# A question about g-forces and Spiderman's supersphincter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108 "2004-06-25T00:03:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/41 "2004-06-26T01:42:00Z")
Ah, I see I forgot to divide by 32. You’re correct, sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/42 "2004-06-26T06:46:26Z")
Actually, my answer isn’t similar. Under my assumptions, Spider-Man has 2 gees of acceleration relative to the earth, plus the normal 1 gee from the Earth’s gravity. But **Berkut** didn’t add in the Earth’s gravity, so using his numbers, it’d be a total of 4 gees. And I would have checked his math, except that I’ve done this calculation before (for another SDMB thread, of course) and I remembered the answer off the top of my head. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2004, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/43 "2004-06-26T16:25:18Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Yes, people, Spidey’s web fluid, like the honey from a bee, is poop. :eek: nitpick:honey is bee vomit not bee crap Yes, I know it’s technically regurgitation,but I like saying “bee vomit” ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/44 "2004-06-27T03:04:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Very roughly, if he was going 147fps (about 100mph) on the end of a 250 foot rope, he would experience about 86Gs. If you’re talking about Spidey describing a circular arc at the end of a taut 250-foot line of inelastic webbing, with a speed of 147 fps, I get 11 Gs. I’m a bit rusty, though. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/45 "2004-06-27T03:18:23Z")
Sorry – knew that couldn’t be right. More like 2.7 Gs. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2004, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/46 "2004-06-27T04:18:54Z")
Only on the Straight Dope… (I am so nominating this for Threadspotting) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/47 "2004-07-01T23:21:48Z")
So . . . even as Spidey accelerates around a building, the g-forces remain pretty negligible? That surprises me. I saw REALTV! video once where six people jumped from one bungee cord, but not straiht down; they swung in an arc. They hadn’t calculted the centrifugal forces though, and at the bottom of the arc the bungee cord snapped (they had six cords wound together) , and they were all pretty badly injured. Just the natural feeling of physic you get from swinging stuff around your head as a kid left me kind of . . . aware of my insides while I was watching Spidey swing. The centrifugal force looked pretty extreme. Let me put it this way: if you were \*afraid \* of centrifugal force, Spiderman would have given you nightmares. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/48 "2004-07-02T00:03:04Z")
Geekiest … thread … EVER! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/49 "2004-07-02T12:13:39Z")
According to the Marvel encyclopedia, Spider-Man’s peak strength is at about 10 tons (this measurement being how much the hero can press above thier head). If we assume that pre-transformation, Peter, about 5’10", 150 lbs., would have at most been able to press 100 lbs. over his head, we find that his muscular strength has been increased by a factor of 200. In the first movie, he’s able to hold a cable car with one hand, so I think that 10 tons is a reasonable estimate for the movie Spidey. The G-forces involved would be negligible. Also, his webs can be very elastic (dependiung upon how densely he spins the web), and stretch a lot like rubber bands. In both movies he uses them to make a Spider-Man sized slingshot to fling himself across a great distance, and he uses this elastic property to help stop the train in number 2. How does Spidey swing? He can get started either from a building or from the ground. Let’s assume that he’s swinging down the street between two sets of buildings. Here’s how it works. He leaps off of a building on one side of the street, lets say the right. At the same time, or shortly after, he shoots a web ahead of him and down the street at a building on the opposite side of the street, swinging on it forward and toward the other building. As he reaches the speed he wants to go, he shoots a web towards the side he started on, and transfers to it. If he manages to go past the bottom of the arc, he’ll let go of web a, and let the momentum carry him up for a bit before starting a new line. From the ground, he leaps into the air (he can make a standing jump of at least 20-30 feet) and shoots a web up. As it attaches, he gives it a yank, his pull adding to his upward momentum, giving him the height he needs to start swinging as above. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/50 "2004-07-02T12:42:29Z")
> [@Tiramisu](#): > > Geekiest … thread … EVER! > > 😉 That’s saying something, indeed… you might want to check out the RoTJ question thread concurrently running… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/51 "2004-07-02T17:19:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Just the natural feeling of physic you get from swinging stuff around your head as a kid left me kind of . . . aware of my insides while I was watching Spidey swing. The centrifugal force looked pretty extreme. Centrifugal force also depends on the distance from the center. If Spider-man, while swinging, were to somehow pull himself up on his web until he was the same distance from the attachment point as the bucket was from your hand, even his exalted spider-guts would be thoroughly squished (of course, he also wouldn’t have the strength to pull himself up that far…). But at the end of a hundred meters or so (and I’ll bet you never swung anything around your head on a hundred-meter rope), at his speeds, it’d be quite manageable. **Rufus** , this thread is far nerdier than the current Jedi one. That’s just a contextual analysis of a literary work… Half the threads in this forum are that. Here, though, we’re not just analyzing literature, we’re doing so in the context of physics and (meta)human physiology. But if I had to pick, I’d say that the nerdiest SDMB thread ever has to be either the [Star of the Third Magnitude](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=39487) or the [Fabulous Über-roach](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=60812) (both of them Threadspotted, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/52 "2004-07-02T18:34:44Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I think the Flash takes the largest suspension of disbelief of all the superheroes. Just don’t think about it too much… > > But I also think about it too much. It could be argued he’s the most powerful superhero, because everybody is essentially defenseless against him. He could scour the Earth for kryptonite, find a chunk, make half of it into machine-gun bullets, and the other half into a Super-suppository and shove it up Superman’s ass while gunning him down, all in the time it takes Supe to pull down his tights for his morning shit but before he sits his ass onto the toilet. Waitaminnit. Superman poops? That’s crazy talk. ---
**Author:** ![Eegba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Eegba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eegba)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/53 "2004-07-02T18:58:36Z")
You know, what this thread really needs to make it complete is a link to _[Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex](http://www.rawbw.com/~svw/superman.html)_. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/54 "2004-07-02T22:26:09Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Waitaminnit. Superman poops? That’s crazy talk. Great, now I’m wondering if Superman’s movements are as indestructible as he is. If so, the Kents must have one helluva plumbing bill. “Yep, Mr. Kent, it’s those weird brown lumps blockin’ the pipes again. That’s gonna cost you another $400.” ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/55 "2004-07-02T23:23:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **Rufus** , this thread is far nerdier than the current Jedi one. That’s just a contextual analysis of a literary work… Half the threads in this forum are that. Here, though, we’re not just analyzing literature, we’re doing so in the context of physics and (meta)human physiology. I stand humbly corrected. Of course, the RoTJ thread could easily devolve into a discussion on the technical workings of Vader’s life-support system at a moment’s notice… ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/56 "2004-07-03T00:36:14Z")
An important, but little known, fact about Spidey is that he is an avid Atkins Dieteer. Inside sources have informed this reporter that he has not had any noticible amounts of fiber since August 1998. A call to the Pentagon brought this responce from a Weapon’s Development & Acquisition officer, “Fiberless, all meat and cheese, turds have been tested and found to be lethal at high speeds and within normal handgun ranges.” When asked to speculate on whether Spidey might be using this as a weapon the officer shrugged and said, “Maybe he just needs to take a dump. He ought to be glad he ain’t got 'roids like me.” Films to be shown in the tri-state area at eleven. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/57 "2004-07-03T01:00:47Z")
> [@SandyHook](#): > > An important, but little known, fact about Spidey is that he is an avid Atkins Dieteer. Well he would have to be. He shoots around an amount of that web stuff that seems to rival his body weight. He would need to choke down some serious quantities of protein to keep that up. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/58 "2004-07-03T02:10:12Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > Well he would have to be. He shoots around an amount of that web stuff that seems to rival his body weight. He would need to choke down some serious quantities of protein to keep that up. All this talk of Spidey shooting things around and protein leads me to believe that this thread is going to bang a hard left down the porn alley any minute now. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/59 "2004-07-03T02:33:40Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > Well he would have to be. He shoots around an amount of that web stuff that seems to rival his body weight. He would need to choke down some serious quantities of protein to keep that up. One could argue that the sudden disappearance of his webspinning powers in the movie might be due to his poor diet…he never seems to eat much. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108/60 "2004-07-03T03:06:12Z")
> [@xvxdarkknightxvx](#): > > ☹ I knew this thread would bring back some bad memories. > > As long as we’re asking about superhero physics, I have a few I’d like to know. If you’d like to pursue this topic in your off-time, I suggest reading [this](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0471024600/qid=1088823677/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-0411522-3948657?v=glance&s=books). I’ve read it, and it’s great fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-about-g-forces-and-spidermans-supersphincter/252108.md?page=4)