About: Variable Terminal Velocity   Sponge Permalink

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The wacky world of TV physics seems to postulate, among other factors, that how fast a person or object is pulled towards the ground is a function of how heroic they are, and not the constant acceleration of gravity (9.8 meters/second^2) that the rest of us have to deal with. For instance, no matter how tall a cliff or building is, should a character or a fragile vase fall off, there will always be enough time for the Hero to leap after them, catch up to them in mid-fall, and rescue them. See also Not the Fall That Kills You.

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  • Variable Terminal Velocity
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  • The wacky world of TV physics seems to postulate, among other factors, that how fast a person or object is pulled towards the ground is a function of how heroic they are, and not the constant acceleration of gravity (9.8 meters/second^2) that the rest of us have to deal with. For instance, no matter how tall a cliff or building is, should a character or a fragile vase fall off, there will always be enough time for the Hero to leap after them, catch up to them in mid-fall, and rescue them. See also Not the Fall That Kills You.
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  • The wacky world of TV physics seems to postulate, among other factors, that how fast a person or object is pulled towards the ground is a function of how heroic they are, and not the constant acceleration of gravity (9.8 meters/second^2) that the rest of us have to deal with. For instance, no matter how tall a cliff or building is, should a character or a fragile vase fall off, there will always be enough time for the Hero to leap after them, catch up to them in mid-fall, and rescue them. This is a gross violation of physics in most cases. One object accelerated by gravity alone cannot pass another such object that was dropped before it. Neither the size of the objects nor the relative virtues of them can change that. Galileo and Newton both famously showed this, and Dave Scott confirmed it much later in a near-perfect vacuum. It is possible for this to work to a limited extent if you factor in air resistance against the falling object. But even then, you'd need to fall a very long distance (as in thousands of feet while skydiving, not the hundreds of feet out an apartment window) for this effect to be workable in your favor. And you also have to make sure the wind resistance is, in fact, in the rescuer's favor (by, say, falling forward and keeping your arms and legs together as the rescuer while the person in danger is falling flat with their limbs hanging out). It only gets worse if the falling rescuing hero completes the rescue with help of Building Swing gadgetry like grappling hooks or ropes: in Real Life, a falling person trying that would be more likely to lose the rope than save the person on the other end. Rescuing heroes are not the only things to be affected by variable terminal velocity, mind you. In some genres, everything falls faster than an anvil. See also Not the Fall That Kills You.
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