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trekkie1701c
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Stupid question here - what's the equation for determining the impact force of an object in freefall?
trekkie1701c said:Stupid question here - what's the equation for determining the impact force of an object in freefall?
trekkie1701c said:Alright. I dropped an approximately 40 pound rock from a 30 foot height onto a sheet of ice to determine whether the ice could widthstand enough force to hold my weight (trying to prove it without actually taking the risks associated with being wrong had I done it traditionally).
The only equations I've been able to find dealing with force pretty much boil down to getting the weight of an object, not force if an object has been falling for several seconds.
I'd say the best eqn to use would be F=dp/dt. Assuming that the rock comes to complete rest on impact, the force acting would be the mass of the rock times its velocity as it hits the ground (approximately).
rdx said:40 pound rock from 30 feet! That should have bashed it good. Did the ice break? If not I bet it held you. If you slid a 40 pound rock onto the ice and listened for cracking, that would tell you more.
arunbg said:I'd say the best eqn to use would be F=dp/dt. Assuming that the rock comes to complete rest on impact, the force acting would be the mass of the rock times its velocity as it hits the ground (approximately).
My bad, i forgot to add about the impact time. Anyway I don't think this approach is practical for the case at hand. You should much rather try Luke's approach since the impact parameters are difficult to determine.I'd say the best eqn to use would be F=dp/dt. Assuming that the rock comes to complete rest on impact, the force acting would be the mass of the rock times its velocity as it hits the ground (approximately).
Freefall impact force is the force exerted on an object due to the impact of gravity as it falls towards the ground. It is a measure of the amount of energy transferred to the object upon impact.
The equation for calculating freefall impact force is F = m x a, where F is the impact force, m is the mass of the object, and a is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s^2 on Earth). This equation can be used to calculate the impact force for any object in freefall.
Freefall impact force is typically measured in units of Newtons (N), which is a unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). However, it can also be expressed in other units such as pounds (lbs) or kilograms (kg).
The impact force of an object in freefall is directly proportional to its mass. This means that the greater the mass of an object, the greater the impact force it will experience upon hitting the ground. This is because a heavier object has more inertia and requires more force to stop its motion.
Aside from mass, the height from which an object falls and the surface it lands on can also affect the freefall impact force. Higher falling heights and harder surfaces can result in greater impact forces. Additionally, air resistance can also play a role in altering the impact force experienced by an object in freefall.