Hollywood Physics

As we reach the close of the summer blockbuster season, two professors at the University of Central Florida, physicists Costas Efthimiou and R.A. Llewellyn, assert that movies are making their students dumber.
"Sure, people say everyone knows the movies are not real," says Efthimiou, "but my experience is many of the students believe what they see on the screen." Whether you believe them or not, it's always fun to take a scientist's eye to the silver screen to see just how ridiculous things can get when directors and screenwriters set poetic license against physical reality.
High-school physics teacher Adam Weiner does just that in his great new book Don't Try This at Home! The Physics of Hollywood Movies. Here, we take a look at a few of the worst offenders, and at the actual science behind them.

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