Jodi and I went to see “Spiderman 3” tonight. What really struck me about the movie is the level to which physics sneaks into the film. Quite apart from the fact that Spiderman largely respects the laws of gravity (he uses falling and redirection of momentum to move about, and also never falls faster than other objects), quantum mechanics and sound are prominent features of the movie. In a scene in Parker’s college class, the professor asks a question about a Hamiltonian, and effects on the magnetic quantum number. Later, a fugitive is chased into a “Particle Physics Test Lab” in the swampland near New York City. It’s never clear what the point of their experiment was (a giant spinning device and a pile of sand?), but the writers clearly love this stuff.
Sound is really important in this movie. It’s the cause of both tragedy and success in the film, and is part of a long nerdy rant by Peter at some point. Apart from the crazy action sequences in this movie, it was the places where physics kept popping up that made it fun for me.
