Book of the Month: The Physics of Superheroes

James Kakalios' The Physics of Superheroes (2005, from (really) Gotham Books) might be the most enjoyable learning experience you'll ever have. Kakalios, a physics professor and comic book nut, introduces readers to the basic ideas and principles of physics, from F=ma to cosmic string theory, via examples of the actions of comic-book heroes and the discussion of what they might and might not be able to do. (For instance, Superman could leap a 660-foot building easily - IF we assume Krypton had a gravitational pull 15 times that of Earth, although constructing a world like that in plausibility is... well, you can't, but explaining why you can't is highly informative.) Who knew that one trip at super-speed would require the Flash to consume 150 million cheeseburgers as fuel?