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Re: X-Ray vision



I don't think Superman's X-ray vision is any kind of metaphor, David. When
they defined his super powers in the mid 1930's, I believe the cartoonists
(Shuster and What's His Name) let him have real honest-to-god x-ray vision.
And since he could adjust its penetrating power to walls, clothing, earth,
or anything else, he must have been able to control the energy of the
radiation. Therefore, he must have had his own built-in source.

Paul O. Johnson

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Bowman" <David_Bowman@GEORGETOWNCOLLEGE.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Friday, March 31, 2000 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: X-Ray vision


Never having been one to read comic books I have a possibly silly
question regarding Superman's X-ray vision that a more knowlegeable
person might know the answer to.

How does Superman see anything with his X-ray vision considering that
under normal circumstances the X-ray flux (both ambient illumination and
emission from objects looked at) is negligible under everyday terrestrial
conditions? Does Superman have his own built-in X-ray source he uses to
illuminate what he is looking at or what? Or is 'X-ray vision' a
metaphor for some other perceptual mechanism? Inquiring minds want to
know.

David Bowman
David_Bowman@georgetowncollege.edu