4everpushingaboulderFeb 17
Nexta

🤯 A visual physics lesson at 80 km/h.

Enthusiasts launched a man from a moving truck in the opposite direction - at the same speed the car was traveling.

The experiment spectacularly showed how relative speed works.

Feb 16 at 8:42pmWeb
Show threadnotsoloudFeb 16
@nexta
PS: Don't do this near light speed without changing the formula. A few other practical problems might show up too 😉
Show threadMattFeb 17
@notsoloud @nexta xkcd relativistic baseball
You do not want to be the relativistic baseball.
Show threadTeflonTrout  he/himFeb 17

@menos @notsoloud @nexta

You don't want to be on the same planet as the relatavistic baseball

Show threadTHE ROCK FiLESFeb 16
@nexta Physics in action, so cool.
Show threadBodhipaksaFeb 16
@nexta I may be misremembering, but I think Mythbusters wanted to do something like this but it was judged to be too dangerous. This really is very neat!
Show threadDavid ZaslavskyFeb 17
@bodhipaksa @nexta IIRC they did it with something like a basketball, not a human. Otherwise pretty much the same though.
Show threadfancysandwichesFeb 17
@bodhipaksa @nexta yes, Jamie talked about this in an AMA recently
Show threadRenke MeuweseFeb 17
@bodhipaksa @nexta they did drive a car into a moving truck if I remember correctly?
Show threadBodhipaksaFeb 18
@meuwese @nexta Quite possibly. I only saw a few episodes, but there are quite a few videos of Adam and Jamie on YouTube and I'm pretty sure thats when I heard one of them talk about this experiment.
Show threadPeter BrownFeb 16
@nexta I had to read this several times before I realised what you meant was it was the same speed as the truck was travelling, not the car
Show threadGreg BurnsFeb 17
@peterbrown @nexta me too
Show threadBen Ford Feb 17
@peterbrown @nexta same, I was watching the video looking for a car to show up
Show threadLarisFeb 16

@nexta

Source please

Show threadSolarbird Feb 17

@laris @nexta I can help with that

DD Squad:

https://www.youtube.com/@DDSquadstunts

Here's the official video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV96uhFWgmA

They do this kind of thing a lot.

DD Squad

CEOs of crazy stunts 💥Five thrill-seeking friends. One mission. Design, build and pull off insane acrobatic stunts that have never been done before. Join us on our adrenaline adventures and see how we bring our wildest ideas to life.

YouTube
Show threadKrupoFeb 17
@moira @laris @nexta and the video addresses the folks who are chirping in response that it's an unsafe experiment in humans. Lots of test runs building up to it!
Show threadVirginicusFeb 16
@nexta That’s faith in engineering.
Show threadchandlerkyle93Feb 16
@nexta 80-80=0. 80-160? That's something different.
Show threadSpace Catitude 🚀Feb 16

@nexta

Perfectly safe ... if all the math, physics, and engineering works perfectly. 🤨

Show threadBen ToddFeb 16

@TerryHancock

ChatGPT said it was 🤷 /s

@nexta

Show threadXCondEFeb 17
@TerryHancock a couple of perfectly spherical chickens ought to do it.
Show threadStuart Celarier ❌👑Feb 17
@xconde @TerryHancock In a vacuum, of course.
Show threadbubbajetFeb 17
@VisualStuart @xconde @TerryHancock Does the road surface have friction?
Show threadGik  | 💙➡️🇺🇦Feb 17
@nexta this marks the end of bus stops.
Show thread1000millimeterFeb 17
@gikiski @nexta 😂
Show threadMichael GemarFeb 17
@nexta @davep This video is in the dictionary under “trust” (and “idiocy”)
Show threadEther DiverFeb 17
@nexta Dudes Rock
Show threadChertridgeFeb 17
@nexta Yo. Science Bitch.
Show threadAnthropyFeb 17
@nexta now do it at 400km/h from a jet, it'd only be like ~30G of acceleration 
Show threadsmells of bikesFeb 17
@anthropy @nexta At the height of Cold War madness, we did this with the A-5: it dumped its bomb load out the back on tracks at up to Mach 2, so it would have zero forward speed at release and drop straight down.
(It was never used.)
Show threadsmells of bikesFeb 17
@anthropy @nexta on rereading, it dump out the back at some speed but not mach2
Show threadToddZ ⓋFeb 17

@smellsofbikes

Ah - I was just wondering what kind of bomb-launching railgun they had in the fuselage!

I'd never heard of the A-5's unusual bomb bay configuration. Wikipedia explains that the payload "was propelled rearward at about 50 feet per second":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_A-5_Vigilante#Design

North American A-5 Vigilante - Wikipedia

Show threadsmells of bikesFeb 17
@toddz My uncle flew a lot of exotic stuff -- he's the only person I know with a Mach 2+ pin -- and he told me about the A5. I was quite young so I might be responsible for the inaccuracy.
Show threadjbaggsFeb 17
@anthropy @nexta Yeah. There's a limited range of speed where you can use speed in the opposite direction to neutralize the effects on a living creature. Beyond that you're headed into Euthanasia Coaster territory.
Show threadvxoFeb 17
@nexta
I feel like I'd want to have full motorcycle safety gear just in case the velocity didn't match and you wound up unceremoniously yeeted into a slide
Show threadElias MårtensonFeb 17

@vxo @nexta in the video they explain that they do indeed wear that.

He was wearing it after people commented on their lack of safety great in earlier videos.

Show threadGerardFeb 17
@loke @vxo @nexta I wonder if that's also the reason for facing rearward in that curled position? It seems like quite a good one to avoid broken legs. Of course, if he was fired too fast...
Show threadElias MårtensonFeb 17
@GerardThornley @vxo @nexta yes. In that position, if you simply straighten your body you'll be standing up. The entire video is quite interesting. They work themselves up from slow speeds until they get to 80 km/h.
Show threadGerardFeb 17
@loke @vxo @nexta I sort of assumed (hoped!) they did a lot of tests so confidence would be high for the high speed run. I must watch the full thing.
TBH, my first thought on seeing this clip was "that's cool! I want a go!" I wonder how long until this is an extreme sport option for visitors to New Zealand? 😏
Show threadElias MårtensonFeb 17
@GerardThornley @vxo @nexta the way he explains it in the video really makes me want to try it. As soon as you are launched everything apparently shows to a halt and then you just stand up.
Show threadGerardFeb 17

@vxo @nexta @loke
Yeah, it must feel strange the first couple of times. The acceleration must be pretty wild – that's basically 0-50mph in about 1s.

It's funny, I assumed they must have some sophisticated powered closed-loop control system to match the catapult speed with the vehicle. But, no, it's just bungee cord, dummy tests and careful driving, lol.

Only thing I'd worry about is the seat repeatedly hitting the end of the track at 80kph. I hope its well constructed!

Show threadvxoFeb 17
@GerardThornley @nexta @loke Hah, I don't think I've even been on a roller coaster that has that kind of acceleration. The fastest I've been on is The Hulk which launches from 0-40 mph in 2 seconds. That thing is wild, apparently they had to install a flywheel generation plant to keep it from dipping the power to the entire Orlando metro area every time it launched.
Show threadvxoFeb 17
@GerardThornley @nexta @loke It surprises me someone actually made them take mitigation steps - Florida Power & Light used to gleefully deal with things like a new shopping mall overloading feeders off a particular substation by cutting power to the residential customers on that sub during hot summer afternoons then shrugging their shoulders and walking away
Show threadComputerNut43Feb 17
@nexta neat
Show threadChuckFeb 17
@nexta That's why if you run to the back of the plane really really fast you drop out of the sky. 😆 As a kid, the cartoon pink panther had this thing where he would step out of the house just before it hit the ground and I spent like half a day figuring out if that would work or not, only to realize it WOULD work if he jumped up at exactly the speed the house was falling when it hit the ground. Alas such a jump was not feasible.
Show threadGerardFeb 17
@ChuckMcManis @nexta yeah, there's stuff about falling lift/elevator cars and jumping before they hit the ground. Unfortunately, if you're in freefall, you can't jump. Of course, that's besides problems of predicting impact and the car collapsing.
Show threadJosh Feb 17
@ChuckMcManis @nexta I dunno, cats are pretty good jumpers…
Show threadCatFeb 17
@nexta enthusiasts!
Show threadQuokkaFeb 17
@nexta "Enthusiast" 😆
Show threadPolly KraisusFeb 17
@nexta any chance this bot can can include alt text? Are replies monitored?
Show threadTom BrandisFeb 17
@stragu @nexta
-> @prvrtl
Show threadRomanFeb 17
@stragu @nexta Hey! It’s taken from telegram channel in russian, then translated into English and posted here. I don’t thing there is any source for image alt text (only AI probably but it’s expensive)
Show threadPolly KraisusFeb 17
@prvrtl @nexta ok, good to know. Some might appreciate the profile saying "this bot shares media without alt text". Just a thought. Thanks for the reply! 🙂
Show threadRomanFeb 18
@stragu @nexta Ok will add it with the next update, thanks for the suggestion!
Show threadPeter van Heusden (he/him) 🗿Feb 17
@nexta who was involved? I'd love to learn more about the planning that went into this.
Show threadPUCE TRAILBLAZERFeb 17
@pvanheus @nexta IIRC this is a clip from the Japanese TV show ITTE Q, where Nakaoka travels abroad to visit this stunt company to do the stunt (Nakaoka is the one letting go of the spring, not the one in the slingshot).
Show threadMusta dawned on me thuslyFeb 17

@nexta many years back, ZZ Top did a similar experiment where you’d sit in a spherical steel roll cage and they’d roll you out of the back of a pickup truck on the highway at high speed.

All was documented in their incredible music: “Master of Sparks”

Show threadBeanface42Feb 17
@nexta That’s impressive! Logical, but impressive!
Show threadBenjohnFeb 17
@nexta I worry that if I boost, other people might try this!
Show threadThomasFeb 17
@nexta this is really cool 😎