The Physics of Phineas & Ferb

1. The Physics of Phineas & Ferb Anna Farello Keith Harrigian

2. Elasticity Clip Start: 8:28 Problem: Phineas and Ferb manage to travel from India to Paris using what appears to be a simple rubber band ball. They would cover a distance of over 9,700 km if they went straight to Paris, but as you can see, they pass by other global landmarks along the way. What we Need: Conservation of Energy, Conservation of Momentum, Kinematics, Vectors, Springs The Work:

3. More Issues

4. More Math

5. Conclusion While Phineas and Ferb have a great deal of momentum, there aren't any perfectly elastic collisions. They would need additional velicity after each collision to continue traveling as far as they do. They do have a jet coming off of the ball, so it is plausible that they can keep going without friction and expulsion of heat and sound slowing them down. However, they would need to be traveling with an extremely high velocity upon each impact, and would need significantly better restraint systems to survive. With certain modifications, we agree that one could travel around the world on an elastic ball. "With a little compression, a little recoil, and a Jet Engine, we'll be bouncing around the world"

6. Futbol x-7 Clip Start: 5:36 "The Only Thing That's Impossible is Impossibility"...and this game. Problem: While the gyroscope would seem to make this game plausible, one must remember that multiple players will be in different areas of the field. They gyroscope would not center for several people. But are there ways around it? What We Need: Torque, Vectors, Newton's Laws

7. Calculations

8. Conclusion The calculations make it seem like it could be possible to keep ferb against the wall. However, this was done assuming some kind of vacuum was used to keep the players on the ground. We never see any kind of system that would do this, and it would make running extremely difficult. It would take too much work to counter the effect of the vacuum. Not to mention that it would affect the roll of the soccer ball. We conclude that as fun as Football X7 looks, it is implausible. It might be possible if it were played in space without gravity, but that would once again mess up the movement of the ball and make controlling one's movement nearly impossible.

9. Rollercoaster *Clip start-5:00 Problem: Phineas, Ferb and friends on the coaster are "flung" into space by the Eiffel Tower (which is a problem in itself), but they fall to Earth and land in their backyard tree safe and sound. It is possible that the acceleration due to gravity would not be enough to leave humans unharmed? What we need: Kinematics

10. The Physics Behind It

11. Conclusion A five-story jump is most often fatal with the acceleration of gravity. If the 1,388.89m/s^2 acceleration is factored in along with a height of 400km, the result in real life would be a flattened group of kids. Even if they fell due to gravity there would be fatal damage to the coaster and the children in it because a tree is not elastic enough to cushion a then-final velocity of 2800m/s. For the children in the coaster to land safely in the tree, they would need to fall from a much shorter distance and, of course, accelerate at 9.8m/s^2. If the coaster had major shock absorbers that could help conserve energy more efficiently, then the situation may be plausible. The most inaccurate fact in the episode is the time it takes them to reach land. In reality, it would take 4.76 minutes to travel through 400km of atmosphere.

12. Coffee-Melting Escape Clip Start-6:10 Problem: The evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz freezes Perry the Platypus. However, Perry knocks over coffee which melts the ice around him in less than one second. How efficient is the coffee? What we need: Thermodynamics; efficiency

13. The Physics Behind It

14. Conclusion Some of the hottest coffee is about 200°F (served at none other than McDonalds). If Doofenschmirtz's coffee was this hot, it would still not be able to melt a cubic meter of ice in less than a second. Of course, for the purpose of time in the show, Perry has to free himself as quickly as possible. Moreover, if Perry was truly frozen, he would not be able to shake the table enough to knock over the coffee. Additionally, while efficiency is often used with engines, I felt it was appropriate to mention that the coffee has perfect efficiency. This is impossible because when work is done, energy is lost to various factors and is not perfectly conserved. To fix this circumstance and make it more accurate, it would have to take much more time for Perry to melt.

15. Atlantis Clip Start-2:40 Problem: Phineas and the gang find Atlantis by walking on the ocean floor. How is this possible and would the pressure be too much for them to handle? What we need: Forces, Buoyancy, Pressure

16. The Physics Behind It While many physics factors play into this situation, there are not many calculations. Below is a list of why this could never work: • Humans are less dense than salt water, therefore we naturally float. • The video implies that Fbuoyant < Fgravity. • Atlantis is never looked for off the coast of New York. Usually it is searched for in the Mediterranean Sea or off the west coast of Africa. • Suppose they were in the Mediterranean. They would be at a depth of around 250m. Since P=ρgh, P=(1000)(250)(9.8)=2,450,000 Pa • Their air tanks are probably no more than 3ft^3 in volume. For kicks, let's say they contain 6 cubic feet of air. At 250m deep, this would give Phineas and his gang about 15 breaths max.

17. Conclusion The most obvious conclusion is that Phineas and Ferb did not actually find Atlantis. If they started at the local beach and walked (on the ocean floor) to the proposed location of Atlantis, it would have taken them weeks. At the bottom of the ocean, there is so much pressure that the buoyant force is extremely great. To be able to walk down there, gravity would have to overcome buoyancy. If the kids each held a boulder that was more dense than the ocean, they would be able to keep themselves on the floor. Now the air tanks. It is physically impossible to breathe less than 15 times while 250m below the surface and singing about Atlantis. Since Phineas and Ferb are kids, they may have a couple more breaths than adults, but the overall situation is not believable. In addition, 2,450,000 Pascals is the equivalent of about 24 atmospheres. This pressure is unbearable for kids their age. They would most likely die without extensive training beforehand.

18. Ultimate Conclusions • Phineas and Ferb are too young to defy the laws of physics • Their parents should be more aware of what their kids are doing • Phineas and Ferb have a blatant disregard for rules OR • Phineas and Ferb are so mentally and technologically advanced that they are smart enough to get around the laws of physics

19. Because We Like Music Even More

20. Bibliography http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=19138.0 http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/thermal-conductivity-d_429.html http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question12158.html http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=53810 http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/yellowpages/coasters/galaxy-orbiter_galaxyland.shtml