Scientist Debunks F9’s Car Magnet Scene

An astrophysicist at the California Academy of Sciences has debunked F9’s car magnet scene. Having premiered on June 25, the latest film in the Fast saga is now showing in theaters across the United States. F9 has garnered mixed reviews for its over-the-top action and absurd set pieces, the best example of which is probably its car magnet scene, but this hasn’t stopped the film from coaxing audiences back to cinemas and breaking numerous pandemic-box office records in the process.

The Fast saga has become increasingly absurd with each installment, which has largely been the very source of its entertainment factor. After beginning in 2001 as a small-scale story about street racers who engage in the occasional heist, the franchise has evolved into a globe-trotting saga replete with sci-fi technology and impossible car stunts. The much-discussed car magnet was first seen in a trailer for F9 and has since been debated for its scientific validity. The latest to weigh in on the discussion is a renowned scientist and educator.

Now that audiences have had a chance to see F9’s in all its glory, Aaron White, an astrophysicist at the California Academy of Sciences, spoke on the film’s various stunts, with a focus on its final set piece: the car magnet scene. This sequence sees Vin Diesel’s Dom and his team equip their cars with large electromagnets. White astutely points out that these magnetic fields should be spherical and attract objects in all directions, instead of selectively pulling certain things. However, his biggest gripe with the film scientifically is when the magnet begins to repel objects, which defies the basic laws of magnetism. White explains to IGN:

There’s no practical way to repel iron, or steel probably in this case with those trucks, with a magnet. There are some metals that exist that do have a repulsive property. They’re a little more complicated, they’re called diamagnets, and in the right conditions you can actually see a repulsive interaction going on there where you can be pushed away from magnetic fields. However, that depends on what the structure of the metal is. So unless Vin Diesel here is an alchemist and he can magically change the structure of these trucks just through the force of his will, I don’t think he could possibly do this.

During the scene in question, a powerful electromagnet pulls trucks on opposite sides of the road towards Dom’s car. A magnet of this magnitude is not entirely implausible, and it is believable within the context of the film. However, when Dom puts the magnet in reverse, the trucks are thrown away from his car, which is not even believable given the logic F9 provides. Instead, the magnet would simply drop everything in its field when turned off, rather than repelling.

Big-budget blockbusters often take liberties with their stunts and action scenes, but the Fast saga might take the cake in this regard. This likely doesn’t hamper the experience for very many though, as F9’s car magnet scene was still a memorable and enjoyable action sequence, despite it playing fast and loose with science.

Source: IGN

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Adam Bentz
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Adam Bentz is a movie and TV news writer for Screen Rant. From a young age, Adam has been interested in a wide range of movies and television, but it was talented auteurs like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Aaron Sorkin who ultimately sparked his interest in the craft. Motivated by his love for the screen, Adam studied creative writing with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University.

After graduating, Adam interned as a writer with The Borgen Project, a nonprofit organization working to end extreme poverty. Other than writing for Screen Rant, Adam reviews films on his website adambentz.wordpress.com

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