Physics Situation (No big, complicated stuff for us asses, P

[Reenee]

Situation:

You are on a large, thick metal platform in the sky (how high probably doesn't matter). Suddenly the platform freefalls.

JUST BEFORE the platform hits the ground (mere feet...maybe 6, 3 if you're risking it), you try to jump. Will you...

A. Successfully jump in the air, putting enough pressure to actually being able to live when you land?
B. NOT jump, putting a miniscule of force to the hurdling platform, and send your body hundred of miles an hour into the soon-to-be cold, hard bloody metal piece?

Something curious I thought of a couple years ago.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Reenee on 2004-03-03 15:12 ]</font>

[Rainbowlemon]

You'd be a little meat pie on the floor. I once thought of the same concept a while back, but now it just wouldn't seem right. If you're both freefalling (You and the 'slab'), and you jump (push off) the slab, all you will do is for a fraction of a second slow yourself down and speed the slab up. Then, Gravity will take over again, and you'll both crash into the ground at terminal velocity and be crushed.

*TIP* - Take my word for it. Please, God, take my word for it.

[anwserman]

You won't jump, because there isn't anything for you to jump on per say. You'll only push the metal down since there isn't anything keeping the piece of metal in place.

You'll die regardless. However, a freefalling elevator would be a different story since the floor is connected to the sides... and the sides give the floor the ability to resist movement (the force of you jumping). But a big slab of metal, not really.
EDIT: Never mind about the elevator. You're still screwed.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: anwserman on 2004-03-03 15:21 ]</font>

[Hrith]

If you WERE on a big platform, freefalling, being lighter than the platform, it'd reach the floor long before you.
Problem solved http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[Kiara]

C works best for me, having Superman come to save me. A, I'm like a cockroach, I'll live the longest I can, even if it's only for 2 extra seconds and then SPLAT!!!.

[Rainbowlemon]

On 2004-03-03 15:20, anwserman wrote:
However, a freefalling elevator would be a different story since the floor is connected to the sides... and the sides give the floor the ability to resist movement (the force of you jumping).


Being in an elevator would be exactly the same situation, but with walls around you instead of air. You would still just push the elevator down when you jump, then slam into the floor along with the elevator causing the sheer momentum of your body alone when you hit the ground to break a *good few bones* in your body.

[KaFKa]

depending on how large around the slab of metal is, you might be falling with it...

but that doesent matter, unless you're able to push yourself up at approximately 140MPH with just your legs, jumping wont help a bit

[undevil]

On 2004-03-03 15:22, Kef wrote:
If you WERE on a big platform, freefalling, being lighter than the platform, it'd reach the floor long before you.
Problem solved http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif



LoL you must not know much about physics.

Anything and everything with low air resistance falls at the same speed, no matter how heavy it is. Me and a metal trash can could be falling for an hour, and we would both hit the ground at the same time. However, if it were me and a piece of paper, I would hit the ground LONG before the piece of paper.

[Daikarin]

You'd turn into pizza.

Unless you had snake reflexes and jumped a bit sooner.

[Bradicus]

All you have to do is jump off a few feet before impact, and roll when you hit the gound... just like Link.

[Solstis]

If we were talkin' anime physics, you could merely:

a) stop time
b) reverse gravity for a few seconds
c) shoot a beam through the metal to the ground and slow down your fall
d) teleport!
e) hit the ground and roll (Prince of Prance style)
f) die
g) fly
h) all of the above
i) a and b

-----------------------------------------------------

But yeah, you would be pretty screwed. You could try stepping off and hope you hit a tornado that could drop you off somewhere.

[Scejntjynahl]

Actually if you are able to push of from the metal object in the opposite direction, for a mere nano second your weight would be zero, but right after you will still have gravity to contend with, so you are screwed. But if you were able to land on something exactly at that precise nano second that you are weightless you could survive. But that is nearly impossible.

Also if superman catches you in his arms your still dead, imagine he is flying up with accelerated speed and meets you head on as your free falling. Its like the floor racing up to meet you as you are falling to it. SPLAT, you dead.

[Bradicus]

On 2004-03-03 17:49, Solstis wrote:
If we were talkin' anime physics, you could merely:

a) stop time
b) reverse gravity for a few seconds
c) shoot a beam through the metal to the ground and slow down your fall
d) teleport!
e) hit the ground and roll (Prince of Prance style)
f) die
g) fly
h) all of the above
i) a and b

-----------------------------------------------------

But yeah, you would be pretty screwed. You could try stepping off and hope you hit a tornado that could drop you off somewhere.


you forgot
j) scream really loudly 'til all loose objects begin to float.

[Outrider]

On 2004-03-03 17:50, Furankunichan wrote:
Also if superman catches you in his arms your still dead, imagine he is flying up with accelerated speed and meets you head on as your free falling. Its like the floor racing up to meet you as you are falling to it. SPLAT, you dead.



Also known as the "Gwen Stacy Theorem" to Spider-Man fans.

Oh wait, that's actually something different. Whatever.

[shifter]

ummm, ok, well, ill try to explain this to you people. well since you're freefalling along with this metal slab, you're moving at the same speed(probable 60 mph from around the height of Golden Gate bridge, if mythbusters is correct). so if you do manage to jump at the right time, there really is nothing to slow you down. jumping might slow you a few mile per hour, but still you're moving pretty fast. 60 mph + unmoving surface = death. o, and landing in water doesnt work either, its like slamming into concrete, why do you think belly flops hurt so much.

[Para]

You are so going to be a flat pie http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

When you jump off, you have the same velocity as you were going down with the metal platform. If I were to think of you as a projectile motion, once you jump off and then reach a vertical displacement of zero (because you go up and down when you jump) your speed is going to be the same as the initial speed. Unless you were to jump with a force with an equal magnitude as your free fall speed, you're doomed.

(correct me if iim wrong http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif im not that great at physics lol)

[Amiadon]

Ok, i'll set up a little example. Keep in mind, it's an EXAMPLE ONLY! So NO FANSERVICE!

Your falling at the same speed of the slab, let's say at 100mph. All of a sudden, you jump upwards: at the speed of 4mph or whatever (whatever the average jumping speed is). So, the formula is this:

Speed - opposite force = total speed of impact.


In this case:

100 - 4 = 96. So you'd hit the ground at 96mph.

Or, we could use the following formula, made be the famous Dr.FR.Aud:

1/2>Rw(s/o)x|-+Kps(Matrix acc3lerator)@300 rpm.3547893/V/s=T.

By looking at this, we can deduct that:

Earthtime/spacetime=678432.543543(x+o)-(9999999999-tro)/ds(factor 5)4.554385433/fhhdfhhj.

Using these two simple formulas, we find that Excel Saga is the best anime and that everyone who watches and enjoys Steel Angel Kurumi will die a fiery death full of fire and steel.

Happy days!

[HUnewearl_Meira]

On 2004-03-03 15:22, Kef wrote:
If you WERE on a big platform, freefalling, being lighter than the platform, it'd reach the floor long before you.
Problem solved http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif



Incorrect. Gravity accelerates objects at the same speed, regardless. In fact, the platform would have a better chance of falling slower than you, because being a large, broad object, it has a greater chance of producing wind resistence (wind resistence being the thing that makes a feather fall slowly-- in a vacuum, the feather would fall just as quickly as a rock).

Still though, because of wind resistence, odds are there won't be anything for you to jump off of, anyway. Most likely, the platform will tumble in the air, and you're likely to end up underneath it.

Assuming, however, that there is something keeping the platform from tumbling, the effect is that you and the platform would push off from eachother. The platform's speed toward the ground would increase ever so slightly, and your speed would decrease ever so slightly.

Let us assume that for some reason, this platform has the same amount of drag that your body does. A human body in Earth's atmosphere will eventually reach a speed of 124mph. Assuming that this object is affected by drag in the same way, the object will too be falling at 124mph. Therefore, you jump at the absolute last second, jumping with a force that would normally propell you into the air at, say, 20mph (which sounds like a lot, but it's not, really). Supposing that the platform is considerably heavier than you, more of that force would apply to you, than to the platform (therefore, it does not divide evenly-- if it did, you would slow down by ten miles per hour, and it would speed up by ten). The platform, being considerably heavier than you, would speed up (just for the sake of argument) by one mile per hour. You, on the other hand, would slow down by 19mph, meaning that you will hit the ground at 103mph, as opposed to 124mph.

Still, I suppose that it's possible that the platform hitting the ground would cause some precussion, thereby increasing the air pressure in the area, and furthermore increasing the drag and slowing you down ever so slightly, but you'd still hit the ground hundred miles per hour or so. Your best bet would be to try to land with as much surface area on your body on the ground as you can, and hope that the ground is somewhat soft. Your only chance of not dieing would be to spread out the force of the impact over as much of your body as possible, so that the force is spread out rather than concentrated. By doing this, you don't put your entire body's weight on impact, on say, your feet (when landing on your feet at 100mph, your legs will break). A number of skydivers have survived parachute failure because of this method, and I've heard of at least once case where doing this allowed a person to survive falling off a skyscraper. Just don't count on walking away unaided-- you're bound to break SOMETHING.

[Kiara]

On 2004-03-03 17:50, Furankunichan wrote:
Actually if you are able to push of from the metal object in the opposite direction, for a mere nano second your weight would be zero, but right after you will still have gravity to contend with, so you are screwed. But if you were able to land on something exactly at that precise nano second that you are weightless you could survive. But that is nearly impossible.

Also if superman catches you in his arms your still dead, imagine he is flying up with accelerated speed and meets you head on as your free falling. Its like the floor racing up to meet you as you are falling to it. SPLAT, you dead.



I actually meant Super either slows down the big metal piece untill he can stop it, or he lands on it, grabs me and flies away. W00T