Captain America's shield bouncing

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the properties of Captain America's shield, specifically its material composition of vibranium and its ability to bounce off surfaces. Participants explore the implications of energy absorption on the shield's bouncing behavior, considering both theoretical and fictional aspects.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the ability to absorb energy enhances bouncing effectiveness, with one suggesting it might do the opposite.
  • Another participant introduces the concept of piezoelectric materials, proposing that energy absorption could lead to different outcomes depending on how that energy is utilized (e.g., generating heat vs. enabling elastic deformation).
  • One participant asserts that if energy is absorbed and dissipated, it would not contribute to bouncing, implying that energy dissipation is counterproductive to the bouncing effect.
  • A later reply humorously suggests that narrative choices in movies dictate the behavior of characters and objects, rather than physical principles.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between energy absorption and bouncing effectiveness, indicating that multiple competing perspectives remain unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about the properties of vibranium and its fictional characteristics are not fully explored, and the discussion touches on the limitations of applying real-world physics to fictional scenarios.

caljuice
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So I finished watching the movie and they talk about how Captain America' shield is made out of vibranium, a material that is very good at absorbing energy. The shield bounces off walls like rubber. Does the ability to absorb energy actually make things more effective at bouncing?
 
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I think it would do the opposite, but I'm not sure.
 
Does the ability to absorb energy actually make things more effective at bouncing?
--caljuice

Absorbs energy and does what with it? We have Piezo Electric materials that will actually generate a current if you squeeze them (quartz does this). If it absorbed the energy and just got hotter, the thing would just hit the wall, absorb the energy, get really hot, and drop. If it absorbed that energy to contract and expand in a very short time scale (like a rubber ball), it might be effective at bouncing. Also note that Hollywood and comic books alike ignore gravity when it's more convenient to do so.
 
caljuice said:
So I finished watching the movie and they talk about how Captain America' shield is made out of vibranium, a material that is very good at absorbing energy. The shield bounces off walls like rubber. Does the ability to absorb energy actually make things more effective at bouncing?

No. If you mean absorb energy as in absorb and dissipate, then the energy is not available for any new bouncing.

BTW, here is a locked thread about Captain America's Shield (comics/movie):

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=382610

It's locked because it strayed from mainstream science. Let's take care not to have the same thing happen in this thread...
 
I'll say that the key to Captain America's powers is the same as the reason why bad guys can unload full clips at Rambo without hitting him. It's because the scriptwriters made it that way.

At this time, I'll exit stage left. ;)
 
Thread closed temporarily...
 

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