Megapowers: Science Fact vs. Science Fiction!

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax.

The “megapowers” commonly attributed to comic-book heroes: X-ray
vision, superhuman strength, invisibility, and so on, are examined in
this science manual for adolescents. At first glance these qualities
would appear to be desirable, but would they actually be advantageous,
or even feasible? Physicist Weyland debunks the mythology surrounding
these superpowers and proves that the natural forces governing our world
are immutable and preclude the possibility of megapower.

But he makes the debunking process fun. There are many simple
experiments and hands-on activities to test the author’s contentions.
The format is particularly attractive to children. Each megapower is
introduced with a comic featuring the evil Dr. Gork and his latest
scheme for harassing humankind. The megapower in question is used to
thwart him and then science is invoked to demonstrate that that solution
would not really have worked. No dry lecturing here: the prose is upbeat
and humorous. Popular reference points (for example, Star Trek), with
which the reader will readily identify, occur throughout the text. This
is a wonderful manual for the introduction of physics to 10- to
15-year-old students. Highly recommended.