So there is a common example given in physics class of superman swooping in to catch Louise Lane as she is about to hit the ground after falling from a building. Its stated that this could never work because she hits his arms as hard as she would hit the ground. The classic response is that it could work if superman dives down at the same speed as Louise Lane and then grabs her and gradually decelerates. I submit that is not necessary. As long as superman is a few feet above the ground and catches her as she falls, his arms can act as shock absorbers. It all comes down to the question as to whether a human can be decelerated from terminal velocity in a fraction of a second and survive unharmed. I submit that they can. People have walked away from car accidents with an equal deceleration. The deceleration would not need to be that gradual. It could happen in less than a second. In the 1950s, Col. John Stapp underwent a series of deceleration experiments in which his velocity went from hundreds of miles an hour to zero in under a second. He was not permanently injured (although he had some temporary injuries)
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 01:04:04 +0000
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