What happens to a car dropped from 625 feet?

Question

What happens if a car is dropped from 625 feet and it hits water or solid ground? what would it be simular to?

Answer 1

I vote you suggest this problem to the Myth Busters!

I'm pretty sure both cars would be completely destroyed!
Remember the drunk driving commercials? They dropped a car from 60 feet and is was about the same as 45mph car crash! I'd imagine 625feet would allow the car to get going slightly over 100mph (likely a terminal velocity) and if you've seen any autoracing video you know 100mph +wall = smashed up car!

Answer 2

Blue Sky, you forgot to take the square root while evaluating time!!!!

Assuming no air drag:
d = Vot + (1/2)at^2
190.5m = 0 + (1/2)(9.8)t^2
t = 6.24s

V = at = (9.8)(6.24) = 61.152 m/s = 220 Km/h = 135 mi/h

Considering that there is air drag, impact velocity will be even lower.

Anyways, that speed should be enough to crush the whole car in plain ground. It will not bounce unless there is a slope.

With water it's a totally different story. If the car is aerodynamic enough, the front part will probably be pointing down. If it lands pointing that way on water, the impact will be enough to destroy the front part of the car, but passengers inside might survive as long as they don't pass out and die because they drowned, or if the glass from the windshield kills them. If it lands flat on the water(like all four wheels on water), it will have the same effect as landing in ground.

Answer 3

Hey, that car will get messed up if it falls on the ground! It would be alright, besides people drawning, when it falls in water. If it lands on its tires, has super good shock absorbers, and it pretty much weightless, this is the only way that it might survive the ground.

When the car is 625 feet up, it's potential energy is given by mgh, where m=mass of car, g=gravitational constant, and h= height that the car falls from. This means that when the car hits the ground, all this potential energy becomes kinetic energy (the car will be falling at a certain speed).

The loud sound that you hear is some of this energy becoming sound energy. The new shape of the car is the result of the car absorbing the energy that it had when it was up.

When the car falls in water, the water absorbs some of the shocks, this is why it might be alright.

So, yea, as we said, given that we're talking about a regular car here, it will get messed up.

Answer 4

The impact of either would be sufficient to destory the car.

Both the solid ground and the water would react the same to the impact, as at least momentary solids (remember doing a belly flop at the local pool? Same theory. Splat!)

In insurance compamy terms, the car would be totalled!

Answer 5

Yeah its all according to the size of the car as well as the weight you need to give more details, I mean there acceptions like if the car was extreamly light and non aerodynamic it would reach its terminal velocity much much faster because it would be much slower then your average car therefore upon impact traveling at a much lower speed. In that case though the car being so light would also mean its not very sound in its bulid.................. ah give more details

Answer 6

Either water or ground, it's total destruction. Like 2 express trains head on at 100mph each.

Answer 7

If it hits water, some windows would shatter, and maybe some exterior pieces would get ripped off. Also, the interior would get very wet.

If it hits solid ground, it would be totally destroyed. You'd have a crumpled wreck.

Answer 8

time = sqrt(625*2/32.2) = 38.8 seconds

at freefall

(32.2 ft*s/s)*38.8 s = 1249.36 ft/s

1249.36 ft/s (1 mile/5280 ft) (3600 s/1 hour) = 851.8 mph

Assume an overall drag of 0.6;

851.8*0.6 = 551 miles per hour

What do you think would happen?

Answer 9

crunch!

if it hits either, the impact would flatten the car. belly flop on a large scale (painful)

Answer 10

Thud.Bounce.Thud...