A human hits the windshield of a spacescraft....
Discussion
t.F=ma.
But a human wouldn't do what a bug does, that's a function of the exoskeleton. The skull would do that, but the rest of the body wouldn't.
Essentially you would need to figure out the time that the bug goes from 0mph (assuming it was flying across the course of the car) to the speed of the car (60mph). It'll be measured in milliseconds, say for example 10ms.
So we assume an acceleration of 6mph/ms, which works out at 2682m/s/s, is about 270g. The highest survived G-force for a person was Kenny Brack, who did 214g in an Indycar Crash. Here's a clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpux5JxqEk
And that didn't kill him. Although it did shatter a lot of his bones.
But a human wouldn't do what a bug does, that's a function of the exoskeleton. The skull would do that, but the rest of the body wouldn't.
Essentially you would need to figure out the time that the bug goes from 0mph (assuming it was flying across the course of the car) to the speed of the car (60mph). It'll be measured in milliseconds, say for example 10ms.
So we assume an acceleration of 6mph/ms, which works out at 2682m/s/s, is about 270g. The highest survived G-force for a person was Kenny Brack, who did 214g in an Indycar Crash. Here's a clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpux5JxqEk
And that didn't kill him. Although it did shatter a lot of his bones.
GarryA said:
Well I know a train can vapourise someone at 125mph so shouldn't be too hard with a space shuttle.
That is slightly different a head on impact with a train wouldn't.The wheels cycling you round then you get macerated(??) and end up in little pieces and a bit of a pain for people to bag you up.
For F1 testing the max is 60g in 3 milliseconds.
Er, if I work this out right.
http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Space_Debris/SEMZFL05VQF_...
6.8km/sec is around 15,211 mph. Or have I missed something? Either way, at the higher speeds it could be interesting.
http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Space_Debris/SEMZFL05VQF_...
6.8km/sec is around 15,211 mph. Or have I missed something? Either way, at the higher speeds it could be interesting.
Doesn't the lack of air account for something? When you hit a bug with your car, your windscreen is forcing the bug back against air which exerts its own pressure. Not much to a car, but one hell of a lot to a little fly...
So this 700m tall spaceship whacks a person - broken bones would more than likely occur but with no air resistance what's to stop the body from just being punted off into space at a rate of knots, Frank Poole style?
ETA: assuming no damage to the spaceship.
So this 700m tall spaceship whacks a person - broken bones would more than likely occur but with no air resistance what's to stop the body from just being punted off into space at a rate of knots, Frank Poole style?
ETA: assuming no damage to the spaceship.
...and for tpyos.
Edited by Doniger on Saturday 2nd October 10:46
To be honest, I don't mind if the scenario allows the spaceship comes into the atmosphere and whacks a human - say a parachutist for instance - figure they are one with God if they think dangling from a string and napkin is a good idea anyway.
The spacecraft thing is just an easy metaphor.
It could be a very large milk float that floats in the sky, or for all I care a very large milk float on a very large strip of motorway. Frankly, it could be the world's largest liner that goes incredibly fast and runs down a human in a canoe.
But the key thing throughout, is what speed does it have to be going to splat a human in the same way that we run down a fly against our windscreen?
However, spaceships are more impressive to be run down by.
The spacecraft thing is just an easy metaphor.
It could be a very large milk float that floats in the sky, or for all I care a very large milk float on a very large strip of motorway. Frankly, it could be the world's largest liner that goes incredibly fast and runs down a human in a canoe.
But the key thing throughout, is what speed does it have to be going to splat a human in the same way that we run down a fly against our windscreen?
However, spaceships are more impressive to be run down by.
Edited by tinman0 on Saturday 2nd October 11:12
It would depend upon the relative masses and velocities between them and the resulting momentum equation. So the method is unimportant, just the force required to "squish" a person.
If it's doing 17,600mph and you're at 17,600.1mph, it will be a relatively low impact despite the big numbers, of more relevance is how much mass each body has.
Similar to the height from which a suicide jumper falls and the corresponding diameter of the resulting human pizza - is that what you're aiming for? Don't need spacecraft and thousands of mph to achieve an almost liquid state IMO.
If it's doing 17,600mph and you're at 17,600.1mph, it will be a relatively low impact despite the big numbers, of more relevance is how much mass each body has.
Similar to the height from which a suicide jumper falls and the corresponding diameter of the resulting human pizza - is that what you're aiming for? Don't need spacecraft and thousands of mph to achieve an almost liquid state IMO.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff