Gravitons and Thor's Hammer

James Kakalios, professor of Physics at the University of Minnesota and author of The Physics of Superheroes, proposed a very interesting hypothesis about Mjölnir's incredible weight in an article for Wired ( www.wired.com/2014/11/can-hulk-lift-thors-hammer/ ). The professor thinks that since the hammer is made of a foreign and possibly scientifically advanced metal (uru) under appropriate external stimuli, it should be able to control the emission of gravitons!

So, when someone (let's say the Hulk) tries to remove Mjölnir, it instantly calculates its owner's 'value' using some sophisticated algorithm and decides whether it is worthy of using the hammer. If one finds it valuable, the person effortlessly lifts it (just as Thor does) but otherwise, the hammer increases the graviton emission to counteract the upward force exerted on it. Therefore, the more Hulk tries to lift the hammer, the greater the number of gravitons that will be released and the heavier the hammer.

Likewise, when Tony Stark tries to lift Mjölnir using his Iron Man glove, he exerts an upward force greater than Mjölnir's weight, but still the hammer remains motionless. In this scene as well, it can be concluded that a unique property of uru metal is that it can emit large quantities of gravitons under appropriate stimuli.

In the movie, gravitons are assumed to transmit the force of gravity, and if an object emits too many gravitons, this would be equivalent to increasing its mass. Thus, when a "worthless" person exerts an upward force, the heavy metal increases the weight of the hammer to completely cancel this lift, and the hammer remains motionless. When Tony and Rhodey simultaneously apply a greater upward force, the gravitons' emission rate increases to neutralize their efforts again. The increased weight does not damage the table, since only enough gravitons are emitted to hold the hammer steady, that is, to balance all the upward forces. When the lift force is stopped, the excessive graviton emission also stops.