Post created by: Isabelle
Mjolnir is the mighty hammer of Thor, the god of thunder in the Marvel universe. Able to send Thor flying through the air with a simple spin, this hammer seems to defy physics. Interestingly, theories have been created in attempts to explain Mjolnir's extraordinary ability.
The law of conservation of momentum states that "the momentum of a system is constant if there are no external forces acting on the system" (Motta). Considering this law, how is Mjolnir able to launch Thor into the air by only spinning rapidly? All Thor is required to do is spin his hammer at a rapid speed, and when released, Mjolnir is able to launch Thor without him kicking off of the ground. This question has puzzled Avengers fans. However, according to Rhys L. Griffiths, this method of flying perfectly agrees with physics. Griffiths states that Mjolnir's momentum is greatly increased when being spun, essentially increasing its mass (2017). Mjolnir's increased mass counters greatly with Thor's smaller mass in comparison, thus Mjolnir is able to "counter" Thor's mass and launch him into the sky.
Another theory postulated to explain Mjolnir's ability has to do with forces. When Thor pushes down onto the ground before takeoff, "he effectively couples his center of mass to the Earth’s" (Griffiths, 2017). The force that Thor exerts onto the ground is large in magnitude, and the ground pushes back onto Thor with an equal magnitude of force. As Thor pushes off of the ground, the ground thus pushes back onto Thor with the same larger force, which completely agrees with Newton's Third Law.
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