Not if he was already pushing the train when the kid entered the equation. If this is an earlier version of Superman as this seems to be and he was already pushing the train when the kid came into the picture, then the only way for him to accelerate off the train to grab the kid is if he pushes off the train. Which effectively creates the same “stopping the train too fast,” problem.
If he pushes off the train, he starts from Vo=Vtrain, he simply has to push off less than he would if he were standing still to get to the kid, since Vintercept would be quite a bit greater than 0 anyway. If Vintercept is smaller than Vtrain, that would mean there is no non-lethal solution, passengers in the first car would experience the same (lethal) deceleration or the kid would experience lethal acceleration.
He would also decelerate (and then accelerate) during the kid intercept, which being ‘super’, I would expect him to be able to do, as he can perceive things faster as well.
Snap the neck? Just support the neck. Just put the kid on his whole torso so the kid’s body experiences the acceleration as a monolith as if on a rocket seat.
Him starting off at the velocity of the train is the problem. It’s not as simple as “Superman just goes a little faster,” momentum has to be conserved. To launch himself forward he has to launch the train backward and the train likely doesn’t survive that. Continuing to push the train was still likely the best option Superman had in this situation.
To launch himself forward he has to launch the train backward and the train likely doesn’t survive that
Is he canonically heavier than the train?
He can ‘run faster than light’, or at least, it’s safe to assume he is faster than all human technologies of mobility in the context. All he has to do is accelerate to a speed, taking into account the distance required to decelerate to a non lethal speed to intercept the kid.
It’s basically this - the deceleration required to reduce the speed to one that is either a full stop or at least a non lethal one at the point of impact can, by definition, instead be imparted to the kid. A hypothetical person in the first engine that supes is acting on is experiencing the same deceleration as would be required to accelerated the kid during intercept.
The kid intercept is simply a more efficient way to address the situation in all frames of reference, albeit a less dramatic one.
Not if he was already pushing the train when the kid entered the equation. If this is an earlier version of Superman as this seems to be and he was already pushing the train when the kid came into the picture, then the only way for him to accelerate off the train to grab the kid is if he pushes off the train. Which effectively creates the same “stopping the train too fast,” problem.
If he pushes off the train, he starts from Vo=Vtrain, he simply has to push off less than he would if he were standing still to get to the kid, since Vintercept would be quite a bit greater than 0 anyway. If Vintercept is smaller than Vtrain, that would mean there is no non-lethal solution, passengers in the first car would experience the same (lethal) deceleration or the kid would experience lethal acceleration.
He would also decelerate (and then accelerate) during the kid intercept, which being ‘super’, I would expect him to be able to do, as he can perceive things faster as well.
Snap the neck? Just support the neck. Just put the kid on his whole torso so the kid’s body experiences the acceleration as a monolith as if on a rocket seat.
Him starting off at the velocity of the train is the problem. It’s not as simple as “Superman just goes a little faster,” momentum has to be conserved. To launch himself forward he has to launch the train backward and the train likely doesn’t survive that. Continuing to push the train was still likely the best option Superman had in this situation.
Is he canonically heavier than the train?
He can ‘run faster than light’, or at least, it’s safe to assume he is faster than all human technologies of mobility in the context. All he has to do is accelerate to a speed, taking into account the distance required to decelerate to a non lethal speed to intercept the kid.
It’s basically this - the deceleration required to reduce the speed to one that is either a full stop or at least a non lethal one at the point of impact can, by definition, instead be imparted to the kid. A hypothetical person in the first engine that supes is acting on is experiencing the same deceleration as would be required to accelerated the kid during intercept.
The kid intercept is simply a more efficient way to address the situation in all frames of reference, albeit a less dramatic one.