Scientists write superhero book in a weekend

A book featuring the science of superheroes has been launched.

The project came about after the University’s Professor of Science Communication, Mark Lorch, wrote a piece hypothesising how many eggs Spiderman would need to eat for breakfast to sustain his superhero status.

Following on from that the Royal Society of Chemistry got in touch with him and asked if he would write a book.

Professor Lorch said: “A book about heroes needs a more rapid fire, heroic approach which is why I assembled a league of extraordinary scientists and set them the Herculean task of writing this book in just 36 hours.

“Plonked in the middle of the Manchester Science Festival and Salford University’s Science Jam, in a blur of flying fingers worthy of the Flash, we cranked out over 200 pages delving into all the nitty gritty science that fascinates us but seems to have been overlooked by movie makers.”

The book, which is called The Secret Science of Superheroes, involved scientists from universities across the UK.

Each wrote a chapter on different science topics linked to the Superhero theme, including how do heroes handle big data? Why did mutant super powers evolve? How might super soldiers be engineered? And just what do superheroes have for breakfast?

As well as Professor Lorch, Dr Rob Miles and Dr Isabelle Pires from the University of Hull wrote chapters for the book, which is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The book was launched at the Chelsea and Kensington Celebration of Science, where Professor Lorch, Dr Miles and Dr Pires gave introductions to their chapters.

Professor Lorch’s original article in the Conversation, featuring Spiderman’s breakfast can be found here

The Secret Science of Superheroes can be bought on Amazon here.