The Physics of Aoyama’s Navel Laser
The Science of My Hero Academia
Aren’t you dazzled? If not, you will be because today we’re looking at the magnificent power of Yuga Aoyama. Like many powers in My Hero Academia, Aoyama’s quirk compliments his personality. Like him, it stands out for its grace and aesthetic. Under the moniker Navel Laser, this ability allows him to fire powerful beams of sparkling blue light from his midsection. He can use said beams to heat up and bore through materials, knock back opponents, propel himself backwards, or simply illuminate an area. Only, hold on. That’s not how lasers work at all!
In fact, Aoyama’s quirk belongs to a long line of supposedly laser-based powers and devices across science fiction that fail to meet the basic criteria of being lasers. Lasers are finely-tuned, coherent beams of massless photons that travel at the speed of light. As we’ll see, they appear and behave very differently from Aoyama’s belly beam. That being said, lasers are a very adaptable and potent technology. Perhaps something similar to Aoyama’s Navel Laser can be accomplished using the physics of legitimate laser beams. Let’s look closely at what lasers are, how they work, and what Aoyama uses them for to find out.
Before we get started, I’d recommend reading my first post on MHA, where I lay down several hypotheses about the origins…
