So, How Much Does Thor's Hammer Weigh Really?

In February of 2013, Neil deGrasse Tyson said on Twitter that Thor's hammer (Mjolnir) "weighs as much as a herd of 300 billion elephants." News outlets jumped all over this and the news went viral online.

The mistake that Tyson made (of which there are few) was that he thought the hammer was forged OF the dying core of a neutron star. It is well known by us comic nerds, however, that it was forged our of Uru IN the core of a dying star. It turns out that that one little difference means the difference of billions of pounds.

But what does Marvel have to say about this?

Marvel published a Thor trading card in 1991 that states that Mjolnir is made of Uru and weighs exactly 42.3 pounds. That's definitely lighter than 300 billion elephants.

Scientifically speaking, if you use the dimensions and weight on Marvel's trading card, science will tell you that the density of Mjolnir is about 2.13 grams per cubic centimeter. Oddly, that makes it lighter than aluminum which has a density of 2.71 grams per cubic centimeter.

So, what could possibly be that light and strong?

Perhaps Uru is an anomaly of "high pressure physics". Suveen Mathaudu, a science professor at NC State and comic enthusiast, says that it could be metallic hydrogen. He states that "some predictions of the density of metallic hydrogen fall into this range, it requires extreme conditions to form, and could be a tremendous energy source. It's thought to be present at the core of planets, such as Jupiter, and at the core of suns - which are stars, after all."

One notable theory, which makes the most sense to me, is that Thor's hammer can only be lifted by those who are worthy. For those who are worthy it weighs 42.3 pounds. For those who aren't worthy, it weighs as much as 300 billion elephants.

I honestly don't know who's right, I just know it's cool and fun to think about.