History Main / ArtisticLicensePhysics

* In ''Series/TheDarkSideOfTheRing''[='s=] episode on the infamous Plane Ride from Hell, Wrestling/CurtHennig was presented as nearly killing everyone on board when he tried to open the emergency exit door when the plane was 30,000 feet in the air. At that altitude, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the plane is so great that opening the emergency exit is outright impossible. The plane's exit door would need about 24,000 pounds of pressure to open at that altitude; by comparison, only a few human beings in history have ever lifted over a thousand pounds. So even if Hennig was the strongest man in human history, he still wouldn't have even come close to opening the door.

[[folder:Comics]]
* [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]], of all people, feels the need to point out everything wrong about Ego compared to how planets are supposed to be structured.
* A 1950s comic by Creator/JackKirby has a MadScientist who hates humanity planning to fly into space to drop a bomb that would destroy Earth. He does so, but when he launches the bomb it doesn't fall as he expected, it merely floats where he dropped it off. Then he realizes ''he forgot there's no gravity in space!''[[note]]That itself was wrong. The bomb, the spaceship, and he himself fall at the same rate around the earth.[[/note]] The bomb explodes, destroying the spaceship and killing the scientist, but leaving Earth unharmed. [[TooDumbToLive Some]] [[StupidScientist scientist]].

* Discussed in [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2007-12-14 an author's note]] in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', about the problems of portraying space combat.
-->'''Author's Commentary:''' I suppose someday when I'm in a hurry I'll just drop a starfield into panels like this, black some bits out, slap some distortion filters on the whole mess, and then ramble about how uninteresting space combat is to look at.

-->'''[[DeusEstMachina Petey]]:''' The only quantum mechanics models that work that way are found in poorly-researched science fiction.\\

* The three fireplace-sized logs that Doc gives to Marty in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' would ''not'' be sufficient to run a steam locomotive for a mile or more. This example overlaps with JustTrainWrong, because the idea behind a steam locomotive is to produce a steady, even source of heat and raise the water/steam temperature incrementally. Since there's such a large volume of fluid [[OvenLogic a significant, but short burst of heat]] probably wouldn't be sufficient to raise the pressure in any significant way.
** Not only that, but such a dramatic means of powering the train wasn't even necessary. Some trains of the late-19th century were ''more'' than capable of achieving the speeds required by the [=DeLorean=] under the normal capabilities of their boilers, and on properly built and maintained track. However, whether the class of locomotive shown or the underlying track would have supported / survived this effort tends to bring us back to this trope.

* SquareCubeLaw: Scaling an object up or down changes its properties, which fiction sometimes ignores.
* SpaceshipSlingshotStunt: Though only to the extent that it's treated as something insane and awesome. Gravity assists are actually a very common space maneuver in real life.

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1''. In this case, optics. Woody uses Buzz's helmet as a SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass to light a fuse. Unfortunately, Buzz's helmet is made of plastic, not glass, so it couldn't focus the sun's light the way glass does.

* A physicist is on trial for running a red light. He takes the stand in his own defense, and discusses the Doppler effect, eloquently explaining how the frequency of light one sees changes as one moves toward or away from a light source. Therefore, he argues that the red light appeared green to him.
** Unfortunately for him, his cross-examining prosecutor was a former student of his whom he had failed. The prosecutor asks, "How fast were you driving -- a hundred thousand miles a second? Within a factor of two, perhaps?" After some explanatory exchanges about the parts omitted by the physicist, the judge dismisses the red-light running charge and convicts him of speeding.

* In the [[{{Bmovie}} low-budget]] 1990 movie ''Film/{{Captain America|1990}}'', the title hero is somehow able to redirect the course of a rocket he's strapped to by kicking it ''really hard''. He kicks it so far off course that instead of the intended target, Washington, DC, he ends up in Alaska, somehow not exploding. And moving slowly enough for someone to take a clear picture of him from the ground.

* In ''Film/HalloweenResurrection'', a victim(played by Creator/KateeSackhoff) is decapitated in one stroke...with a foot long kitchen knife.

** Stitch is dense, and therefore can't swim. He's the size of a small dog, and doesn't appear to weigh much more than one either; the six-year-old Lilo is able to lift him with minimal difficulty. Density is a function of both size and mass, so if he's able to pass for a dog in all respects, weight included, he should have the same approximate density as Lilo does.

When this is done properly, it can make for awesome action sequences and way-cool visuals - think ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' or ''VideoGame/BioShock'', for example. Done badly, it can ruin the atmosphere entirely.

Writers often play fast and loose with physics - sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. This is usually acceptable when it makes for good storytelling and/or [[RuleOfCool just plain awesomeness]], and one should always keep the MST3KMantra in mind. However, an JustForFun/{{egregious}} violation of the laws of physics can result in loss of WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief, especially in a story that tries to be taken seriously, or if the error could have been avoided with minimal revision.

** Possibly justified by [[Film/RoboCop3 the third movie]]. Robocop's organic parts are apparently limited to Officer Alex Murphy's remaining brain matter inside an extremely sturdy casing that can survive impacts from bullets from automatic rifles and even the shrapnel and impact of near missed from ED-209's rockets, and his face (or a synthetic replica) attached to the front of said casing (this is lampshaded by a ganger claiming "cyborg EATS bullets," implying that someone may have had the bright idea of aiming for the mouth and finding this out firsthand). The brain is kept alive by artificial organs (such as a mechanical heart that needs replacing during the course of the film); this may explain why Robocop is unable to handle solid foods (his artificial digestive system may not be capable of processing something more demanding than baby food). Whereas Robocop 2 is blatantly justified at the time - the brain is kept inside a liquid-filled jar inside a massive, heavily armored body that can shrug off anti-tank fire. And the brain inside was already sufficiently unhinged that any damage wouldn't have been obvious during the resumed rampage.
* Likewise, Indiana Jones in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' can survive being hurled hundreds of feet because he's inside a refrigerator.
** He can also apparently survive [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom falling hundreds of feet from a crashing airplane, down the slopes of a snow-capped mountain and off of a cliff into a rapid river as long as he's on a flimsy inflatable raft the entire time...]]

* The first issue of ''Comicbook/{{NemesisMarkMillar}}'' has the main character stand in front of the outside of an airplane...while it's in mid-flight. Before you ask, no, Nemesis doesn't have superpowers. Yes, the comic is supposed to be realistic.

* The first issue of ''Comicbook/{{Nemesis}}'' has the main character stand in front of the outside of an airplane...while it's in mid-flight. Before you ask, no, Nemesis doesn't have superpowers. Yes, the comic is supposed to be realistic.

* ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'':
** The barber and his customers from "[[Recap/TheRailwaySeriesB13DuckAndTheDieselEngine A Close Shave]]" all survive Duck crashing into the barber shop, without so much as a minor injury. If this was real life, they would have all been seriously injured ''at best'', and most likely killed.
** Similarly, the stationmaster and his family from "[[Recap/TheRailwaySeriesB16BranchLineEngines Thomas Comes to Breakfast]]" are completely unharmed when Thomas crashes into their house while they're having breakfast inside. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by the stationmaster's wife, who berates Thomas [[SkewedPriorities for ruining their breakfast instead of for wrecking their house]].

** Similarly, the stationmaster and his family from "[[Recap/ThomasAndFriendsS2E18ThomasComesToBreakfast Thomas Comes to Breakfast]]" are completely unharmed when Thomas crashes into their house while they're having breakfast inside. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by the stationmaster's wife, who berates Thomas [[SkewedPriorities for ruining their breakfast instead of for wrecking their house]].

* It's not like The Asylum is known for being on the deep end of the Moh's Hardness Scale, but their 2014 film ''Asteroid vs Earth'' hinges on stupidity that may not even be quantifiable. Faced with an Earth destroying asteroid 1/4th the size and weight of the moon, one of the characters correctly informs the military that firing nukes at it won't work. He soon loses these "did his homework" points by raising another plan, that requires that nukes be set off in and around the Ring of Fire in the Pacific. By doing so, he hopes to create a magnitude ''18'' earthquake that will move the planet out of the way of the asteroid. That would be 18 on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richter_scale Richter Scale]]. Pothole included for reference: every step up on the scale releases 31 times more energy. A little math shows that an earthquake of magnitude 18 would release a force equivalent to 12 '''zettatons''' (zettaton = 10 ^ 21 tons) of TNT. The crater from the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs only released 100 teratons (teraton = 10 ^ 12 tons). At this point, the plot is a non issue: no matter what is done, everybody on Earth is going to die.

* ''VideoGame/TheBridge'' revolves entirely around resolving puzzle in Escher-like architecture.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'':

* LawOfInverseRecoil: Large guns lacking recoil, and smaller guns having a stronger recoil then normal.

* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' has a funny little story about this one. One of the weapons is a flamethrower, and in trying to [[ShownTheirWork show their work]] the flamethrower doesn't work in a vacuum. However, they also did their research about mechanical engineering as well, and the flavor text for the flamethrower states it uses hydrazine fuel; this DOES burn in a vacuum, and is used in rocket engines in RealLife. This is corrected in the [[VideoGame/DeadSpace2 second game]].

* ArbitraryMaximumRange: Weapons have maximum range, even in outer space where they shouldn't.
* ArbitraryMinimumRange: Weapons need to be fired from a certain distance or else they won't do any harm.

* The plot for ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' episode "King's Tide" involves a solar eclipse, which is specifically stated to be happening "when the tide is at its lowest". In real life, the fact that the sun, moon, and Earth are in alignment would mean an exceptionally high tide (in fact, that is litterally what the term "King's Tide" means). This discrepancy can probably be chalked up to magic given how it instantly drops when the eclipse reaches totality [[spoiler:and the draining spell activates]].

[[folder:The Speed of Light is Faster Than That]]

[[folder:Large Objects Appearing In or Disappearing From Orbit]]

[[folder:If it Burns Up in the Atmosphere, You're Fine]]

[[folder:Bridge to Nowhere has Nothing on This]]

[[folder:You Can Survive the Impact if you have Protection]]

[[folder:Plate Tectonics is Not About Dinnerware]]

[[folder:Space is not an Ocean / Space is not like Flying in Atmosphere]]