Film Theory: What IS the Dragon Ball Z Kamehameha Wave?

Frieza: "This planet is still going to explode, the core has completely disintegrated." Frieza: "Five minutes!" Frieza: "That's how much time you have." And so began the biggest lie in the history of television. Hello, Internet! Welcome to Film Theory, where 10 episodes, three hours, and thousands of power levels later, Namek finally exploded. So, let me come out and say it: Dragon Ball shakes up the characters, the villains; but ESPECIALLY the powers, I mean,

what

self-respecting kid HASN'T tried to harness his ki and shoot giant energy

ball

s? Or fly punching faster than the speed of light? Or did you stand there screaming for hours working to turn it on?

Hey, here's a joke. How many Saiyans does it take to screw in a light bulb? One! but it will take three episodes to do it Banana Nah Banananananana Now, if there is one attack that everyone associates with the series, it is Goku's famous "KAMEHAMEHA" WAVE, or "TURTLE DEVASTATION" WAVE, named after the Hawaiian King Kamehameha. This move is used by everyone from Master Roshi to Buu, and as such, it comes with many variations. But most of the time, it consists of the character gathering ki energy between their hands to form a

ball

of energy that is then launched in a beam towards your big bad of questionable gender. #LoveWins And I have to say, since I started Game Theory four years ago, I have received MANY emails, tweets and Facebook messages from you loyal theorists, asking me to investigate the physics of this attack to find out how YOU can start exploiting . your best friend to your neighbor's backyard.

And it was hard! I mean, really hard, actually. Because

what

I found forced me to question some of my basic assumptions about how the universe works. And that's no joke, as there were MANY revelations during the investigation of this one. But I THINK we've developed a pretty good

theory

about what happens during these movements. So, let's start with what the program offers us. In the series, all of these attacks are based on KI energy, the life energy that exists within every living being. With the main focus in the center of the body. By removing it, the user can manipulate it and use it outside the body. from forming protective KI barriers to creating KI balls and KI blasts to vaporize an opponent.

Until, inevitably, one of his cells manages to survive and is able to fully regenerate even STRONGER than before. Here, have a senzu bean while you're at it. Because THAT makes a lot of sense. Super Saiyan? More like the Stupid Saiyan. *whispers* stupid senzu beans... Awh, the entire existence of the world is at stake Mwaa, I want a fair fight Anyway, I think it won't be a surprise to anyone to hear that DragonBall's Ki is a direct reference to the Idea of real life about qi... or chi. One of the founding principles of Chinese medicine and martial arts.

The word literally translates as "breath", "air" or "gas" and is believed to be a life force or energy that exists in everything. Just as it is in the program. In Hindu, there is also the concept of chakras, centers of spiritual power throughout the body. So, chi in real life is a hard-to-define mental/spiritual energy that, when mastered, can heal the wounded, strengthen a fighter, and even go so far as to give them Darth-like powers. Vader. At least similar to what we're seeing on the show, that's what some people believe. but here there is a big problem;

There are no good sources to support any of this, whether you believe in chi energy or not. Most of the quote 'The Science Made Supporting Chi' was written by people with a strong belief in holistic medicine. So he's definitely not the most impartial judge. and neutral researchers well... They're just not interested in testing videos of people walking around like idiots. Or, more importantly, I should say that the people who receive grants are not interested in funding that kind of research. Which means no scientist cares. That's a shame, but of course we're not going to leave it like that!

I'm not going to let the scientific community's inability to prove this stop me from shooting energy beams out of my hands. I mean, if Krillin can do it, I can too, damn it! And as an aside, can I just say how depressing it is to think that Krillin is one of the strongest human beings that exists on that show? Urgh! That's a sobering thought... Anyway, let's step in where science has failed and answer the real question these important research institutions should be considering: How does a fictional character shoot a fictional

wave

of energy out of his hands? ?

Well, to really understand what's going on, we have to look at the properties of the

wave

. and the first thing to keep in mind is that this is not just a wave of energy. You can't see the energy. Energy is a property of a physical thing. Something physical has to possess that energy. If you need proof of the show: Watch Gohan's Kamehameha wave pushing against Cell's near the end of the story arc. See how his energy ball makes Cell collapse in on himself in response? It's like pushing a piece of cellophane or Reynolds paper. There is clearly a lot of energy there, but it is carried in physical form.

It is literally a form of matter. What is a problem'? I don't know, what's wrong with you? Ha ha...! ...ooooooh... Bad Marx jokes aside... Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. I'm sure we've all learned the three states of matter, right? Solids, liquids, gases? The problem is that the Kamehameha wave doesn't behave like any of those so... what is it? Well, I hate to break it to you, but your third grade science teacher has been part of a lifelong conspiracy... a cover-up that deceives generations of young students! There aren't just three states of matter...

There is actually a fourth! Plasma and it is this fourth state of matter that reveals all the secrets of Dragon Ball's energy explosions. In fact, let me tell you how big this lie you've been told really is. Solids, liquids and gases make up 1% of the universe. A VERY percent! Matter in the plasma state constitutes the other 99% of the observable universe. Which makes humans, literally, part of the 1%. So stop occupying Wall Street, hippies! So why have elementary school science teachers hidden this fact from generations of children? Well, third grade is pretty early to learn physical chemistry. Plus, plasma isn't something we come across all that often on Earth.

You're probably more familiar with this thanks to fluorescent light bulbs. What lights up in there? Plasma. Lightning? Also plasma. Stars like our Sun? We've all been led to believe they are big balls of gas, including NASA in an incredibly poorly written definition on their website. Well, that's wrong. They are mainly plasma because of how hot they are. And by the way, NASA change that, please. You can't say it's primarily a ball of gas but then say it's primarily plasma. They are two different states of matter! It would be like me saying that this turkey sandwich is a ham sandwich just because it contains other meat.

They are close, but they are not the same. Can you tell I skipped lunch to write this episode? So before we look at how plasma plays a role in Dragonball, we need to know what exactly it is. You know that when you heat a solid, it melts and becomes a liquid and you heat it a little more and it becomes a gas. Well, if you heat the gas even more, it turns into plasma. Basically, the electrons in the gas atoms become so excited that they begin to break off. So what you get is this soup of negatively charged electrons floating alongside positively charged ions from atoms that have lost their electrons.

Simply put, the main thing to remember is that plasma is a superheated gas. So when Goku makes an energy ball appear out of nowhere, that's not 100% true. There is gasoline! Air between your hands that is superheating to create that ball. So the next logical question is: How are you warming it up? And the answer is surprisingly simple: like a fluorescent light bulb. When you turn on a light, electricity is sent through the gas in the tube. Supercharge the atoms so that the electrons begin to break away, creating the glowing plasma to light up the room. Dragon Ball characters are doing the same thing.

Their 'Ki power' actually involves harnessing the electrical potential of their body and concentrating it on the area around them. Skeptical? I hear what you're saying, but consider this. In the battle against Vegeta, Goku summons his triple Kaio-ken attack and what do we see happen? Electricity begins to radiate around his body. His electrical potential has skyrocketed. And as the Super Saiyans ascend to higher and higher levels, we see lightning pulsing around their bodies. Lightning, also known as plasma. But that is not all. Do you know that any of these warriors need a huge burst of energy to ascend to the next level or start their energy attack? but then once they're there, are they able to maintain that level of power?

Well, plasma and electrical potentials explain that too. To convert any gas into plasma, including air, there is a large amount of energy. Normally around 33 kilovolts per centimeter but, once the plasma arc is created, it can be sustained with only a tenth of that energy. 3 kilovolts per centimeter, according to the same principle, the arc must be initiated next to its energy source, but once there, it can extend ten times the distance from said source. Which, in the case of the Kamehameha Wave, is why the wave starts close to Goku and then can A) spread as far away from him and B) is much stronger when launched. close to the opponent, such as when Goku chooses to shoot Cell at point-blank range as his last attempt to end the fight.

Speaking of villains, during the second coming of Broly we find that Kamehameha can combine to become even stronger as Gohan, Goten and Goku join forces for the so-called 'Kamehameha Family'. It would be a touching moment if I wasn't so distracted by the fact that Goku is literally a spirit in this case! If you'll excuse my little rant, but I mean, okay, the guy dies and is wished back into existence every 10 episodes. Well, I accept it. But for his attack to still be viable when he's still technically a ghost?! Yuck! Anyway, the important thing here is that the separate beams can be combined and strengthened.

Plasma exhibits this same quality. Look at your typical plasma ball. No, it's not just an old-fashioned desk ornament. It's a lesson in the physics of Dragon Ball Z. Notice that as the plasma beam has a point to focus on, they combine and become stronger, bigger, and more powerful. Just as we see in the program. And don't worry, I hear your question. If plasma is just superheated gas, how can it destroy Cell or keep people away? PS: Goku should have won Deathbattle #butthurt Well listen up, you salty Superman hater, because that's probably the biggest clue that these beams are plasma instead of just pure energy.

You see, the strange thing about plasma is that it is nothing like a gas. That is why they qualify as a completely separate state of matter. Remember that this is what stars are made of. So Goku is basically creating a little star between his hands. And at high temperatures, the plasma becomes thicker and more viscous to the point that it can be physically pushed. That's why everyone from Frieza to Buu can try to stop this with their bare hands. This is also how in the previous example, Gohan's wave is able to push Cell back into the skies.

It is a denser plasma beam capable of overcoming the momentum of your attack. This is also how Goku was able to form a ki shield. This is the same plasma shield technology that the Boeing company has just designed. I kid you not, plasma shields are becoming a real thing. Truly, we live in the future. And you know how the characters always get into energy clashes with the two rays fighting for superiority? Whoever it is Gohan vs Cell or Goku vs Vegeta, the lightning collision is a staple of the show and that rounded ball shape is iconic of these types of matchups.

Could one plasma beam push another? Okay, yes. In real life, it's hard to find examples that are as spectacular or as focused, but by putting two plasma balls together and watching their beams collide with each other, you see them pushing against each other, forcing themselves up and out until the connection breaks or they are too far from their primary power source. And then what about that ball shape? Well, we can compare the collision of the beam with that of stars in outer space. Looking at their collision pattern, with two large balls of plasma combining at moderate to high speeds, they splashed outwards as we see in the battle between Goku and Vegeta.

But they also merge. Fusion-Ha! in a swirling mass of energy. Their magnetic field rearranges into a ball shape before... well, in space, they create a black hole. In DragonBall, the thing doesn't go that far. Oh, sure, the planet will most likely come to a horrible conclusion, but you know, at least we won't be crushed under the infinite blackness of gravity. So there you have it. "ki" and "wave attack" are probably electrical potential and plasma. It's interesting. In the end, spiritual energies like Dragon Ball's ki or real-life chi are models created to explain strange trends or natural phenomena in the world around us.

In that, they are not very different from a scientific

theory

. Theories, by their nature, are incomplete. And you know what? It's probably wrong in some ways. Sometimes in many ways. But what they provide is a useful explanation of what we see until we inevitably learn more and revise our theories to accommodate that new information. In this case, plasma and electrical potential work quite well for a phenomenon that we see throughout the series, it evolves, changes, defies its own logic. Sorry, I'm just theorizing about theorizing. I guess I should end with a joke now. Huuu... Oh, I know.

Dragon Ball GT. Bah doum itch. But hey, that's just a theory. A cinematographic theory. Aaaand cut. If I could summon Shenron right now, I wish you would subscribe. So make my wish come true, spiritually bomb that button. Or maybe it could make you wish for another Dragon Ball video to come true. Click here to watch my one-minute history episode covering the backstory of the franchise. Who cares if you already know? The animation is amazing and I'm there too, which should count for something. And with Dragon Ball Super underway, you might as well cool off with good old Matpat.

And Yamcha. Yamcha isn't actually there. Finally, for you who refuse to click on anything, do you like Five Night At Freddy's? If so, there is a completely new theory today. Click on the purple fan *shudders* to find out the big mistake Scott made in FNAF 4. Seriously, Scott, you blew the bag on that one. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something a little more "happy" to research.