Superman's Powers From a Scientific Perspective: Fictional, But Not Impossible

The gravitational changes between planets other than Earth are also unlikely to help humans possess superpowers like Superman .

The laws of physics and scientific principles are often not so important in works of the superhero genre. Only by ignoring these logical rules can the superhero world become more attractive, with more creative storylines, such as the time travel of the Avengers in Avengers: Endgame , or the web-swinging ability of Spider-Man in the Spider-Man movies.

Superhero works often do not place much emphasis on practical scientific rules, and Superman is no exception - (Photo: Internet).

Superman is no exception in defying the rules of science to gain the most fantastical superpowers. The DC Superman can easily carry up to 2 billion tons without breaking a sweat, can travel long distances with just a jump, can melt the strongest materials with heat rays emitted from his eyes, not to mention the ability to fly and move at high speed.

However, considering the rules and operations of gravity on Earth, are Superman's powers really possible? Can humans become real superheroes in real life, through body enhancement technology or traveling to another planet? Many planetary scientists, such as Paul Byrne, have delved into this issue, and most agree that: All of Superman's powers are too fictional in reality.

Are Superman's physical superpowers actually possible on Earth?

Superman possesses super strength thanks to the differences in gravity between Earth and Krypton - (Photo: Internet).

In the comics, Kal-El/Clark Kent primarily absorbs energy from the sun. However, his physical superpowers come from the difference between the gravity on Earth and his home world of Krypton .

Specifically, Krypton is a planet that is much larger than Earth, and the effect of gravity here is also much stronger. In the lower gravity conditions of Earth, called 1g, Superman can easily perform incredible superhuman actions such as bending a thick steel bar, because gravity does not affect him too much.

However, planetary scientists argue that gravity is not a convincing explanation for super strength . ' Gravity would have no effect on this aspect, ' says Byrne . Byrne compares Superman's case to astronauts travelling to the Moon, where gravity is only about 16% of Earth's. Here, humans would weigh one-sixth of their actual weight on their home planet.

Scientists say that changes in gravity do not help humans increase their strength to the same level as Superman - (Photo: Internet).

' It's true that on a planet with less gravity than Earth, you can jump a little higher. The downward force of gravity is less of a drag on you ,' says Byrne. But the problem is that while your weight changes, your mass stays the same. Weight changes on different planets because it's related to how much gravity is acting on your body, while mass is simply the amount of matter in your body.

So yes, you can lift heavy objects with more ease , but you won't have super physical strength on another planet , and certainly won't reach Superman's level - bending a steel bar is simply because the gravity on Earth is too low.

' The strength of steel would remain the same on the Moon or anywhere else in the universe, just like on Earth. So changes in gravity wouldn't matter much, even if the gravitational acceleration on Krypton was six times that of Earth '.

Can humans gain super physical strength when traveling to another planet?

How does gravity on other planets affect the human body and strength? - (Photo: Internet).

Superman comics have also led fans to theorize that it is possible that on some planet in the vast universe, humans will become true superheroes, with enhanced strength and the ability to fly easily due to changes in gravity. However, once again, scientists have confirmed that this is extremely absurd.

' To survive on another planet, you need to become stronger, because it's very difficult to move around there. However, traveling there doesn't mean your body will automatically become stronger ,' said Richard Muller, a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Byrne says we have a very clear example of a planet with a gravity lower than Earth's – the Moon. And no astronaut has ever achieved super strength simply by setting foot on the planet. And in fact, we need Earth's 1g of gravity to stay healthy. Moving to a place with less gravity would make us feel weaker, not stronger, as many people think.

' Our bodies are a muscular system, and our bones need the effects of gravity ,' said Byrne. The scientist explained that astronauts need to exercise for many hours a day to compensate for the effects of low gravity on bone density and muscle mass. Those effects on the body could make long-duration flights to Mars more difficult in the future.

' Humans would certainly have trouble surviving in 1g gravity fields over time. And perhaps this applies to Superman, too ,' Byrne concludes. So if interplanetary travel doesn't give us superpowers, what can we do while we're still on Earth?

Can humans become Superman on Earth?

Humans need the help of technology to become real-life Superman - (Photo: Internet).

Theoretically, you can still have 'superhuman' strength on Earth. Bioengineering professor Michael Regnier told NBC News that the average person can lift 6 to 7 times their body weight. This explains why in an emergency, they suddenly have the ability to lift an entire car to rescue someone in an accident.

However, even if we were to tap into our full potential through training and increasing our muscle strength, we would still be hard-pressed to reach the level of steel bending that Superman can. However, humans can still overcome their natural body limits with the help of robotic arms and legs - devices that can help humans become stronger naturally. This may sound far-fetched and like an idea from a work of science fiction, but it is actually closer to reality than you think.

' Robotic limbs certainly have the potential to be stronger than human limbs ,' Philip Brey, a professor of philosophy and ethics of technology at the University of Twente, told Inverse. Meanwhile, Robert Gaunt, an associate professor in the Rehabilitation Neuroengineering Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, said that robots are already helping people restore or replace the function of their limbs, in part through brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which connect the brain to external devices.

Exoskeletons can help people increase their physical strength - (Photo: Internet).

' After all, a brain-computer interface can't make a person naturally stronger, like Superman. But in theory, it could be used to control a whole suit the size of a human body, like Iron Man ,' Gaunt explains.

' We've never been closer to having the technology to augment our natural strength, speed, and stamina ,' said Tommaso Lenzi, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah. He said there are already robotic exoskeletons that can increase human strength by up to 10 times, mostly for military applications. However, these exoskeletons are currently too heavy and consume too much energy to be of practical use.

' We already have all the building blocks, from motors, to batteries, to signal transmission systems, to microprocessors ,' Lenzi explains, ' We just don't know how to build them into a system that can work to support the human body .'

At the moment, superpowers may still be a far-fetched concept for us. However, future technological developments could bring us one step closer to becoming a real-life Superman.