Dropping a coin off the empire state building

[Mrfrog840]

Isnt it if it hits you, the coin will go through your skull and kill you?

 

[Viper GTS]

Google it

I was going to do the math myself, but figured surely someone else must have.

Viper GTS

 

[dullard]

Not quite. If it hits my leg, and I'm not upside down, it won't be going through my skull...

 

[SoylentGreen]

You'd be a changed man, that's for sure.

 

[yowolabi]

Sounds like a hypothesis someone needs to test...

 

[Mrfrog840]

hrmmm if you dropped a quarter i bet it would have to do some damage...

 

[FenrisUlf]

Originally posted by: Kiyup
You'd be a changed man, that's for sure.

What do you think the punishment for that would be? Being drawn and quartered? Would somebody rat you out by "dropping a dime"?

 

[Mrfrog840]

Originally posted by: yowolabi
Sounds like a hypothesis someone needs to test...

Ill drop 1000 pennies off the empire state building and let them hit you!

 

[mpitts]

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840
hrmmm if you dropped a quarter i bet it would have to do some damage...

But then you would be out 25 cents.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: FenrisUlf

Originally posted by: Kiyup
You'd be a changed man, that's for sure.

What do you think the punishment for that would be? Being drawn and quartered? Would somebody rat you out by "dropping a dime"?

im gonna hurt you

 

[Pastfinder]

Must do something. In WWI, pilots dropped small steel darts out of their aircraft on the trenches. They only weigh an ounce or two but they could kill easily when dropped from 1,000feet up +

 

[vi edit]

Isn't this supposed to be on MTV's "Great Urban Myth" show?

It's actually a pretty cool show...waiting for the new one to come out.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: dullard
Not quite. If it hits my leg, and I'm not upside down, it won't be going through my skull...

hehe
you walk on your head?

 

[Mrfrog840]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Isn't this supposed to be on MTV's "Great Urban Myth" show?

It's actually a pretty cool show...waiting for the new one to come out.

yeah that made me remind myself to post this message

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840
hrmmm if you dropped a quarter i bet it would have to do some damage...

Kinetic energy is dependant more upon velocity than mass. Yes, it would carry more energy, but the velocity would not be increased substantially.

Viper GTS

 

[SoylentGreen]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840
hrmmm if you dropped a quarter i bet it would have to do some damage...

Kinetic energy is dependant more upon velocity than mass. Yes, it would carry more energy, but the velocity would not be increased substantially.

Viper GTS

Umm. I don't think so. How about a bowling ball since the speed will be the same?

 

[Pastore]

The problem with the coin is it has too much surface area, which creates a lot of drag, slowing it down tremendously. I doubt it would kill. A marble on the other hand, would tear someone up pretty good.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Kiyup

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840
hrmmm if you dropped a quarter i bet it would have to do some damage...

Kinetic energy is dependant more upon velocity than mass. Yes, it would carry more energy, but the velocity would not be increased substantially.

Viper GTS

Umm. I don't think so. How about a bowling ball since the speed will be the same?

Don't be facetious.

A bowling ball from a foot up would do damage, let alone that high.

The difference between a quarter and a penny is not THAT substantial, and it is still subject to the aerodynamics of a disc.

High powered rifle bullets gain much more from their superior velocity than they do from mass, though mass certainly does have some impact.

Remember boys and girls, k=½mv².

Viper GTS

 

[Amused]

Think wind resistence and ask yourself how much space is required for the coin to reach terminal velocity. I doubt a coin off the Empire State would do any more damage than it would off a 20 story building. The coin can only fall so fast through the air.

The human body reaches an average of 130 MPH before it stops accelerating during a free fall.

 

[FenrisUlf]

Originally posted by: Kiyup

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: Mrfrog840
hrmmm if you dropped a quarter i bet it would have to do some damage...

Kinetic energy is dependant more upon velocity than mass. Yes, it would carry more energy, but the velocity would not be increased substantially.

Viper GTS

Umm. I don't think so. How about a bowling ball since the speed will be the same?

A coin has a pretty unaerodynamic shape. It wouldn't be stable, so it would tumble and spin causing alot of aerodynamic drag. It would probably be moving pretty fast, enough to hurt and break skin, but probably not enough to kill most people outright. Unless you threw rolls of coins or bags....

 

[FenrisUlf]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: FenrisUlf

Originally posted by: Kiyup
You'd be a changed man, that's for sure.

What do you think the punishment for that would be? Being drawn and quartered? Would somebody rat you out by "dropping a dime"?

im gonna hurt you

How? By dropping a quarter on my head?

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Originally posted by: Amused
Think wind resistence and ask yourself how much space is required for the coin to reach terminal velocity. I doubt a coin off the Empire State would do any more damage than it would off a 20 story building. The coin can only fall so fast through the air.

The human body reaches an average of 130 MPH before it stops accelerating during a free fall.

Well, that depends on your body position. Terminal velocity is closer to 200mph with your head down and feet up like a bullet.

If you could keep the coin from spinning like a top, then I imagine it'd reach speeds high enough to kill someone.

 

[tcsenter]

Isnt it if it hits you, the coin will go through your skull and kill you?

It might give you a nice little gash and drop you to your knees if the coin hits you, but go "through" your skull, no. Probably not even give you a fracture, just a gash in your scalp and a nice bruise for your troubles.

The old myth about 'bullets' coming back down and killing people after being shot into the air is equally bunk. If the trajectory was not very steep, like firing a rifle with the barrel at a 45' angle in relation to the ground, then it very well may retain enough velocity to kill or seriously injure. But if the trajectory is steep enough to complete a "transition" to free fall, a bullet will not cause significantly injury over a coin.

The military actually tested this by firing various rifle calibers in the air within a mangrove where there was a large area of very shallow and still water. They were able to predict where the bullet would land within a few feet radius, so they set up a bunch of tin buckets to saturate this area. They were able to get the bullet to hit one of these buckets (numerous times), then proceeded to measure the force required to make the same indentation left by the bullet.

They calculated that, as long as the bullet had transitioned to free fall, there was not nearly enough force upon impact to kill or even seriously injure all but perhaps an infant.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Originally posted by: Amused
Think wind resistence and ask yourself how much space is required for the coin to reach terminal velocity. I doubt a coin off the Empire State would do any more damage than it would off a 20 story building. The coin can only fall so fast through the air.

The human body reaches an average of 130 MPH before it stops accelerating during a free fall.

Well, that depends on your body position. Terminal velocity is closer to 200mph with your head down and feet up like a bullet.

If you could keep the coin from spinning like a top, then I imagine it'd reach speeds high enough to kill someone.

Read the link I posted. Even in an absence of air resistance, it would only top out at around 280 feet per second.

That's barely 1/4 the speed of a slow bullet, and significantly less mass.

It's not going to kill anyone.

Period.

Viper GTS

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: KnightBreed

Originally posted by: Amused
Think wind resistence and ask yourself how much space is required for the coin to reach terminal velocity. I doubt a coin off the Empire State would do any more damage than it would off a 20 story building. The coin can only fall so fast through the air.

The human body reaches an average of 130 MPH before it stops accelerating during a free fall.

Well, that depends on your body position. Terminal velocity is closer to 200mph with your head down and feet up like a bullet.

If you could keep the coin from spinning like a top, then I imagine it'd reach speeds high enough to kill someone.

That's a human body under control. We can't control the coin.

But you're not going to stop the coin from fluttering, unless you spin it laterally, but you would have to do that mechanically to achieve the spin rate required to keep it stable.