Recently, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Varanasi, made headlines for asking students a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) themed-question in an exam. It featured a question about the unforgettable fight scene between Captain America and Thanos from Avengers: Endgame. This crossover of MCU and academics caught everyone's attention.
The exam paper, dated September 9, contained a 10-mark question built around the scene where Captain America wields Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, to battle the Mad Titan to test students' understanding of physics and engineering principles. This was posted on X by a student of the institute.
In a twist that nobody saw coming, the exam paper posed the following scenario: "Let us consider this iconic scene where our beloved Captain America proves himself worthy enough to lift Thor’s hammer (Mjolnir). He is fighting Thanos at one end and giving his best to save the world."
Students were then asked to compute the stress on the hammer’s handle with a given diameter, turning the moment of heroism into a technical challenge.
Further, it continued, diving into the material properties of the hammer.
The second part of the question discussed how, when Cap strikes Thanos with the hammer, the hammerhead remains in the elastic zone while the handle moves into the plastic zone. Students were then tasked with calculating the strain for both the hammerhead and the handle, asking them to apply principles of engineering mechanics to this cinematic moment.
While a few students opined that asking such questions is innovative and encourages one to think critically about the real-world applications of these concepts, others have joked about why they would have been interested in discussing Captain America academically.
