Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics: Hollywood's Best Mistakes, Goofs and Flat-Out Destructions of the Basic Laws of the UniverseIn this fascinating and humorous guide, author Tom Rogers examines the real science behind stunts, plots, and special effects without ruining the fun of your favorite, universe-breaking action movies. Building on the work of the Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics website (http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/), this book questions classic 80s and 90s movies on 20 different topics, including:
An informative romp through classic movies, Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics reveals the basic laws of physics and how Hollywood breaks them all—perfect for armchair Einsteins, movie buffs, or engaging lessons in the science classroom. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 15 | |
Conservation of Mass and Energy Is Anything Sacred? | 33 |
Scaling Problems Big Bugs and Little People | 51 |
Inertia and Newtons First Law Why Blowing Up Spacecraft is a Bad Idea | 67 |
Newtons Third Law That Special Hollywood Touch | 83 |
Creative Kinematics Explosive Entertainment | 99 |
Hollywood Bombs How Filmmaker Physics Misses the Boat | 117 |
Scenes with Real Gravity Celebrating Disasters with Happy Hollywood Endings | 213 |
Scenes with Artificial Gravity The Good Bad and Ugly Space Stations | 229 |
the Movie MerryGoRound How Filmmakers Create Ridiculous Spin | 243 |
Hollywood Disasters Global Warming Tsunamis Tornadoes and Other Big Winds | 259 |
The Moviemakers Cookbook Cigarettes as Lighters Exploding Cars Burning Bugs and Other Recipes for Foolishness | 273 |
Wars versus Trek Forgiving versus Forgetting | 287 |
AllTime Stupid Movie Physics Classics They Said the Physics Were Impossible | 307 |
Notes | 315 |
Leaping Logic Why Moviemakers Say How High When the Director Says Jump | 133 |
Acceleration and Newtons Second Law How to Get Started Use the Brakes or Change Direction Hollywood Style | 147 |
HighEnergy Films Nuclear Firecrackers Falling People and Cars as Weapons | 163 |
Movie Momentum The Attractive Force of Glass RailGun Recoil and Cosmic Toyotas | 179 |
JFK and Momentum Hollywoods Conspiracy to Assasinate History | 195 |
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Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics: Hollywood's Best Mistakes, Goofs and Flat ... Tom Rogers No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
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