Using
only a stopwatch and a sneaker, find an approximate value for sqrt{2}.
Source: M.Levi’s "Why Cats Land on Their Feet" (2012).
If a story is 10 feet and you drop from one story up and the ground outside is on a level with the ground floor floor, then directly outside a window is probably about 15 feet off the ground. Two stories up, that would be 25 feet off the ground, not twice the first measure. So try to drop from near the floor level of each of the stories mentioned in the previous post.
Aside from that, air resistance starts immediately; slowly at first, but measurably. It doesn't start off as if in a vacuum and then suddenly stop accelerating at terminal velocity; it goes to terminal velocity asymptotically.
You're better off with a bowling ball than with a sneaker. And you'd better be quick on the trigger finger for the stopwatch.
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Posted by Charlie
on 2021-03-24 09:59:42 |
just a comment
