How Accurate is Science in the Show Flash?

By: I. Mizne

Not only is he the fastest man alive, but he is also one of the most talked about superheroes in the world. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, the story of the flash: it narrates the life of a man who is struck by lighting and gains superhuman abilities to run faster than the speed of sound. However, as you may know, the laws of physics prohibit- in any way- humans running faster than the speed of sound.


The Flash’s body can apply the necessary force to move extremely fast and his brain can sense things quickly, which allows him to think on his feet. Considering that if a body is moving through the air at some type of velocity, it experiences drag force due to air resistance (which increases drastically with speed), the body needs to apply an increasing force to the ground. Since we run at normal speeds, the drag force is so small that we don’t feel it, however, the Flash moves at an extremely fast pace, which means that he will experience a tremendous amount of air resistance and would therefore, need to be extraordinarily strong.


Another implication of running at the Flash’s pace is the friction and heat caused by the speed, which is why the Flash uses a spandex/latex costume. But even then, the flash’s body would have to be extremely resistant to suffocating heat. For example: when a meteor breaks through the earth’s atmosphere, it begins to burn up and doesn’t manage to reach the ground. This is because they travel really fast and are faced with tremendous high temperatures, however, shuttles can pass through the atmospheres and survive, as they have heat resistant shields. So, assuming that the Flash’s body can withstand that heat, the costume should be made of heat resistant materials so that it won’t melt.


In the show, the Flash uses his power for good and saves people, but in reality, unfortunately, this could never occur, because to be able to carry someone to safety and move at a fast pace at the same time, you need to accelerate, and our bodies have a limit to acceleration. If this limit is crossed, then our brains could be smashed into our skulls. Thus, for the time being, we must live in a world without the Flash, and continue to see the science behind the show as fiction.