Five Things The Big Bang Theory Got Wrong about Physics

Those who have been following The Big Bang Theory might have imagined that this is clearly the best ever science mixed with comedy based TV show ever. Indeed it offers a lot of enlightenment on various scientific principles and the fact that there are physics professors to provide the formulas and facts, it does not preempt the possibility of having one or two scientific inconsistencies. In fact, there are several instances in which some physics principles are gotten wrong on the show. Here are five instances when The Big Bang Theory got it wrong about physics.

The Raiders Minimization

Back in season 7 episode four, the first error to appear comes up on the whiteboard that exposes the scientific inconsistency passed into the show. In physics, equations are deduced through their units and according to the equation presented on the whiteboard, it was about projectile motion. The variable h is used to represent the height of the projectile. The issue is about factor representation where the wrong equation used. For example, presenting the units of calculation as (meters/seconds)2 might at some point in calculation render your equation unitless, which is not going to result to an accurate answer.

The Russian Rocket Reaction

When Howard is allowed to join the rest of the crew into space, many questions arise about his qualification to be part of the team. If the four previous seasons are anything to go by, his characterization shows someone whose health condition cannot allow him to survive in space. He has a genetic risk that would result to heart illnesses and he also suffers from transient idiopathic arrhythmia. The difference in gravity in space would not allow him to survive all these risks and it is against scientific principles to suggest he could possibly have maneuvered in the harsh conditions.

Chemical presentation

There are also instances where there is misuse of scientific terms. One case is when on the whiteboards instead of using hydraulics they refer to it as hydrostatic. Although there are fact-checks by David Saltzberg, a physicist who has been teaching UCLA, such mistakes are still passed to production, maybe because the scripts are too huge to review completely. David Saltzberg reviews each script to ensure it contains scientific principles and presentations that are correct. He also assists in writing most of the formulas used on the whiteboard.

Sheldon is a genius but wrong most of the time

Sheldon has been depicted as the genius who is always presenting scientific views about different concepts. But on many cases, he is wrong. Example is where he claims the sound that is produced after hitting a wine glass is B flat while according to physics the sound should be B. He also asserts ears don’t cross hemispheres, which is wrong as the truth is they do.

Changing weight

The weight of Sheldon keeps increasing but when you observe his body shape and size remains constant. This is not easily possible and might raise scientific questions regarding the relationship between volume, shape and mass. After gaining 25lbs, he would have experienced some change in shape or size.