4 ms·
> 120 divided by 5 = 24. Not bad! 24 mph is only a bit faster than the speed at which experienced parachutists land. Better yet, just put your hands in front o
by johngalt 10y ago
> 120 divided by 5 = 24. Not bad! 24 mph is only a bit faster than the speed at which experienced parachutists land.
Better yet, just put your hands in front of you and land on all ten fingers. Then it's only 12mph. /s
In reality your entire body is moving at 120mph, so you can't divide the forces in this manner. This a PSI problem. Total inertia distributed over a given area. And the results are much less favorable.
- tempestn 10y agoAs sfeng describes in another comment, the math isn't right, but the concept does make sense. It doesn't negate what you're saying either though; the 5 point landing is basically a way of distributing the force over as much area as possible. (You can't accomplish the same thing by just landing on your side, because the mass of your body isn't evenly distributed across the surface that would contact the ground.) It does manage to distribute the force over time a bit too, which is also beneficial, but a less significant effect.
- bpchaps 10y agoProtip: Put your non-dominant hand over your dominant hand instead of locking your fingers together. That way if something falls on you, your dominant hand won't be crushed.