In this news article, the author analyzes two scenes from Spider-Man movies to estimate the strength that Spider-Man would need to perform his superhuman feats. The first scene involves Spider-Man stopping a moving subway train. To calculate his required strength, the author considers the mass of the train, the number of passengers, and the force needed to stop the train. By assuming that Spider-Man’s webs act as a pulley system, the author concludes that Spider-Man must exert a force of at least 56,500 newtons, equivalent to holding up a male African elephant.
The second scene features Spider-Man attempting to hold together a splitting ferry by using his webs. The author presents a rough sketch of Spider-Man pulling on both sides of the ferry with his webs. Although the sketch is not to scale, it helps illustrate the force exerted by Spider-Man. While the author acknowledges that the actual force required to hold the ferry together would vary depending on the behavior of the webs, they estimate that Spider-Man’s strength needs to be considerable in order to prevent the ferry from sinking.
Overall, this article provides an interesting analysis of the strength required by Spider-Man in two movie scenes. By making educated assumptions and calculations, the author offers estimates on the forces Spider-Man must exert to accomplish these feats. While the article acknowledges the potential limitations in the analysis, it provides a thought-provoking exploration of the physics behind Spider-Man’s abilities.