Amazingly, a 400 ft. fall did not kill me

[Peeb]

Of course, I did not fall 400 feet, which makes my survival perhaps more plausible.

Do you ever read the title of a thread and immediately respond without even scanning the OP?

[GA20T]

I'd suggest the new TunSol reissues. /thread

[Scott Miller]

You need to get about five pages to get this to happen. I'll help:

Anthropomorphic climate change is a nearly-universally accepted phenomena in the scientific community, and yet many people are convinced otherwise. Discuss.

Tattoos are bitchen! Discuss.

Pit bulls should be outlawed. Discuss.

[harpinon]

If you don't get back the use of your hands, would you sell me your Les Paul ??

Get well soon.

[FiestaRed]

There's always next time

[Baminated]

Thoughts, Prayers, and mojo sent :sarcasm

[Peteyvee]

Looking at your location, I figured you got sucked up in a giant twister that spanned three states and were gonna tell us some kind of Pecos Bill story... Maybe if we're good, you'll tell us one later. Pretty please?

[Glowing Tubes]

Fall is my favorite time of year

[The Kid]

400 one foot falls didn't kill me, but I sure am pretty banged up.

[Moe Zambeek]

oh man, glad you're ok....what happened?



;)

[Ed Reed]

The formula for calculating distance over time for an accelerating body is given by:
d = v1 t + (1/2) a t^2
where
v1 is initial velocity
t is time
a is acceleration rate

You might as well memorize this formula, as it will be in your high school physics class.It's very useful - you can even use it for shooting a ball up in the air, and it will tell you that over time the ball changes directions and falls back to earth.

So let's substitute in the numbers we know:
d is -400 ft (minus because it is 400 ft down. Up is positive) - this is 121.92 meters
t is the unknown - uh oh!
v1 is 0
a = -9.81 metres per second per second - this is gravitational acceleration. You should memorize this number, since it is the rate at which everything in life falls to earth. It has a name too, it is called "g"

Also, metres per second per second means how much faster she travels each second. It's like when you put your foot on the accelerator of your car, and each second you travel 10 mph faster - that would be an acceleration rate of 10 miles per hour per second. This number is negative because it is also down. This will make more sense if you shoot a ball up in the air - with initial velocity up, and acceleration down, that is why it comes back to earth.

d = v1 t + 1/2 a t^2
(-400 ft) = (0) t + 0.5 (-9.81 m/s^2) t^2
(-121.92 m) = 0.5 (-9.81 m/s^2) t^2
(121.92 m) / (0.5 x 9.81 m/s^2) = t^2
t = SQRT[121.92 / (0.5 x 9.81)] seconds

I won't ruin the surprise, but if you punch these numbers into your calculator, you'll get the right answer you're looking for.

Also, if you look at the first term: v1 x t, you can see that if she jumped upward first, v1 would not be zero. So the time it took to get to the ground would be larger. Likewise, if she jumped towards the ground, she would arrive sooner.

150lbs is not a lot of energy, and cobblestones have a pretty good ability to absorb the energy of her fall. If she was landing in styrofoam, she might make a crater, but not cobblestone. More likely, the cobblestone would dent briefly, and spring back up somewhat. It might be too fast to see with your eyes.

Also, I know a lot of women that weigh between 130lbs and 150lbs, but I don't think it's because they have had demon parts grafted onto them. Maybe I should ask them?

[bigdaddy]

Rectum?


It damn near killed him.

[Peeb]

There is not a single post in this thread (so far) that is anything less than epic

[stevieboy]

I fell the other day, and would have fallen 400 feet, but fortunately the ground i was standing on caught me.

[epluribus]

Me either.

[Zilmo]

My three cats crap way too much.

[Peteyvee]

Ok, off the top of my head and without using without a calculator (we used slide rules when I was studying this stuff ;) ), I see it will take approximately 4.9 seconds for him to hit the ground at a terminal velocity of approximately 125MPH, assuming an unimpeded fall without taking pesky little things like air resistance and all that kinda crap into account.

I have three questions:

1.) Where does the assumption of "she" come into the equation?
2.) How do we know "she" weighs between 130 and 150lbs?
3.) There were no cobblestones mentioned in the OP, so why couldn't the falling object land on another substance? Perhaps 30 foot tall cotton candy could be substituted for cobblestones (or styrofoam as per the counter example) and reduce the impact by absorbing some of the kinetic energy generated by the rate of the fall...

Well professor? :p


The formula for calculating distance over time for an accelerating body is given by:
d = v1 t + (1/2) a t^2
where
v1 is initial velocity
t is time
a is acceleration rate

You might as well memorize this formula, as it will be in your high school physics class.It's very useful - you can even use it for shooting a ball up in the air, and it will tell you that over time the ball changes directions and falls back to earth.

So let's substitute in the numbers we know:
d is -400 ft (minus because it is 400 ft down. Up is positive) - this is 121.92 meters
t is the unknown - uh oh!
v1 is 0
a = -9.81 metres per second per second - this is gravitational acceleration. You should memorize this number, since it is the rate at which everything in life falls to earth. It has a name too, it is called "g"

Also, metres per second per second means how much faster she travels each second. It's like when you put your foot on the accelerator of your car, and each second you travel 10 mph faster - that would be an acceleration rate of 10 miles per hour per second. This number is negative because it is also down. This will make more sense if you shoot a ball up in the air - with initial velocity up, and acceleration down, that is why it comes back to earth.

d = v1 t + 1/2 a t^2
(-400 ft) = (0) t + 0.5 (-9.81 m/s^2) t^2
(-121.92 m) = 0.5 (-9.81 m/s^2) t^2
(121.92 m) / (0.5 x 9.81 m/s^2) = t^2
t = SQRT[121.92 / (0.5 x 9.81)] seconds

I won't ruin the surprise, but if you punch these numbers into your calculator, you'll get the right answer you're looking for.

Also, if you look at the first term: v1 x t, you can see that if she jumped upward first, v1 would not be zero. So the time it took to get to the ground would be larger. Likewise, if she jumped towards the ground, she would arrive sooner.

150lbs is not a lot of energy, and cobblestones have a pretty good ability to absorb the energy of her fall. If she was landing in styrofoam, she might make a crater, but not cobblestone. More likely, the cobblestone would dent briefly, and spring back up somewhat. It might be too fast to see with your eyes.

Also, I know a lot of women that weigh between 130lbs and 150lbs, but I don't think it's because they have had demon parts grafted onto them. Maybe I should ask them?

[bluesjuke]

Congrats!

[CyberFerret]

I've fallen 1ft 400 times and lived to tell the tale.... Whoops... 401... !

[Voodoo Blues]

I fell 350 ft one time. The only thing that saved my life was the bungee cord.

[Dr. Tweedbucket]

Wow ! 11111111111111111111! ! 11! :eeks



I hope you are ok !! ! :eeks



I once fell 401 ft ........... it was no big deal .... :red

[coldfingaz]

http://five27.com/images/uploads/x3-archangel-1-50k.jpg

[cram]

The mock thread title makes me think of cats.

There are actual stats I've read that say cats who fall from floors 7-10 in high rise apartments die from injury. Cats that fall out of windows/platforms from floors above that mark live because they are able to achieve their terminal velocity and control their fall with proper cushion upon landing through their feet.

It was in a book called the survivor's club, which was a great read that I passed on to a friend.

What was this thread about anyway?

[Ed Reed]

Ok, off the top of my head and without using without a calculator (we used slide rules when I was studying this stuff ;) ), I see it will take approximately 4.9 seconds for him to hit the ground at a terminal velocity of approximately 125MPH, assuming an unimpeded fall without taking pesky little things like air resistance and all that kinda crap into account.

I have three questions:

1.) Where does the assumption of "she" come into the equation?
2.) How do we know "she" weighs between 130 and 150lbs?
3.) There were no cobblestones mentioned in the OP, so why couldn't the falling object land on another substance? Perhaps 30 foot tall cotton candy could be substituted for cobblestones (or styrofoam as per the counter example) and reduce the impact by absorbing some of the kinetic energy generated by the rate of the fall...

Well professor? :p

You actually read that?

[darkstar11]

My dog's tail is waggin'

[Mesaleebob]

Forgive my noobness. I have recently become interested in falling and was curious as to whether or not people tend to wave their arms in horror or descend more serenely.

I fall mostly blues and pop rock.

Thanks in advance!

[demillso]

Reminds me of Mitch Hedberg: "I haven't slept for 10 years...cause that would be way too long."

[Peeb]

:dudeTo all responding I say: I am not worthy!

[SteveO]

Okay, isn't the second page the place to post a thinly-veiled political comment that has absolutely no bearing on the topic?

[bigdaddy]

Reminds me of Mitch Hedberg: "I haven't slept for 10 years...cause that would be way too long."

"I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too."

[Stu Cats]

Any guy with a heavy foot fetish would fall after seeing 400 feet. The fall might not kill someone, but licking 400 dirty feet might.

[bsuite]

It's not the fall that kills you.................

[Peteyvee]

You actually read that?
Naah, I just skimmed it. I used to do it all the time and it got me a 3.6 GPA and a piece of paper in college. I guess I should have applied myself more... ;)