jstrutt Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I heard on the news today that some 63 year old dude is going to try to break the speed of sound with his body. Apparently, next month he is going to jump from a weather balloon approximately 25 miles high and free fall landing over SK. For our pilots out there....can this be done? I plan on parking my Vette in a cement parkade that day I can see it all now.....I mean I can hear it all now.....splatttttttttttttttttttttttttttt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1EVLC7 Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 They must be selling some goooood drugs in Canada!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Possible? Maybe with a rocket strapped to his ass... I think the freefall 'terminal velocity' for a human body is well under 300 mph. At least that's what I saw in some movie. I think. Any skydivers on board? Physics Majors??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstrutt Posted August 17, 2007 Author Share Posted August 17, 2007 Dean, if he thinks he's wrinkled now....just wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Final Effort Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I think it is around 125 MPH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Yes, terminal velocity will stop him. Not sure how much but it is somewhere between the 120 and 150 range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P51tj Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 The speed of sound or the speed of how long it take to hear OH SHITTTT!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Y Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Terminal velocity depends upon the density of the air. If he is 25 miles above the earth, that's 132,000 feet up. The very thin air could very well allow him to travel faster than sound. Terminal velocity also depends upon shape and drag. A balled up or vertical person has a higher terminal velocity than one splayed out in a typical skydiver freefall position.Just my .02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie44 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 I heard on the news today that some 63 year old dude is going to try to break the speed of sound with his body. Apparently, next month he is going to jump from a weather balloon approximately 25 miles high and free fall landing over SK. For our pilots out there....can this be done? I plan on parking my Vette in a cement parkade that day I can see it all now.....I mean I can hear it all now.....splatttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.Are you reporting on this or confessing John? I read this post and figured you'd found something to break up the boredom of retirement. BTW, this thread has gotten way too scientific for a bunch of gearheads. Oh wait, I forgot we've got a math teacher amongst us now :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOTV8 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Okay, I was wrong. As usual, I got interested and had to go read all about this.... It's already been done:"On August 16, 1960, Kittinger jumped his last Excelsior jump, doing so from an air-thin height of 102,800 feet (31,334 meters). From that nearly 20 miles altitude, his tumble toward terra firma took some 4 minutes and 36 seconds. Exceeding the speed of sound during the fall, Kittinger used a small stabilizing chute before a larger, main parachute opened in the denser atmosphere. He safely touched down in barren New Mexico desert, 13 minutes 45 seconds after he vaulted into the void. The jump set records that still stand today, among them, the highest parachute jump, the longest freefall, and the fastest speed ever attained by a human through the atmosphere. Somewhat in contention is Kittinger's use of the small parachute for stabilization during his record-setting fall. Roger Eugene Andreyev, a Russian, is touted as holding the world's free fall record of 80,325 feet (24,483 meters), made on November 1, 1962. "BTW, the speed of sound is about 761 mph. Several people are lining up efforts to break the old record. Read all about it HERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstrutt Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 Are you reporting on this or confessing John? I read this post and figured you'd found something to break up the boredom of retirement. BTW, this thread has gotten way too scientific for a bunch of gearheads. Oh wait, I forgot we've got a math teacher amongst us now :laugh:I'm not confessing, I'm reporting what I heard. And Dean had to prove it can be done. Well, here's how it looks through the windshield of the Vette........pretend he's wearing a shute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigfoot Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 BTW, the speed of sound is about 761 mph. Several people are lining up efforts to break the old record. Read all about it HERE.The speed of sound, like Todd eluded to is dependent on altitude. A jump from that high now that I think about it...maybe. But as he decends terminal velocity remains relatively the constant, but there is a HUGE difference in the speed of sound.But then I find THIS LINK and I begin to wonder if it's possible at all. I cannot see anyone reaching those kinds of speeds in free fall even in the thin atmosphere. Guess I'll have to check Dean's link.Dean's link does not say how fast this guys free fall reached. I find it hard to fathom that someone could reach over 600mph in free fall (660.1 being the lowest sound barrier speed on the chart). I know the atmosphere is really thin up there...but over 660 in free fall??? Very hard to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstrutt Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 To clear it all up, I'll let you know when I hear OH SHIT followed by a wet and sloby splat..............liver anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desertdawg Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Believe it or not, I just found his smilie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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