If you were in a lift falling to earth and you jumped up immediately before it hit the ground?

Question

Would you be unhurt?

Answer 1

They showed this on Myth busters...tv show in North America.... the answer is - it depends on how high the lift is falling from. You can jump to produce an instantaneous velocity enough to make your body jump about 2 ft max. With gravity pulling you down at 9.8m/s2,,,your just able to offset gravity +2ft...soooo if the lift is falling for 1 second...its velocity is 9.8m/s down...and you jump...you would be fine. But if the lift fell for 5 secs...your downward velocity is 5*9.8m/s= about 50m/s...your only able to jump off 1 seconds worth...so you still crash to the bottom at roughly 4*9.8= about 40m/s...I think that means trouble !

Answer 2

No. When you jump you are moving with respect to the floor of the lift. When the lift stops you are still moving slightly slower than the lift was just before it stopped. You will stop just like the lift did, at about the same speed.

Answer 3

You could jump at about 5mph max. That means you'd smack into the ground at 95mph instead of 100mph. Not a lot of difference.

Answer 4

Nope. Your legs would be broken (at best)
All that would accomplish is a little distance between you and the lift, but you wouldn't slow down at all.

Answer 5

I was thinking this the other day, surely if you jump out at the last second you will just slow down and not hurt yourself.
good question.

Answer 6

The Mythbusters TV show did the experiment. You would wind up very dead.

Answer 7

No, you'd just be dead a few milliseconds later than you otherwise would have been. Momentum is still momentum.

Answer 8

Nope its to do with velocity, once your falling your niot going to stop it.

Answer 9

0.5mv**2, it doesn't work. You would still be splatski

Answer 10

No.