Red Bull Stratos

[Trip]

Originally Posted by Archren

Oh and, I made the statement about the initial drop off the ledge first back on the first page... but hey, I don't read all the way through some posts either, so who am I to talk?

I didn't ask you about it, lol

[Homeslice]

I think what I'm feeling is weightlessness, which according to wikipedia is defined as the total absense of G-forces. Your body is accustomed to feeling the mechanical forces that cause the sensation of weight, so when you jump off something, common sense says that you "feel" the elimination of that force.

[Trip]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

I'm not talking about roller coasters, I'm talking about those "drop" rides. All they do is haul you up and then release you. And you sure as hell feel that.

A lot of the drop rides do not free fall. They are typically slower or faster than gravity due to friction or being actually pulled down faster.

[Homeslice]

Interesting piece from wikipedia, explaining that we do "feel" the effects of weightlessness:

The technical definition of weight is the mass of the object, multiplied by the acceleration of the g-force acting on an object, but in the opposite direction. Thus, humans experience their own body weight as a result of this supporting force, which results in a normal force applied to a person by the surface of a supporting object, on which the person is standing or sitting. It is the transmission of this reaction force through the human body, and the resultant compression and tension of the body's tissues, that results in the sensation of weight. In the absence of this force, a person would be in free-fall, and would experience weightlessness.

Because of the distribution of mass throughout a person's body, the magnitude of the reaction force varies between a person's feet and head. At any horizontal cross-section of a person's body (as with any column), the size of the compressive force being resisted by the tissues below the cross-section is equal to the weight of the portion of the body above the cross-section. (In the arms, the reaction force is equal to the weight of the portion of the arm below the cross-section, and is a tensile, rather than a compressive, force, just as in a hanging rope.)

Also:

Other significant effects include fluid redistribution (causing the "moon-face" appearance typical of pictures of astronauts in weightlessness)

[Trip]

So basically because we hold ourselves up, we feel our weight.

and when we fall with nothing supporting us.

"In the absence of this force, a person would be in free-fall, and would experience weightlessness."

[Archren]

As if we had any question this guy was a bad ass (or a little off his rocker)... here are some of his other jumps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_Io1DgObCs&feature=plcp

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by Trip

Here is a great example to try out that I learned in high school physics.

Imagine a monkey hanging from a branch. You are hunting that monkey. You know as soon as you shoot, that monkey is going to let go of that branch. So where do you shoot?

You shoot at the monkey. Both the monkey and the bullet will be pulled towards earth at the same rate of acceleration due to gravity.

Our teacher had a little contraption that fired a nerf bullet at a stuffed monkey to prove it.

I actually have video of that. I'll post it later.

What I'm gathering from Homeslice.
"Dear Einstein.

You're a dumbass

Sincerely, Homeslice"

[Smittie61984]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

I think what I'm feeling is weightlessness, which according to wikipedia is defined as the total absense of G-forces. Your body is accustomed to feeling the mechanical forces that cause the sensation of weight, so when you jump off something, common sense says that you "feel" the elimination of that force.

No human has ever experienced 0 gravity. Wikipedia is wrong on that.

[Trip]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

No human has ever experienced 0 gravity. Wikipedia is wrong on that.

We have nothing capable of reaching deep fucking space. Even in deep space, there are probably tiny forces from distant universes. Wonder if there is anywhere with 0 gravity.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by Smittie61984

I actually have video of that. I'll post it later.

What I'm gathering from Homeslice.
"Dear Einstein.

You're a dumbass

Sincerely, Homeslice"

Right, because Einstein said anything about the effects of weightlessness on the body.