What Neil deGrasse Tyson Got Wrong about Thor's Hammer

How heavy is Thor’s hammer? Superhero movie fan Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice discuss a tweet that Neil sent after he saw “Thor.” The hammer is described as being forged in the ashes of a dying star, which Neil concluded would likely be a neutron star. After measuring a replica prop, Neil calculates that the hammer would weigh as much as a herd of 300 billion elephants. No wonder even The Hulk can’t pick it up! Even though a physics professor and Norse God specialist explained the error of his ways to Neil, it feels a bit lightweight to us, and we think Neil’s “wrong answer” is much more substantial.

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[therealquade]

well, they said it was "Forged in the ashes of a dying star". That doesn't say it was "forged FROM the ashes of a dying star" The dying star was the heat source, not the raw material. so really, Energy output and pressure at the time of forging is what's relevant. which would tell you things like how hot thor's hammer can get before it weakens, and How much it would take to break it. I think that's far more interesting than any of the rest.

[siddarth_vader]

So if and when Thor drops the hammer on the ground, shouldn't it move towards the centre of Earth? Heck Earth should move towards it

[TheGamerNinjazX]

Neil the issue with your point is it was FORGED in a dying star. Not made of one, it was all there. It was made by whatever that nerd said it was.

[dannymaupin]

Your friend is right, Mjolnir is made from a magical metal that was forged by the Dwarves, in Marvel the metal is called Uru, I don't remember if it's the same name in actual Norse mythology. However, Uru is not metal from a dying star, it's just a metal that only the Dwarves can forge. Mjolnir was special because not only is it made of Uru, but it was also forged in the heart of a dying star, meaning that they used that heat to melt the Uru and forge the hammer. I also assume that any particles let out from that dying star, such as neutrons if it was a neutron star, would also be forged with the Uru metal.

[Nodws]

Mjolnir is made of Uru and weighs precisely 42.3 pounds

[eat_ze_bugs]

It probably weighs 6 lbs or else the coat hanger wouldn't survive.

[matthewbartke]

Thor's hammer isn't immovable because of its weight, it is unmovable because it is quantum locked magically.

[reinforcedpenisstem]

If the only things your getting 'wrong' are arbitrary Comic Book rules then you're doing very well.

[watchyourprofanity]

I thought it was just a 40 pound magical hammer that only the extremely willful can pick up.

[anon]

Kids in Africa could've eaten those Neutrons :(

[jonathonbialas]

It only weighs 20kg. It's made IN the heart of a dying star not FROM a dying star

[KyleAlexJohn]

I always understood Thor's hammer to be about as heavy as any other hammer of similar properties, add some for the sake of mythical stuff. The bigger thing, I thought, was simply that the hammer nullifies any force applied to it, bar natural forces at work in the galaxy, unless you are worthy to wield it. Which would mean, once it's set down, no matter of pulling or pushing will move it. Now this begs a few questions, but I felt that made more sense as opposed to Thor's hammer just being really, really heavy. If anyone knows more about Thor, I'd love to hear about it, though, because I'm probably wrong somewhere.

[R_dacted]

Wouldn't something as small as a hammer densely packed with enough mass for it to weight 3, 000, 000, 000lbs have some notable gravitational funkiness to it?

[Mr_Pv]

phisics teacher.... nors god especialist... Eric Selvig?

[TheNewsDepot]

In the Marvel movies, Thor's Hammer is made of Vibranium. (Or what the Asgardians call Uru.)
That is why pure vibranium and Thor's Hammer both make that vibrating hum when they move.
Captain America's shield, however, is made from a Vibranium Alloy and so does not hum.
And I am pretty sure it's not the weight of the Hammer that makes it immobile, but some sort of space time anchoring it does when not handled or called by Thor.

[gabrielbalsa]

Thor's like "I ain't got my hammer, but this watermelon must suffice"

[vKILLZNEv]

The problem with it weighing billions of cows* would be that whenever the hammer is placed on an object/person, it would crush it/them. Which is clearly not the case in the Thor and Avengers movies. So, the only answer then would have to be magic.

[pugfugly]

I'm an anthropologist of sorts (ethnomusicologist) and all I have to say is the metal Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, is made of is called Uru, and it's pretty well just the Asgardian word for Iron. No one can wield Thor's hammer because of the magical enchantment placed on it by Odin. The enchantment itself reads "Whoesoever holds this hammer be he worthy (changed to be they worthy in recent years) shall possess the power of Thor."So not only is the hammer light, it's just a hammer, with no special properties. It's actually just the anchor for Thor's power in the realm of mortals.

[stm]

It is 43.3 pounds according to the quote from the comic though I like the 4 billion elephants answer because it is awesome!

[trollimusprime]

Odin - "Forged in the ashes of a dying star"... Neil - "Yes! I can calculate this".