Profound Query of the Day

MarkLP · 17 Jan 2007 at 11:34

what about, if you did a forward roll as you hit the ground?

squiffy · 17 Jan 2007 at 11:37

Of course you will survive, just wrap 1000ft diameter of bubble wrap around you and jump off the building.

Bri · 17 Jan 2007 at 11:37

MarkLP said:
what about, if you did a forward roll as you hit the ground?

You wouldnt be able to move because of all the bubble wrap unfortunately.

Visage · 17 Jan 2007 at 11:37

trojan698 said:
What about say 3m of bubble wrap? Assuming you didn't just make that up of course.

3m of bubble wrap would result in about 50G. Still dead.

banja · 17 Jan 2007 at 11:51

At least you could be popping the bubbles on the way down for that pleasing satisfying effect it gives.

chesterstu · 17 Jan 2007 at 11:58

AthlonTom said:
falls never kill anyone, its speed at which you stop falling that does

Otherwise known as hitting ground?

MR_Punk · 17 Jan 2007 at 12:02

banja said:
At least you could be popping the bubbles on the way down for that pleasing satisfying effect it gives.

It puts it all into perspective!

+44

AthlonTom · 17 Jan 2007 at 12:59

chesterstu said:
Otherwise known as hitting ground?

Fine - if you want to get technical -

MasterMike · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:02

The sudden deceleration of your movement would mess up every system in your body. And you'd be dead.

cloudy · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:03

wikipedia said:
Strongest g-forces survived by humans
Voluntarily: Colonel John Stapp in 1954 sustained 46.2 g in a rocket sled, while conducting research on the effects of human deceleration. See Martin Voshell (2004), 'High Acceleration and the Human Body'.

Involuntarily: Formula One racing car driver David Purley survived an estimated 178 g in 1977 when he decelerated from 173 km·h−1 (108 mph) to 0 in a distance of 66 cm (26 inches) after his throttle got stuck wide open and he hit a wall.[1] http://www.hypertextbook.com/physics/mechanics/acceleration/

50G should be quite survivable, especially as the impact will be evenly spread across the body, unlike seat belts

James

ferretmaster · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:08

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Your not going to be suddenly stopping completly when you hit the ground, the bubblewrap will bend on hitting the ground you will compress into the wrap gradually stopping you. Oh and you can survive falling 30000 feet without bubblewrap.

http://www.5newsonline.com/Global/story.asp?S=4234556&nav=2uEG

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1268155.stm

I think you could survive with enough bubblewrap.

Rich_L · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:08

I cba to do the maths but would 500ft be enough to reach terminal velocity?

Also I suppose a 3m of wrap (6m total diameter?) might have quite a bit of air resistance too?

Hmm too many variables, lol

Visage · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:09

ferretmaster said:
the wrap gradually stopping you.

How can a metre of bubble wrap stop you gradually before you hit the pavement?

ElRazur · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:13

Another GD quality affecting thread.

ferretmaster · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:13

hmmmmmmmmmmm

well your going to push into it when another force hits it. Gradually very fast.

cloudy · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:14

ferretmaster said:
Your not going to be suddenly stopping completly when you hit the ground, the bubblewrap will bend on hitting the ground you will compress into the wrap gradually stopping you. Oh and you can survive falling 30000 feet without bubblewrap.

http://www.5newsonline.com/Global/story.asp?S=4234556&nav=2uEG

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1268155.stm

I think you could survive with enough bubblewrap.

Those two links were at 50mph and at 40mph impact speed, certainly not freefall

A.N.Other · 17 Jan 2007 at 13:20

malc30 said:
No because on impact your organs would smash againt your ribs etc and kill you Dead.

Rubbish tbh. How do you think stunts are done where people drop 20 or so floors. Stuntman jumps through sugarglass window and lands on a mahoosive bouncycastle-style-thingy. Another comparison is skydiving - you don't die when falling at terminal velocity, you release your chute, slowing you to almost nothing (in comparison, anyway). Bungee-jumping is the same.

If you had enough bubblewrap (a fair bit more than a metre or so I would have thought), you'd probably be fine, if a little shaken.

Psyk · 17 Jan 2007 at 14:04

Visage said:
Terminal velocity is about 120mph = 54 m/s

If you're surrounded by 1m of bubble wrap, you're decelrating from 54m/s to 0m/s in a space of 1m.

Thats a g force of about 145G.

You'd die, badly.

Wouldn't you need to know a time rather than a distance? You'd need to know how long it takes to go from 54m/s to 0m/s in that 1m distance.

Otherwise the material you're wrapping yourself in would make no difference.

cloudy · 17 Jan 2007 at 14:08

assuming linear deceleration and knowing the impact speed you have all the data you need...

Psyk · 17 Jan 2007 at 14:09

cloudy said:
assuming linear deceleration and knowing the impact speed you have all the data you need...

True I suppose, you could work out the time from that.