Re: [Phys-L] real-world physics

[John Mallinckrodt <ajm@csupomona.edu>]

Here's a guy dropping 150 feet onto what looks like about 15 ft of cardboard boxes.  I'm estimating an impact speed of something like 60 mph and an average acceleration of about 8 or 9 g as opposed to the ~110 mph and ~40 g to be expected for someone falling from 1500 feet onto 10 feet of cushion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woH7C3cY_Es

John Mallinckrodt
Cal Poly Pomona 

On Jun 6, 2012, at 5:33 AM, John Mallinckrodt wrote:

> I'm willing to admit that I wouldn't want to have any part of an event like that unless the stuntman had some way of braking his fall substantially below the otherwise expected 100+ mph terminal velocity.
>
> John Mallinckrodt
> Cal Poly Pomona
>
> On Jun 6, 2012, at 4:54 AM, brian whatcott wrote:
>
> > On 06/05/2012 08:36 AM, LaMontagne, Bob wrote:
> > > > I have been following the postings on this topic and am a little
> > > > surprised at the derision heaped on Mythbusters. In this episode, do
> > > > they ever claim to demonstrate that 4 inches of bubble wrap will
> > > > protect a falling person? Do they actually demonstrate the opposite?
> > I witnessed a stuntman dropping 1500 feet without a parachute: he used 
> > the stunt equivalent of bubble wrap - stacked cardboard boxes. They were 
> > stacked about ten feet high, its true, but I imagine this list would 
> > poo-hoo this stunt on theoretical grounds if they had not witnessed the 
> > circumstances.
> >
> > Come on, let's hear it for the impulse-momentum equation...    :-)
> >
> > Brian W
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