Re: [Phys-L] real-world physics

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 06/06/2012 08:54 AM, Robert Cohen wrote:
> Would the following count as real world physics?

Yes, absolutely.

> Suppose you had zero inches of bubble wrap.  What is the highest height
> you could fall from without getting seriously hurt?

It depends.  Quite commonly, an elderly person is gravely injured
by falling to the floor from a standing position.
 -- In the vernacular, this would be called falling from "zero"
  height.
 -- From a physics point of view, specifically from the work/KE
  theorem point of view, the center-of-mass falls from a height
  of 0.75 meter in some cases.

The question asked about "not" getting seriously hurt, so this 
injury scenario must be considered a loose upper bound on the 
answer.  Zero is the obvious trivial lower bound.