Equal parts special-effects marvel and revelation of cultural anxieties, the colossal movie monster has fascinated audiences since perhaps its most famous incarnation in King Kong (1933). From gargantuan radioactive ants in the 1950’s classic THEM! (1954) to the resurrected t-rex in Jurassic Park (1993), these giants seem unstoppable. But are they even possible? Nature has rules, after all. In this talk, movie monsters meet physics—and the news isn’t very good for the monsters.
Chris Whittaker is a physics teacher and Coordinator of the Science Program at Dawson College. He has a Masters Degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University where he specialized in aeronautics and nuclear engineering. At Dawson, he created a course for non-science students that explores a variety of topics in physics through movies and TV shows. Before his teaching career, Chris also completed a Masters Degree in Social Work and worked for several years in emergency mental health, with at-risk-youth and as an intake worker at a CLSC. Along the way he also managed to do two radio documentaries for the CBC Radio One program Ideas, including one on how size matters in engineering, biology and the movies.
