What it would take to really make cartoon physics work

They call it "cartoon physics" for a reason, that reason being that most of the "physics" that goes on in cartoons is not physically possible. But what happens if you run the numbers and then try to rationalize it all? Here's a hint: it involves lots of things being secretly made from dark matter along with copious amounts of invisible thrusters.

This presentation is specifically tackling physics as presented in My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, although the points outlined there are applicable (to some extent) to many of the cartoons we all enjoyed as kids, unless you lived in my house, and you weren't allowed to watch anything besides PBS and Star Trek.

Anyway, there's much serious discussion in the following video about, for example, whether it's actually possible for a falling horse to generate an explosion that combines the optical properties of a rainbow with a sonic boom, and if so, whether the horse would survive the ordeal.

Presentation Slides (*.PPT), via BBG
