Dave’s Diary: Batman Can’t Fight Physics

 Comic-Con is underway in San Diego through the weekend.  It is an annual multigenre convention first founded as the "Golden State Comic Book Convention" in 1970.   Originally showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television, and related popular arts, the convention now includes a larger range of pop culture elements, such as horror, animation, anime, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels.

 That puts Batman right in the thick of things and with a new Batman movie coming out soon it’s only right to turn our attention to the “Physics of Batman”.  (that could actually be a breakout session at Comic-Con)

 Apparently four students from the University of Leicester have determined using physics that while the crime-fighting caped crusader could possibly fly, if he did, he would smash into the ground and probably die!

  In "The Dark Knight Rises" the caped crusader continues to glide using his cape as he does in the 2005 film "Batman Begins", but science tells us his landing would almost certainly prove fatal.

 22-year-old David Marshall, whose working on his Masters in physics, said, "If Batman wanted to survive the flight, he would definitely need a bigger cape." In a paper titled "Trajectory of a falling Batman", the group argued that if he jumped from a 500-foot high building, the 15-foot wingspan of Batman's cape would allow him to glide 1148 feet but he would reach a top speed of 68 miles per hour before hitting the ground at a life-threatening speed of 50 mph. Thanks to Reuters for setting us straight.  Now old chum it’s time to make our escape….to the bat cave!