Bad science in films bugs physicist

The next time you see a sci-fi film with people battling insects as big as houses, consider this: An insect scaled up to that size would collapse under its own weight, according to physicist Sidney Perkowitz.

From the Guardian in London:

"Science fiction movies should be allowed only one major transgression of the laws of physics, according to a US professor who has won backing from a number of his peers after creating a set of guidelines for Hollywood.

"The guidelines are by Sidney ­Perkowitz, a professor of physics at Emory University and a member of the Science and Entertainment Exchange, an advisory body run by the US National Academy of Sciences.

"The Science and Entertainment Exchange is backed by Dustin Hoffman, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker and Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the screenplays for The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Perkowitz said: 'The hope is that it will get better science into films while still making them interesting.'"

Read the full article.

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