The Mystery of the Plummetting Lift

[Wozza]

The lift thing was covered on a TV programme a few years back.

Jumping won't help you, but bending your legs to soften the impact on your body might.

 

[Easy 10]

Yes, yes. But while i continue to misunderstand science I can believe that the rickety old lift that I use to get to the 11th floor every day isn't going to be the cause of my death...

So, I refuse to be blinded by your sophistic science and don't have to develop a phobia about the deathtrap i have to use everyday!

Don't listen to 'em easy. Jumping will save you!

My feelings exactly. I will put my internet fingers in my ears and go "la la la", and forget I ever read the disturbing theories and facts explained on this thread.

I really can't be arsed with stairs.

 

[trueblue]

It doesn't matter anyway. I think all lift shafts have a kind of ratchet mechanism built into the walls which would slow down a lift that's in freefall and bring it safely to a halt.

 

[MattBackHome]

ok,ok, since we've got prof's on this thread on a similar note, if i boarded a plane with a parrot on my shoulder and during the flight, the parrot started to fly, would the aircraft weight (payload) get lighter ?

And if the parrot then had a shit, would the aircraft get heavier?

We demand answers.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

If the parrot had a shit the plane would not get heavier because the shit would have been inside the Parrot and part of its weight when it entered the plane.

 

[dougdeep]

Isn't plummet a nice word.

 

[Scarface]

I think you would survive but only because its just 3 floors down. You might be lucky and get away with two broken legs and a shattered pelvis!

 

[jonogulls]

The same question was in the Sun (or the Mirror) this week, Tuesday I do believe.

The Sun said that it is possible to survive if you jump at EXACTLY the right mili-second but that the likeliehood of this is so remote you will just end up with your head stuck up your arse.

Edit - Oh yeah, it was an interview with that fat twat from Channel 5's 'Danger, 50,000 Volts!'.

 

[Easy 10]

If The Sun says you can survive it, then you can survive it. Thats good enough for me. WIsh I'd seen that article in the first place, and I could have avoided all this worry.

 

[jonogulls]

I think I may still have the article.

Will try to scan it on the computer Easy later today to save you all that unnecessary worry.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

ive always wondered the exaxct same thing to!!!

i have also wondered......

if u are on an open top bus and on the top deck, if u jump in the air would the bus movre and u would therefore end landing further down the bus/off it all together.

also

why does a fly in a car not hit the back wondscreen when inside a moving car?

 

[jonogulls]

The fly question. Same to do with why you don't move when you jump on a plane / train.

Summat to do with the fact that the air inside is moving at the same speed as the vehicle so when you jump you carry on moving. Don't know what would happen on an open top bus / boat though. I'm just doing a quick Google search to try and sound intelligent.

 

[Tenngull]

Yeah, jumping on an open top bus would be different. The air is not moving with the bus but you are, so it would exert a backward force on you that would slow you down compared to the bus. You would indeed then land further back on the bus than where you took off. But unless the bus is moving extremely fast I doubt it would be more than a few inches.

As to the 'parrot' thing; it needs to exert a downward force (equal to its weight) on the air to stay up. This downward force is then transmitted to the floor of the plane by the air, so the total downward force on the plane stays the same.

I can't belive I'm actually talking physics on NSC - don't think this would happen on a Palarse board!

 

[Shizuoka Dolphin]

It's the stairs now on for me!

 

[Easy 10]

I had a good look at the front of our building this morning, and I am very confident I would survive if the lift were to plummet from the 3rd floor. If it ever happens, I will definately try to do a jump before impact to suss this out once and for all.

I'll be using the lift at about 12.30 today I should think.

 

[CHAPPERS]

I've always thought this would be possible. If I was to stand on a table and be dropped off a tall building I reckon I could jump off the table just as it was about to impact with the floor and survive without question.

 

[Man of Harveys]

So, assuming there was no wind resistance - and the train wasn't in a tunnel - would a bullet shot straight up on a fast-moving train (a "bullet train" perhaps?) eventually come down again and hit you on the head?

 

[NMH]

No because there has to be some kind of atmospheric resistance or else the bullet would be released into perpetual motion. The train is still propelling the shooter by mechanical force in a forward direction - and assuming there were no bends in the track, the forward motion power constant, the bullet must be slowed by gravitational pull of the Earth's mass and atmospheric density.

p.s. did you get my pm MoH?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

So, assuming there was no wind resistance - and the train wasn't in a tunnel - would a bullet shot straight up on a fast-moving train (a "bullet train" perhaps?) eventually come down again and hit you on the head?

That would have to be a very feeble bullet or a very high train.

 

[Minghawk]

i spose it depends on the deceleration of the bullet as opposed to the constant speed of the train -
the bullet would be bound to slow down a little bit, but the train would carry on at the same speed = the bullet would land somewhere behind where you fired it from (relative to your position on the train), but forwards compared to your actual position on the earth.

hold on, is that right,

no if the bullet was moving upwards and slowly decelerating, it would then accelerate as it fell back to earth - would the deceleration and acceleartions cancel each other out, thus meaning the bullet lands back in the same place on the train?
bollocks, i've given myself a headache!