U of M physics Jim Kakalios created the "Decay Rate Algorithm" featured in Sony’s film The Amazing Spider-Man .
Physics professor Jim Kakalios, a science consultant for the new Sony film The Amazing Spider-Man , explains the real science behind the Decay Rate Algorithm Media Note: "Spider-Man and the Decay Rate Algorithm" can be viewed at: http://z.umn.edu/spiderman. MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/28/2012) - If you find yourself on the edge of your movie theater seat while watching the new Sony film The Amazing Spider-Man , chances are you are fully engrossed in the movie's fantastic world - a believable fake reality made possible by the expertise of Jim Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota and one of the scientific consultants on the film. Kakalios discusses the impetus behind the film's hallmark mathematical equation in the new University of Minnesota video " Spider-Man and the Decay Rate Algorithm." The Taylor Distinguished Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy within the university's College of Science and Engineering, Kakalios previously served as a scientific consultant on Warner Brothers' 2009 film Watchmen. He is also the author of The Physics of Superheroes and The Amazing Story of Quantum Mechanics . Through the National Academy of Science's Science and Entertainment Exchange program, Kakalios consulted with filmmakers for The Amazing Spider-Man on the physics behind two of the superhero's most important traits: wall crawling and the tensile strength of spider's webbing. Kakalios' most important contribution, however, came when film prop master Andy Siegel needed a mathematical expression so distinctive and memorable that the audience would recognize it at various points throughout the movie.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
