Re: [Phys-l] physics of the human body

[Monsieur et Madame Vieuxbouc <martweiss@earthlink.net>]

They do all these things all the time on Myth Busters.  Have your 
students tape  few of these where the guys send *Buster* the dummy, up 
to the top of a building attached to a cardboard box and throw him off. 
Or when they fire a priate ship cannon at him loaded with steak knives 
and then tried it with the cannon loaded with scrap metal.  (I think 
that one did some real damage.)   This show has everything you could 
think of to bust the myths of the movies and tv action shows.

Marty

Brian Blais wrote:

> Hello,
>
> In my intro physics class, we do an activity where we analyze movies  
> using as much physics as we can.  The students usually choose crazy  
> action sequences, like car jumps or fighting in airplanes, but many  
> also want to look at the unbelievable stunts done by the characters.   
> Is there a good way of estimating how likely it is for someone to get  
> up and walk again after a fall from a known height?   Or, being hit  
> by a car, or holding onto a rapidly moving and turning car?  I think  
> of the movie Die Hard 4, which features some pretty unbelievable (but  
> fun!) sequences, but I don't know many principles that can be used to  
> determine just how unbelievable it is for Bruce Willis to, say, jump  
> out of a car going 60mph and still survive, walk, and be ready for  
> the next challenge, just to name one example.  Is there any data that  
> might help, or any ideas from the list?
>
> btw, what reminded me about this now, was an article about a guy who  
> seems to have survived a 47 story fall in NY.
>
> thanks,
>
>
> 		Brian Blais
>
>