2006-10-14 11:54:18 · 18 answers · asked by Steph :-) 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
250 feet. Probably won't do too much damage. Speed of gravity 32ft/per sec/per sec. Mass of the coin not large enough to do damage...i one pound weight however, a different story all together.
2006-10-14 12:05:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
How about a penny? Following is from The Straight Dope, about a penny dropped off the Empire State Building:
Given that the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet tall and ignoring such factors as wind resistance for the moment, a penny dropped from the top would hit the ground in approximately 8.8 seconds, having reach a speed of roughly 280 feet per second.
This is not particularly fast. A low-powered .22 or .25 caliber handgun bullet, to which a penny is vaguely comparable in terms of mass, typically has a muzzle velocity of 800 to 1,100 FPS, with maybe 75 foot-pounds of energy.
On top of this we must consider that the penny would probably tumble while falling, and that the Empire State Building, like all tall buildings, is surrounded by strong updrafts. As a result the penny's descent would be substantially slowed.
Thus while you might conceivably inflict a fractured skull on some hapless New Yorker (or, more likely, some cretinous tourist from Towson), the penny would not "go through just like that." I bet it wouldn't even penetrate the skin. Not that I intend to find out.
2006-10-14 19:32:16 · answer #2 · answered by sofarsogood 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, because a penny will only leave a bruise so a nickle will not do much more. And once the nickle reaches terminal velocity, it won't go any faster and cannot gain the speed to become leathal. The 'drop a penny off a building & kill someone' myth was busted by the Mythbusters.
2006-10-14 19:03:32 · answer #3 · answered by nighthawk_842003 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it might make a bruise, but probably wouldn't do any serious damage.
No matter what size the object, it will reach maximum velocity of about 128MPH and stay at that speed.
60 MPH=88 ft/sec, so this would be about 180 ft/sec.
For reference the muzzle velocity of a bullet ranges from 1000-6000 ft/sec.
No more than a nickel weighs, I doubt even at that speed that it would kill or seriously injure someone.
2006-10-14 19:08:51 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
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fortitudinousskeptic
The answer is.....not really. You sometimes hear about how a coin would go clear through your body. The coin would be subject to a lot of aerodynamic drag going through the atmosphere. It'd hurt like heck.....probably make a bruise or welt. If it was traveling on edge it would get pretty darn fast. But I seriously doubt you're going to get killed by one. That's an urban legend.
2006-10-14 19:20:28 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes the pressure from the gravity at such a height could put a hole in someones head. no kidding. that's why most buildingsgs here in new york have nets going around them. like the empire state buildin. how many tourist do u think try to drop things off the top of that. and if that's not enough most building have unopenable windows.
2006-10-14 19:05:04 · answer #6 · answered by emptybluoceans 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think that it is unlikely. It would probably hurt but not do any real damage.
A nickel would not fall edge on because the pattern is different on the two sides which would cause asymmetrical drag and so the coin would tumble reducing it's terminal; velocity.
2006-10-14 19:04:16 · answer #7 · answered by Stewart H 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I belive mythbusters did a program on this sort of thing, and they found that the mass of a coin was not enough to overcome the air resistance after it reached a certain speed, and that it was not enough to kill.
2006-10-14 19:03:10 · answer #8 · answered by dantheman_028 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well on the show Mythbusters they used a penny from a great height, and it didn't inflict any damage. A nickle isn't that much heavier either, so know it's not possible.
2006-10-14 19:03:29 · answer #9 · answered by xChicken 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nope.
Air drag would slow it down immensely. If it hit you, you probably wouldn't even notice.
2006-10-14 19:02:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋