Is it true that if you're running at a fast speed down a hill or whatever that you can slow down or stop by..?

Question

slow down or stop by making a sudden turn of your body? Like 360 degree spin? The reason I ask is because I dreamt that I couldn't stop running down a street/hill because I was going so fast that I was afraid of getting hurt, so I decided to spin my body and fall to the ground, and that's when I stopped.

Answer 1

Sorry, no. You'd splat at the bottom of the hill in real life.

The reason for this rests in a physical law that says if you're going straight, you'll continue straight (down hill) until a force stops you from going straight. Spinning is not that force.

The momentum (which is the thing that keeps you going straight) is linear (straight). Spinning is angular (it goes around, not straight). So the forces required to start spinning are not straight (they act over angles) and will not affect your straight march into that wall at the bottom of the hill.

Of course, if you simply fall down, the ground pushing on you as you hit it is a linear force. Your linear momentum will be changed (stopped in this case). Thus, it will in fact stop you on your downward destiny with that wall at the bottom of the hill.

I tried to keep equations and such out of this, just the one notion: momentum will keep you going straight downhill until you apply a linear force (not angular like spinning) to stop your run.

Answer 2

The only way to stop very quickly is colliding with something else or friction with the ground. Let's assume it is not your goal to collide with something like a tree. A 360 degree spin will not help much because you'll be going the same direction. Turning 180 degress might help, but you would need to end up leaning up hill quite a bit; otherwise you're momentum will cause your body to keep moving while your feet come to a relative halt resulting in a bad tumble downhill. However, if you lean up hill, you'll likely still end up falling, but it wouldn't be as harsh. You could brace yourself against the impact, resulting in something getting scraped up, unless it's a really thick grass.

So unless you're going to naturally slow your gait/pace, falling is likely to occur.

Answer 3

Falling down is probably the only way to stop, as long as you don't start tumbling head over feet all the rest of the way down the hill. That would REALLY hurt. I don't think spinning woudl stop you. You'd probably have to try and lean back and fall on your back. Why don't you just go try it and find out for sure? Hint: Don't do this on a hill with a highway at the bottom.

Answer 4

i'd bypass for even attempt each and each and every of how if plausible and this suggests slower up and quicker down, in spite of the actuality that with short up hills increasing the attempt to get tot he excellent on a similar %. is really pleasant. Down hills - relies upon on the gradient for sure, a shallow down hill and enable your legs inform you techniques quickly to bypass, a steep down and your mind is going to could determine out the most secure p.c. for you and not in any respect enable gravity do it.

Answer 5

i presume the ground would probably stop you when you fell over!

Answer 6

I suppose that is one way....
but I would think there still to be another not so painful.

Answer 7

I worry about people like you....