This Dude is So Dead...

[EarlJam]

This is priceless!!! I love it!!!

Agreed. POTW!

[colchar]

Or land successfully and immediately surrender to the Germans.

Well there are a lot of people of German descent out in Saskatchewan.

[Rich]

Where did he get $13.25 million from? Boy, that's money well spent!

[KBCrazie]

Because a de-orbiting space shuttle has much, much more kinetic energy than a falling man -- several orders of magnitude more. An object's kinetic energy is a function of both its mass and its velocity. The shuttle is many times more massive than a man (100 tons or so vs. a couple hundred pounds). Plus, when the shuttle hits the air molecules in the upper atmosphere, it's moving fast. Really, really, reeeeeeeally fast. Like 17,000 MPH fast.

The shuttle slows down because its kinetic energy is converted to another form of energy -- heat. Because it's far more massive and fast-moving than a falling man, it will dissipate much more energy in the form of heat as it falls -- so much that it would "burn up" without the special protective tiles. The dude jumping out of the balloon, though, isn't massive enough and won't be moving fast enough for that to be a problem.

You da man, Tom B.! That was a super-cogent explanation of the situation in relatively simplistic, layperson's terms!

But now I want to know just how hot he'll get. While he may not literally catch fire, the extreme heat may cause him to expire anyway.

[DevilAlumna]

But now I want to know just how hot he'll get. While he may not literally catch fire, the extreme heat may cause him to expire anyway.

If he's not already dead from the cold, that is. One article I read said he could face, while at speed, temps of -115C. That's just wrong. AND really cold.

[EarlJam]

2. I am thinking of all the possibilities from the ol' Roadrunner & Coyote cartoons. Geez, I hope he isn't relying on any Acme equipment. Will there suddenly be an Acme anvil there waiting for him on the ground? I hope he has a little sign that has a meak "yelp!" on it. I half expect a giant "SPLAT" to suddenly appear once he lands.

Just picture that. The guy lands safely to an applauding audience and much fanfare as a small shadow appears on the top of his head. Suddenly out of nowhere, he is killed by a falling anvil. That is funny, awesome, and - should it happen - is to be admired....and celebrated.

-EarlJam

[KBCrazie]

Just picture that. The guy lands safely to an applauding audience and much fanfare as a small shadow appears on the top of his head. Suddenly out of nowhere, he is killed by a falling anvil. That is funny, awesome, and - should it happen - is to be admired....and celebrated.

-EarlJam

ROFL! You funny, Earl!

[KBCrazie]

If he's not already dead from the cold, that is. One article I read said he could face, while at speed, temps of -115C. That's just wrong. AND really cold.

I could imagine his insulated capsule as well as a simple in-suit electric heater keeping him warm enough to survive on the way up and for the initial descent, but once he hits the denser air at 40,000 ft, things will start to get downright balmy. And I doubt that any heat pump-type system could counter that degree of heating.

[EarlJam]

I could imagine his insulated capsule as well as a simple in-suit electric heater keeping him warm enough to survive on the way up and for the initial descent, but once he hits the denser air at 40,000 ft, things will start to get downright balmy. And I doubt that any heat pump-type system could counter that degree of heating.

I can't even begin to explain the physics of it all, but I've got a gut feeling that he's just going to f'king explode around 20,000 feet.

-EarlJam

[KBCrazie]

One of the interesting things I've learned in researching the temperature characteristics of Earth's atmosphere is that, at the very top of the stratosphere, or about 31 miles up (that's about the height that he's planning to jump), the temperature is just below freezing due to the absorption and scattering of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, which is in the statosphere! As you descend through the stratosphere, the temperature decreases to a minimum of around -76 deg F at a height of about 10 miles, just before you enter the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The question is: will he be a block of ice at that point or will friction with the denser atmosphere cancel this cooling out and cook him to a nice well-done? I imagine he will turn to a block of ice first, then thaw, then get scrizzled as the ambient temperature rises above freezing and the friction causes surface heating of his suit.

[KBCrazie]

Jason - you have any connections over at MythBusters? Maybe we could get them to figure this one out...

[TillyGalore]

Jason - you have any connections over at MythBusters? Maybe we could get them to figure this one out...

You can put in a suggestion via their web page: http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/my...thbusters.html

[EarlJam]

One of the interesting things I've learned in researching the temperature characteristics of Earth's atmosphere is that, at the very top of the stratosphere, or about 31 miles up (that's about the height that he's planning to jump), the temperature is just below freezing due to the absorption and scattering of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, which is in the statosphere! As you descend through the stratosphere, the temperature decreases to a minimum of around -76 deg F at a height of about 10 miles, just before you enter the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The question is: will he be a block of ice at that point or will friction with the denser atmosphere cancel this cooling out and cook him to a nice well-done? I imagine he will turn to a block of ice first, then thaw, then get scrizzled as the ambient temperature rises above freezing and the friction causes surface heating of his suit.

Yeah! What KBCrazie said!

[EarlJam]

Jason - you have any connections over at MythBusters? Maybe we could get them to figure this one out...

THAT is a great idea!

[JBDuke]

You da man, Tom B.! That was a super-cogent explanation of the situation in relatively simplistic, layperson's terms!

But now I want to know just how hot he'll get. While he may not literally catch fire, the extreme heat may cause him to expire anyway.

Nah, he'll slow down before he heats up that much. Plus, with all the air rushing past him, the heat will be whisked away quickly.

Think of it this way - he'll reach his initial terminal velocity pretty quickly - and he'll be up around 800-1000 mph. But the reason he'll fall that fast is that the air is so thin, it takes that much relative velocity for the drag force to build up and keep him from accelerating. The air's density doesn't change radically - it's a gradual thing. As the air slowly gets thicker, his speed will slowly drop, to keep a balance between gravity and drag. In fact, I suspect the sensation from his perspective will change little - he'll feel the same force from the wind pushing back at him whether he's falling at 900 mph in thin air or 150 mph in thick air.

[JasonEvans]

Seriously-- all joking aside (and the joking has been fun)-- does anyone really think this guy will survive? I am betting that the cold knocks him out and he either freezes to death or he is so out of it that he cannot pull the rip chord.

He only survives if he installs some automatic chord that will release the chute even if he is unconscious.

-Jason "a 7 minute free-fall at 800+ MPH... that's insane" Evans

[TNTDevil]

One of the interesting things I've learned in researching the temperature characteristics of Earth's atmosphere is that, at the very top of the stratosphere, or about 31 miles up (that's about the height that he's planning to jump), the temperature is just below freezing due to the absorption and scattering of ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, which is in the statosphere! As you descend through the stratosphere, the temperature decreases to a minimum of around -76 deg F at a height of about 10 miles, just before you enter the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The question is: will he be a block of ice at that point or will friction with the denser atmosphere cancel this cooling out and cook him to a nice well-done? I imagine he will turn to a block of ice first, then thaw, then get scrizzled as the ambient temperature rises above freezing and the friction causes surface heating of his suit.

... some type of very, very expensive human microwavable dinner?

"Enjoy Swanson's Hungry Man "Man" dinner tonight!" Falling from a sky near you! (then in fast announcer/disclaimer voice) Availableonlyinsaskatchewan.

[JBDuke]

Seriously-- all joking aside (and the joking has been fun)-- does anyone really think this guy will survive? I am betting that the cold knocks him out and he either freezes to death or he is so out of it that he cannot pull the rip chord.

He only survives if he installs some automatic chord that will release the chute even if he is unconscious.

-Jason "a 7 minute free-fall at 800+ MPH... that's insane" Evans

Of course he'll survive! He's only going a 20-30,000 feet higher than the USAF Captain that holds the record. And that extra height is gonna go by fast! He'll be in an insulated suit to keep him from freezing, and he'll have oxygen.

Believe me, this guy will be fine. The toughest thing about doing the deed, if you're crazy enough to jump in the first place, is getting an apparatus that will take a man all the way up to 130,000 feet. IIRC, that's well above the maximum altitude obtained by any jet aircraft. (Around 122,000 by a Russian in a modified Mig-25, I think.) It's gotta be pushing the limits of balloon technology. (I think the balloon altitude record is only about 110,000 feet.) After that, you're pretty much left with rockets or scramjets or some other such exotic propulsion system.

[KBCrazie]

I'm so lovin' this thread. It made me recall the incredibly stimulating problems that my Physics 52 prof, Dr. David Skatrud, threw at us. He was my favorite Duke professor (and a Duke PhD himself!) and really should have won the teaching award at least once (I wonder, did he ever?). I was fortunate enough to have him for both a physics class and for Diff-EQs in Math (he was multi-disciplinary like that). Both classes were simply stellar.

I took a minute to Google him and found that he's making a huge mark in the Army and he was recently appointed Director of the Army Research Lab's Army Research Office. Congrats to you, Dr. Skatrud! Duke's loss (though I see you remain an adjunct faculty member) is the Army's gain! Thanks for your service! And thanks for being such an inspiration to me!

[EarlJam]

The toughest thing about doing the deed, if you're crazy enough to jump in the first place, is getting an apparatus that will take a man all the way up to 130,000 feet.

C'MON! Sing with me!

Would you like to ride in my pimped-out, rad balloon
Would you like to glide in my pimped-out, rad balloon
We could die among the stars together you and I
For we can fly, we can die
Up, up and away in my pimped-out, rad
My pimped-out, rad balloooooooon

Yes, my pimped-out, rad balloon
My psycho-arse balloon, my balloooooooooooooooooon!

KOO KOO! KOO KOO!