[aasimz (OP)]

Okay, we are just chatting, and only for fantasy purposes.

If we are drafting a story, can any of you produce a logical scientific justification for a being to exist in this universe with such strength, I don't think we can, and here is my approach.

One way to think of Superman's source of strength is his speed, as he races bullets and so on.

• The bullet typically moves at 792.48 meters per second, (some at 980m/s and some at more).
• A being that would be able to see this bullet moving will need to see -at least- in 120,000 fps, or even more if he wants to see it moving when he is close to the bullet. (Our human eye sees at 40-60 fps)
• His consciousness and perception of time would have to be the same as his ability to see 120,000 fps at least, therefore, our 1 second will feel like 33 hours and 20 minutes for him. (120,000 frames/60²) = 33.33 hours)
• Most of the things moving around him will be frozen in his perception he wouldn't be able to communicate with them.
• His walk, if he walks like us at 4.54 km/h = 1.26 m/s (30-39 years old), in his perception, for us he will be moving at 151,318.2 m/s
• His punch will be much faster than his walk, average human punch is 24.1 km/h (= 803,253 m/s for him) but he should be stronger, the average boxer can do 32.1km/h but the record was 72.4km/h (= 2,413,092 m/s for him) he, -no matter how gently he tries to touch any of us- will tear us into pieces.
  

Okay, although we know that some creatures like bees see in ultraviolet and they do see at around 600 fps and they have a different perception of time than us, for them time moves slower, and the wings which we think they are moving them with a heroic effort and extremely high speed, are actually -in their perception- like how normal birds move their wings. their brains -to accommodate- can transfer pulses a lot faster than the human brain. but is it possible for any brain to accommodate such high frame rates (120,000 fps and above)? especially a big brain?

Now, is there any material that we know of (not just biological) which can tolerate that? I mean what would be the material that this being should have for the bone structure/muscles to be able to tolerate the immense pressure in his feet if he runs at that speed, or when he punches a rock on a mountain, what material can stand such an impact? an impact at speeds around 2,000,000 m/s (more than a hundred times faster than the average asteroid speed before impact)

Everyone, please feel free to hop in, we are just chatting.

[evan_au]

There is no solid material on Earth that can withstand getting hit by bullets or an anti-tank missile without getting dented.
- Maybe neutronium (material from a neutron star) - but it would disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere

Reversing time by flying around the Earth is not compatible with our understanding of General Relativity,

Emitting X-Rays with your eyes to see through things has a tenchical problem: X-Rays do pass through many materials without getting absorbed - but the X-Rays pass through, so you have to detect the image on the other side (not on the same side as your X-Ray source).
- This would have to rely on X-Ray reflection, which I imagine is far less likely than absorption or transmission!
- Some X-Ray telescopes do use X-Ray reflection, but they use grazing angles from a crystalline surface; superman needs 180° reflection from bulk materials.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_optics#X-ray_techniques

[aasimz (OP)]

Evan, thank you for participating. 😊

There is no solid material on Earth that can withstand getting hit by bullets or an anti-tank missile without getting dented.

Exactly, so my conclusion is correct. and it is a proven impossibility. wait let's see about the neutronium below:

- Maybe neutronium (material from a neutron star) - but it would disintegrate in Earth's atmosphere

Interesting, so let's say, we were able to capture some of it right outside of the atmosphere and brought it safely, could it be used to support/reinforce bones and muscles, is it toxic? would it work? Could this material be available inside a living organism? will it have electrons then and be able to integrate with other matter without disintegrating?
(Assuming we were able to stimulate our brain to be able to accommodate for higher frame rates. (Which is another impossibility as well)).

Reversing time by flying around the Earth is not compatible with our understanding of General Relativity,

Ya this is an obvious impossibility, that's why I was talking only about his strength, not the ability to fly nor the laser that cuts through steel.

Emitting X-Rays with your eyes to see through things has a tenchical problem: X-Rays do pass through many materials without getting absorbed - but the X-Rays pass through, so you have to detect the image on the other side (not on the same side as your X-Ray source).
- This would have to rely on X-Ray reflection, which I imagine is far less likely than absorption or transmission!
- Some X-Ray telescopes do use X-Ray reflection, but they use grazing angles from a crystalline surface; superman needs 180° reflection from bulk materials.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_optics#X-ray_techniques

Yes, I agree, not only that, but also what kind of biological system exists that can withhold/store or tolerate the energy needed to generate X-Rays, or the condensed high energy laser that cuts through steel?

So, do we all agree that such strength cannot exist? It is an impossibility!

[alancalverd]

Reversing time by flying around the Earth is not compatible with our understanding of General Relativity,

But if you fly eastwards from Samoa you can arrive yesterday, and 20,000 miles to the west,  even in a light aircraft.

[aasimz (OP)]

But if you fly eastwards from Samoa you can arrive yesterday, and 20,000 miles to the west,  even in a light aircraft.

We instantly talk to someone who lives on yesterday via phone/chat, but it wouldn't mean that we are communicating with their past! It's their present, and they did not live in a future which I would then consider myself that I have travelled to (or communicated with) its past. This -by any means- cannot be considered time travelling.

[Kryptid]

Interesting, so let's say, we were able to capture some of it right outside of the atmosphere and brought it safely, could it be used to support/reinforce bones and muscles, is it toxic? would it work? Could this material be available inside a living organism? will it have electrons then and be able to integrate with other matter without disintegrating?
(Assuming we were able to stimulate our brain to be able to accommodate for higher frame rates. (Which is another impossibility as well)).

A sample of neutronium would be highly unstable on its own. What keeps it stable on a neutron star is the immensely crushing gravity that exists there. Try to isolate a sample and it would explode into a shower of free neutrons and atomic nuclei.

[Eternal Student]

Hi.

......let's say, we were able to capture some of it (Neutronium)  right outside of the atmosphere and brought it safely, could it be used to support/reinforce bones and muscles, is it toxic?

      Neutron star material or "Neutronium" exists only when it is in an extreme environment.   Move it away from a Neutron star and it stops being Neutronium.
     So you can't just scoop some of it up and bring it back to planet earth, sorry.  You'd need to bring the extreme conditions back with it.   Overall, if you have a Sci-Fi method to maintain these sorts of conditions but just locally, then you don't even need to go to a Neutron star to collect the Neutronium -  put ANY ordinary element on the periodic table under thess extreme conditions and it will behave like Neutronium.   For analogy, it's the extreme version of making a diamond out of what was just some well spread out carbon dust.   Realistically you cannot confine a substance to such a small amount of space (e.g. put it under enough pressure) except in the extreme conditions of a Neutron star.
      Unlike Diamond, Neutronium isn't stable and won't stay as Neutronium, lift the pressure off and it should expand and become some more conventional set of atoms on the periodic table.  (Just to be clear - this is the theory, no experiments have been done and no-one could survive a journey to the star to get some).
   
    Neutronium is also extremely dense (as you can guess), it's within a hair's breadth of being dense enough to form a black hole.   Black Holes are just Neutron stars where the density has tipped over the limit.   So, you need to keep in mind that Neutronium would be an extreme substance to have on planet earth.  When you ask "is it toxic?" - I don't think we need to worry about some bicochemical or physiological poisioning.  What is more important is that you have put a source of gravity similar to a black hole inside someones body.  Atoms approaching the Neutronium will be ripped apart and you would have thought the damage will be unsurivable even for a superhero.   
     It's all arbitrary really...  you needed some method to keep the Neutronium compressed so presumaby you already had the stuff contained in something that could hold it and that should keep other atoms of stuff far enough away from the Neutronium.

Best Wishes.

Overlap with @Kryptid  who must have posted before I finished.

[aasimz (OP)]

Thank you all for the extensive coverage on Neutronium, it was particularly useful information.

Okay, forget about biology then, is it safe to say a material with such strength (which we can use only as a shield for example) does not exist?

[alancalverd]

The clue is in the name - superman. Anything else would imply natural feasibility.

[Bored chemist]

I doubt anyone has done teh maths , never mind the experiment, but I'm pretty sure that neutronium would collapse into a sphere under its own gravity.
It would effectively be a liquid with a very high surface tension.

You couldn't build anything out of it anyway.

[alancalverd]

And even if you did, you wouldn't be able to move it because it is 10¹⁴ times denser than any normal material, so a champion weightlifter couldn't shift a pinhead of the stuff.

However if we restrict ourselves to organic materials, it's interesting to compare the ultimate strength of a limb with an exoskeleton compared with an endoskeleton. I get the feeling that Superman might be more lobster than mammal, probably with octopus-style hydraulic muscles. No wonder that Lois Lane finds him attractive - he can open the toughest jars, which as any woman will tell you, is why they still keep men around the house.

[Bored chemist]

I'm pretty sure the radiation damage from being anywhere near any significant amount of neutronium should destroy you too.

[Petrochemicals]

Yes, his science is something we do not understand. He can control radiation with his super power magnetism, his energy comes from quarks and mesons, he is as light as a feather due to his antigravity,,,, he is Superman!!!!!!!

[Bored chemist]

[Zer0]

Umm...Why is there a Yellow Circle with a Red Exclamation mark depicted near the OP?

Meaning?

[Kryptid]

Superman's bones and muscles couldn't be made of any known material that would allow him to do this:

The same goes for that machine he's lifting against as well as the floor he's standing on.

[evan_au]

I'm pretty sure that neutronium would collapse into a sphere under its own gravity

This is true for a stellar-mass drop of neutronium.

I haven't seen a phase diagram of neutronium, but it is reportedly a solid on the surface of a neutron star (if you ignore the millimeter or so of atmosphere).
- Remove a spoonful of this solid, and it will have the mass of a mountain - not enough gravity to move very much
- But remove it from the immense gravitational pressure of a neutron star, and I imagine that it will sublimate explosively into a neutron gas
- Even if the strong nuclear force were enough to hold the neutrons in a solid lump, the half-life of a free neutron (on the surface) is around 12 minutes, so there will be an immense nuclear reaction, with neutrons decaying into protons and electrons: much more radioactive than plutonium 239, with a half-life of 24,000 years.

[Eternal Student]

Hi.

Plenty of info about Neutronium, thank you @evan_au .
I was just going to comment on one thing because it's vaguely related to something mentioned earlier.

Remove a spoonful of this solid, and it will have the mass of a mountain - not enough gravity to move very much

    It's not the ability to pull things toward it that is a problem, not until they get too close.   Indeed a 1Kg lump of Iron, a 1Kg lump of Neutronium or a black hole with a 1kg mass parameter   will all exert the same force of gravity on something that remains 1 metre away,  i.e.  not much. 
    It's the density of the material that is a problem.   For the lump of Iron you cannot get too close to it, you would be in contact with the surface and electrostatic repulsion would keep you away.   Let's just have the thing spherical and assume the 1Kg can be treated as being at the centre - you can't get too close to it.    However, for a lump of Neutronium you can get closer.   For a black hole you can get all the way up to the Schwarzschild radius and then you are certainly doomed.   However, you don't need to get that close.  For a small black hole once you are close to the Schwarzschild radius the gradient that exists in the force,  is extreme.   So the difference in force at your (or a particle's) head is very different to that at your (or the particle's) feet and you (or the particle) are pulled apart.    (I've deliberately over-simplified this and used terminology based on Newtonian gravity.   In GR you try not to consider gravity as a force, you just find a collection of Local Inertial Frames and consider an object in free fall to be at rest in the frame local to it.   However near the Schwarzschild radius all inertial frames lose their inertial property even over the smallest distances,  you cannot find a frame that would approximate a LIF across all of the particle's length.  As such there are seen to be tidal forces on the particle that cannot be removed no matter what set of co-ordinates you try to use).
    Anyway, the main point is just that the density isn't causing a gravitational problem because of the total mass that the Neutronium has.  The density is a problem because of how close another particle can get to it.

Best Wishes.

[aasimz (OP)]

Umm...Why is there a Yellow Circle with a Red Exclamation mark depicted near the OP?

Meaning?

Changed to a question mark. 😊

[aasimz (OP)]

Superman's bones and muscles couldn't be made of any known material that would allow him to do this:

The same goes for that machine he's lifting against as well as the floor he's standing on.

Thank you.