sons, 2003).
Page 235 “600 million tons of hydrogen nuclei every second . . .” “The Evolution and Explosion of Massive Stars,” S. E. Woolsey and A. Heger, Rev. Modern Physics 74, p. 1015 (Oct. 2002).
Page 235 “light generated from a nuclear fusion reaction . . .” “How Long Does It Take for Heat to Flow Through the Sun?” G. Fiorentini and B. Rici, Comments on Modern Physics 1, p. 49 (1999).
Page 236 “While his shattered spine may have left him . . .” X-Men # 20 (Marvel Comics, May 1966), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 2 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Roy Thomas and Drawn by Jay Gavin.
Page 236 “The role of nerve cells . . .” Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are, Joseph LeDoux (Penguin, 2002); I of the Vortex, R. R. Llinas (MIT Press, 2001).
Page 238 “Fish use these organs as a form of radar,” “The Shark’s Electric Sense,” R. Douglas Fields, Scientific American, Aug. 2007.
Page 238 More Fun Comics # 77 (National Comics, Mar. 1942) Written by unknown and drawn by Paul Norris.
Page 238 X-Men # 7 (Marvel Comics, Sept. 1964), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2002). Written b
y Stan Lee and Drawn by Jack Kirby.
Page 239 “Television signals consist of . . .” See The Way Things Work, David Macaulay (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988), for an accessible, graphical illustration of the mechanisms underlying television broadcasts and reception, and How Does It Work? Richard M. Koff (Signet, 1961), for a more technical discussion.
Page 240 “A sensitive antenna placed near this monitor . . .” “Electromagnetic Radiation from Video Display Units: An Eavesdropping Risk?,” Wim Van Eck, Computers and Security 4, p. 269 (1985).
Page 240 Footnote. “Electromagnetic Eavesdropping Risks of Flat Panel Displays” Markus G. Kuhn, presented at the Fourth Workshop on Privacy Enhancing Technologies, Toronto, Canada, May 2004.
Page 241 “Neuroscientists have developed a research tool . . .” “Experimentation with a Transcranial Stimulation System for Functional Brain Mapping,” G. J. Ettinger, W. E. L. Grimson, M. E. Leventon, R. Kikinis, V. Gugino, W. Cote et al. Med. Image Analysis 2, p. 133 (1998); “Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and the Human Brain,” M. Hallett, Nature 406, p. 147 (2000). A technical overview can be found in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Neurochronometrics of Mind, Vincent Walsh and Alvaro Pascual-Leone (MIT Press, 2003).
CHAPTER 21
Page 245 Fantastic Four # 5 (Marvel Comics, July 1962), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.
Page 246 Fantastic Four # 10 (Marvel Comics, Jan. 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 1 (Marvel Comics, 2003). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.
Page 246 Fantastic Four # 16 (Marvel Comics, July 1963), reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Volume 2 (Marvel Comics, 2005). Written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby.