Random question out of nowhere

[kyleb]

You are stupid if you've been wondering about this for any length of time.

F = MA

[phil_ivey_fan]

[ QUOTE ]
You are stupid if you've been wondering about this for any length of time.

F = MA

[/ QUOTE ]

spoken like a true cocky college freshman. Please tell me you don't have a job that requires any sort of thinking.

[kyleb]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You are stupid if you've been wondering about this for any length of time.

F = MA

[/ QUOTE ]

spoken like a true cocky college freshman. Please tell me you don't have a job that requires any sort of thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

First of all, I am not a cocky college freshman. I am a five-year dropout and not exactly proud of that fact.

Second of all, I own my own business.

Third of all, did you REALLY wait until college to learn F = MA? And how is this not exactly the formula that makes the most sense w.r.t. the OP's failure to understand applicable force?

[dasani123]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You are stupid if you've been wondering about this for any length of time.

F = MA

[/ QUOTE ]

spoken like a true cocky college freshman. Please tell me you don't have a job that requires any sort of thinking.

[/ QUOTE ]

First of all, I am not a cocky college freshman. I am a five-year dropout and not exactly proud of that fact.

Second of all, I own my own business.

Third of all, did you REALLY wait until college to learn F = MA? And how is this not exactly the formula that makes the most sense w.r.t. the OP's failure to understand applicable force?

[/ QUOTE ]

impact.

[kyleb]

The OP phrases the question like he's blissfully unaware of acceleration increases force, considering he's asking about two people of equal weight.

And again, the simple Force equation explains everything. Average story of a building is 10 feet, 5 story drop is 50 feet, use 9.8m/s^2 and voila - that guy on the ground is taking a large beating.

[dasani123]

i agree that the guy on the ground will be taking a large beating. but f=ma is not the only equation to take into account here. the op also asks what kind of effect this guy on the ground will have on the guy falling by trying to catch him. the fact is, by trying to catch him, the guy on the ground may significantly lower the impact factor of the fall. i don't know if he will lower it enough to save the guy's life or seriously prevent injury, but i believe he will lower the force a significant amount.

[LuckOfTheDraw]

Random answer: No.

[LuckOfTheDraw]

Impulse.

[FeNeF]

[ QUOTE ]
The OP phrases the question like he's blissfully unaware of acceleration increases force, considering he's asking about two people of equal weight.

And again, the simple Force equation explains everything. Average story of a building is 10 feet, 5 story drop is 50 feet, use 9.8m/s^2 and voila - that guy on the ground is taking a large beating.

[/ QUOTE ]
You're right. I only have rudimentary knowledge of such things. Doesn't make me stupid.

And it's not just a physics question. I'm sure the scenario I asked about could play out very differently if a few factors changed, like how the person fell, how you tried to "catch" him, where exactly he/she hit you, etc. There are physiological aspects too. How much force does it take to break your spine? Rupture an organ? Don't know? Does that make you stupid as well? No? Well then stop being an arsehole.

[EricW]

Well, in essense it is F=ma. The acceleration here is 9.8m/s^2 as Kyle pointed out earlier.

So basically we'd just use a simple physics equation to figure out how long he would be in the air for, and assuming no air resistance, the force would be deadly.

To all of you thinking that you can "catch" the person or slow down their fall, do you also think that you would be ok if you simply "jumped up" before a 20 story, free falling elevator were to hit the ground after its cable snapped?