How realistic is the physics behind the motorcycle jump in Tomorrow Never Dies?

[miyuki9]

Physics Project help please!

I picked out a movie, "Tomorrow Never Dies" staring James Bond and Michelle Yeoh. From there, I had to choose a movie segment that is physics related and then I have to explain how that movie segment is Realistic Physics or Unrealistic Physics. The movie segment that I picked from the movie was that when James Bond was on the motorcycle w/ Michelle Yeoh, and they went flying over a really big gab. I also have to make up High Quality Questions and Lead a Discussion during my presentation. Can someone please give me some suggestions that I should talk about for my presentation? Thanks

 

[chroot]

Solve for the trajectory of a body moving under the influence of Earth's gravity, and explain how fast and at what angle James' bike would have had to be going to clear the gap. Use math to calculate the speed required at the angle used. If the speed is unreasonable for a motorcycle having just accelerated from a stop, explain that.

- Warren

 

[miyuki9]

can u please give more detail? plus, I don't really know the velocity or the distance of the gap b/c it's a scene from the movie...

 

[quantumdude]

You can get the time by timing the sequence as the movie plays, and you can get the distance by getting a hard copy of a still frame and measuring the length of the bike in the picture. Then, look up the length of the bike (you'll need the make and model), and that will set the scale.

 

[rgrig]

Originally posted by Tom
you can get the distance by getting a hard copy of a still frame and measuring the length of the bike in the picture.

This is a good idea. However you should be aware of the perspective projection of the 3D scene on a 2D screen that kind of distorts the distances. But it should be possible to make corrections for this.