[《超人归来》科学篇：解码电影主角的能力] 超人归来和钢铁之躯
时间：2019-01-08 03:25:25 来源：柠檬阅读网 本文已影响 人 
翻译：洪馥芝 当我们惊叹于超人在银幕上的各种超能力时，我们是否思考过他的这些能力的原理何在？如果你认为这些只是作者凭空想象出来的，那就错了。下面，我们请来专家为你逐一解释。 Most of us would view Superman as a fantastic creation. After all, he has x-ray vision, leaps tall buildings in a single bound, blows icy winds, is 1)impervious to bullets ?the list goes on. But while a lot of the action in Superman Returns will surely be impossible, much about Superman is taken from real science. “If course, the hero"s superpowers 2)violate the laws of nature as we understand them, but once you allow for miracles, you will find that they are related to known physics.”said James Kakalios, physics professor of University of Minnesota. Consider Superman"s Strength As any fan knows, the 3)original explanation for Superman"s amazing leaps was 4)gravity. He comes from the destroyed planet 5)Krypton, where gravity was stronger than it is on Earth. Under this theory, Superman on our planet is like a human 6)astronaut bounding around on the moon, only more so. The same 7)applies to any of his other 8)feats of strength, Kakalios says. The biggest problem with this idea, says Michael Dennin, a physics professor at the University of California, Irvine, is that he can also walk normally ?rather than bounding around like an astronaut on the moon. Superman"s ability to fly is even more problematic. “You need a source of 9)thrust and lift,”Dennin said. “There"s no way around that.” “In the early 10)comic books he could jump and be an unguided 11)missile,”Kakalios said. “But he"s now able to change direction at will, so he"s gained some ability over gravity that would puzzle scientists.” Could Superman"s other superpowers be easier to explain? 12)Invincibility “Perhaps it looks like he cannot be harmed, because no matter what harmed him, his cells immediately 13)regenerate.”Kakalios suggests. Super Energy One explanation is that Superman 14)converts light from our yellow sun ?which is probably stronger than the red sun of Krypton ?into energy that he then stores like a 15)battery. Todd Barber, an engineer from NASA, has 16)calculated the amount of energy needed for some of Superman"s feats. It turns out that, even 17)assuming he goes into space, where the sunlight is stronger, he"l have to spend a lot of time 18)recharging his batteries between super deeds. Super Hearing Superman"s 19)acute hearing would seem to be one of his more ordinary talents. But it"s actually rather unexplainable, says Kakalios. Not because it"s so acute, but because there have been 20)instances where he"s heard the sound of a gun and flown all the way across his home city in time to stop the speeding bullet. The problem is that by the time the noise got to him, the bullet would have long since found its mark. Super Breath Perhaps a more believable talent is the ability to blow very, very hard ?hard enough to push away thunderstorms or freeze nearby objects. Assuming his super lungs can greatly 21)compress air, the freezing effect might actually work, Barber says. That"s because gas cools as it expands ?an effect that Superman 22)facilitates by pursing his lips so that the air blasts out like rocket 23)exhaust through a 24)nozzle.
我们大部分人都会把超人看作一种幻想出来的产物。说到底，他有X光眼，可以一跃而过摩天大楼，可以吹出冰寒的风，而且刀枪不入―这类超乎凡人的特点还可以列举出一长串呢。
虽然《超人归来》影片中的许多行为显然是不可能做到的，但超人本身的不少特性却可以在真实的科学中得到解答。
“当然，主角的超能力在我们看来违反了自然规律，但如果你考虑到奇迹的话，那么你就会发现其实这些行为都与我们已知的物理学有关联。”明尼苏达州大学物理学教授詹姆斯・卡卡里奥斯如是说。
思考超人的力量
所有超人迷都知道，超人可以作出令人震惊的跳跃的最初解释是重力的原因。他来自已被毁灭了的氪星，这颗行星上的重力比地球大。
基于这个理论，超人在我们的行星上就如同人类宇航员在月球上一样可以轻松跳跃，不同的只是他跳起来比宇航员要轻松得多。卡卡里奥斯说，这个理论也可以用来解释超人其它异乎常人的能力。
然而，加州大学尔湾分校的物理学教授迈克尔・德宁说，这种想法最大的问题是：超人在地球上同时可以像正常人一样步行―而不会像宇航员在月球上那样只能跳来跳去。
而超人飞行的能力则更令人疑惑不解。
“你要飞行就需要推进力及抬升力作为动力源，”德宁说，“而他的周围没有这些动力。”
“在早期的漫画书里，超人可以像一枚不受控制的导弹那样飞驰，”卡卡里奥斯说，“可是现在的超人却可以随意改变飞行方向。那么他一定拥有某种可以克服重力的能力，而正是这种能力让科学家大为不解。”
那么，超人其它的超能力是否会比较容易解释呢？
常胜无敌
“超人看起来似乎永远不可能受伤，那可能是因为无论什么东西伤了他，他的细胞都可以立刻再生。”卡卡里奥斯推测道。
无穷的能量
其中一种解释是超人把我们黄色太阳（其能量可能比氪星的红色太阳还要强大）的光转化成为能量，他可以像电池一样把这些能量储存起来。
美国国家航空航天局（NASA）工程师托德・巴伯计算了超人进行一些非凡之举时所需的能量。结果表明，即使超人身处阳光更强烈的太空，他也必须花很长时间才能为他的下一个惊人之举补充足够的能量。
耳听八方
超人敏锐的听觉似乎是他诸多超能力中比较接近常人的一项了。但其实这种能力也是相当难以解释的，卡卡里奥斯说。并非因为其听觉的灵敏度，而是因为有时候超人听到一声枪响，就会马上从他所在的城市一路风驰电掣赶到现场，及时阻止飞驰中的子弹。
问题在于，在超人听到枪响之前，子弹应该早已击中目标了。
力拔山兮气盖世
也许超人可以让人比较信服的能力就是他能非常非常用力地吹气―力度大得足以吹走雷暴或冻结周围的物体。
巴伯认为，假设超人的超级巨肺可以强烈压缩空气，那么实际上是可以达到冷冻效果的。那是因为气体膨胀时温度会下降―超人紧闭双唇，使空气像火箭尾气从排气口喷发而出，借此达到了冷冻的效果。
