• Question: If You jump of the empire state building and land in a huge swimming pool will i survive or not ?!!

    Asked by ttmadman2000 to Cesar, Emily, Jamie, Kate, Philippa on 15 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo

      Cesar Lopez-Monsalvo answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      It is very likely that you won’t survive. Hitting the water at high speed is pretty close as hitting a wall. If you have ever jumped into a pool and get into the water in the wrong position you may have felt how painful it is, and that is just a short jump!

    • Photo: Philippa Demonte

      Philippa Demonte answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      @ttmadman2000 I agree with Cesar. Aside from the fact that you could get blown off course on the way down, you’d be falling with such a high speed by the time you hit the water, that you’d break a lot of bones, including your skull.

      You should find Olympic diver Tom Daly on Twitter and ask him what it’s like just diving off a swimming pool board. That’s gotta be tough on his wrists.

Comments

  • Photo: Philippa

    Philippa commented on :

    @ttmadman2000 Update on the answer. One of the volcanologists I work with says that if you were to throw a coin down into the pool first to break the surface tension of the water, then actually it /might/ be possible to survive. He says that it is the water’s surface tension + the high velocity which would otherwise kill the diver.