BAD MOVIE PHYSICSINDIANA JONES AND THE

KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL

SKULL
NEEL SWAMY
MR. PAGLIARO
AP PHYSICS, 2/3
5 JUNE 2014

FILM SUMMARY

Taking place in 1957 during the Cold War, Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the fourth installment of the Indiana
Jones series.

The film begins in the Nevada desert during the height of the Cold War.
After barely escaping a poorly portrayed yet devastating nuclear
explosion, Professor Jones (Harrison Ford) returns to Marshall College,
where he learns that his recent activities have made him the object of
suspicion, thereby endangering his career. On his way out of town,
Indiana meets rebellious young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who carries both a
grudge and a proposition for the adventurous archaeologist that involves
a search for the infamous crystal skull. But as Indy and Mutt set out for
the most remote corners of Peru, they quickly realize the Soviet agents
are also hot on the trail of the Crystal Skull, and the search soon becomes
a fast-paced adventure that continually defies the laws of physics.

I personally enjoyed the film for its interesting and well-developed plot
line, although after this project, I refuse to excuse the films poor
adherence to the principles of physics.

SCENE CHOICE- NUKING THE FRIDGE

Watch the scene here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arib8uWMWsM
Dimensions to consider:
1. Thermal Physics
* Effects of temperature, melting temperature of lead
2. Mass of Indiana Jones and Fridge
* Launch velocity, impulse, force imparted (based on impulse)
3. Pressure changes associated with the explosion
* Pressure changes caused by explosion vs. changes that modern buildings
can endure.

A HEATED RACE AGAINST

TIME

Upon the detonation of a nuclear weapon, nuclei and other subatomic particles are emitted from the
hypocenter (the beginning point of the explosion) at extremely high velocities, with some particles
approaching the speed of light. These subatomic particles transfer kinetic energy to the surrounding area
by colliding into other atoms and particles. This kinetic energy appears as thermal energy.

At the hypocenter, temperatures can be as high as degrees Fahrenheit. In order to even have a chance at
surviving the blast, Indiana Jones would have to be at least five miles from the hypocenter at the end of
the countdown.

Assuming Indy was even one mile from the hypocenter to begin with, he would need to run four miles =
1609.34 meters in 15 seconds, or approximately 430 meters/second.

To put this speed into perspective, Usain Bolt reached a top speed of 12.27 meters/second at 22 years
old. Percent difference between speed Indy (played by 66 year old Harrison Ford) would need to run and
the maximum speed a human can run is:
= BAD PHYSICS

Therefore, fridge is not far enough from hypocenter REALITY: Indiana would burn to death.

IS YOUR REFRIGERATOR FLYING?

We know from research and plot outlines of the movie that the fridge is made of lead, or at the very
least, lead-lined. Melting temperature of lead 621 degrees Fahrenheit Fridge would melt when
exposed to the high temperatures and shock waves generated by the nuclear explosion.

Joness Soviet captors also drive a car that they use to escape from the explosion. We can assume the
car to be a 1950 Studebaker Commander, with an estimated length of 2.5 meters, which Indy
overtakes in approximately 1 second by foot. Lets assume that his captors are driving at 80 miles
per hour (or approximately 35. 8 meters/second). We can estimate Joness horizontal velocity, , to be
approximately 35. 8 +

FLYING FRIDGE (CONT)

The
bombs deployed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki produced blast winds

approaching 620 mph (approximately 277 m/s) as far as three miles from their
detonation centers. A comparably powered blast would overtake Dr. Jones
refrigerator (depth is approximately 0.7 m) in

Therefore, the force acting upon the fridge would be:

N 580,000 pounds.

LAUNCH SPEED OF FRIDGE

Time in air = 10 seconds (5 moving upwards, 5 moving downwards)

Vertical acceleration = 9.8 meters per second per second

Velocity (vertical) =

= 570 meters/second Speed of sound at sea level

LETS TALK PRESSURE

Most
modern buildings can only withstand a pressure change of up to 0.35 atm

nuclear explosion creates pressure changes that destroy buildings.

Areas within five miles of the hypocenter (as we determined Jones to be) experience
pressure changes of approximately 20 atm. We can calculate the percent difference
between the estimated pressure change caused by the detonation and the pressure
change that the fridge could endure as:

Had the scene obeyed reality, the fridge would have been crushed by the sudden
pressure change (assuming that it did not burn first).

REALITY CHECK: HOW WOULD DR. JONES DIE?

1. Lethal whiplash- While the above calculations treat Dr. Jones and his flying coffin as a single rigid object, the
human body is, in fact, horrifyingly malleable. The most obvious point of potentially lethal force is the neck,
wherein rapid acceleration might rotate the hinge point beyond its acceptable operating range, or apply a torque
that rips it apart. In other words, Dr. Jones would die because of intense whiplash, which he would sustain during
his journey in the fridge.

2. Exposure to gamma radiation- When the United States dropped the atomic bomb on two of Japans major
cities at the end of World War II, the gamma radiation given off by the blasts not only caused hundreds of
thousands of fatalities, but also induced horrible sickness in those who survived. Indiana Jones, as we have
determined through calculations above, is not far enough from the detonation center to avoid these negative
effects. Therefore, if this scene obeyed the laws of physics, he would suffer illness later in the film (again,
assuming that he did not die upon being thrown in the air, which is preposterous all on its own).

3. Melting and Asphyxiation- Fridges in the 1950s did not open from the inside. As a result, hundreds of
children were killed each year after they were accidentally locked inside. Therefore, Indiana Jones would not be
able to open the fridge as nicely as he did at the end of the scene, and instead would suffocate to death after being
trapped in the fridge for an extended period of time. In addition, he would also die by melting in mid-air; because
the high temperatures of the blast would melt the fridge, Jones would essentially be secluding himself in a flying,
projectile-like oven.

WORKS CITED
"The Energy from a Nuclear Weapon." Atomicarchive.com. National Science
Foundation, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014.
<http://www.atomicarchive.com/Effects/effects1.shtml>.
"Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics." Intuitor.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 June 2014.
<http://www.intuitor.com/moviephysics/>.

"Subjecting 'Nuking' to Scientific Review." Overthinkingit.com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 9 June 2014. <http://www.overthinkingit.com/2012/02/22/fridgenuking-scientific-peer-review/?page=all>.

University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "Surviving a Nuclear Blast."

UNC.edu. UNC, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014.
<http://www.unc.edu/~esamuel/index.htm>.

Yale University. "The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

Avalon.law.yale.edu. Yale University, n.d. Web. 9 June 2014.
<http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mp11.asp>.