Is Human Flight Possible?

I wonder what kind of records for human flight are on the books?In summary, the conversation revolves around the possibility of human flight, specifically flying like Superman without the aid of mechanical devices. Some suggest that it may be possible on other planets with different gravitational conditions, while others point out the limitations of the human body and laws of physics. One person also raises the question of how Superman shaves.
  • #36
I think Sorry! is pulling your leg.

In the original Superman comics he merely leaped tall buildings in a single bound.
Some time in his history the writers decided he could fly.

That's pretty much it.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #37
rootX said:
Yep, it is possible.

Birds couldn't fly millions of years ago?

Some still cant, like the turkey, whose body mass is to great for its small wings to overcome gravity. It would seem to me humans might fall under that category.
 
  • #38
its ironic that so many people think that this idea is impossible ... i can make you fly in after effects ... why can it not be done in real life ... really i think the technology is already out there ... its all about control and the government trying to keep it ... if you seriously think that they don't already have some sort of solo flying device , your pretty nieve
 
  • #39
tavernarijare said:
what am i wrong about ... Jesus not walking on water ?

He used to. Not any longer. Not after those holes in the foot.
 
  • #40
tavernarijare said:
its ironic that so many people think that this idea is impossible ... i can make you fly in after effects ... why can it not be done in real life ... really i think the technology is already out there ... its all about control and the government trying to keep it ... if you seriously think that they don't already have some sort of solo flying device , your pretty nieve
Oh man. Thanks. I needed a good laugh today. If it weren't so long, I'd put that one as my new sig.
 
  • #41
FredGarvin said:
Oh man. Thanks. I needed a good laugh today. If it weren't so long, I'd put that one as my new sig.
Ooh. Good one! Immortalize it in a sig. I was just going to label him a troll. (Or maybe a "trole" - to pay homage to his spectacular spelling/grammar.)
 
  • #42
leroyjenkens said:
The cape just fluttered there, it's not like it's a wing he has control over.
If you're going to include apparatus, you could just use a jetpack. Or you could jump onto an airplane as it's taking off and include all the maneuvering the airplane is doing as part of your jump.
Besides, you can obviously tell Superman flies when he lightly lifts off of the ground and flies slowly up into the sky. He's done that several times in the movies.
None of you actually believe all that flying he does is just a jump, do you?

lol ;)

Ah man this thread was great. We need more guys like tavernarijare around here making posts.
 
  • #43
OK, enough ribbing.

tavernarijare, you're young.

There is nothing wrong with attempting to build your suit and frankly, we shouldn't be discouraging you. You'll learn a lot along the way. You'll learn a lot of skills, you'll learn what does work and what doesn't, and (I predict) you'll learn that it's ultimately impractical. Don't misunderstand - critics shouldn't stop you.

But you would do well to take advice. And you would do well to stop making claims about history and about government conspiracies. It is extremely hard to take you seriously while your loopiness is hanging out.


Also. Spelling. Unless you're really planning on making a flying bedroom/living-room combination, you might want to look up the spelling of that thing that Superman wears...
 
  • #44
A jet-pack could do the job if only for a few minutes. In the future, there might be jet-packs that can last longer.
 
  • #45
Quincy said:
A jet-pack could do the job if only for a few minutes. In the future, there might be jet-packs that can last longer.
My company designed, built and flew a jet pack that lasted much longer than the HO jet packs. The Army eventually canned it even though it flew very well. It was even shown on an episode of a show on the National Geographic channel.
 
  • #46
FredGarvin said:
My company designed, built and flew a jet pack that lasted much longer than the HO jet packs. The Army eventually canned it even though it flew very well. It was even shown on an episode of a show on the National Geographic channel.

I don't know how many of you guys have ever played Red Alert 2... But I remember those Rocketeers, damn they were annoying. You get like a swarm of 50 of them and you can take out the entire other teams base. (They were basically just flying soldiers with jet packs and used like a machine gun sort of weapon)
 
  • #47
Sorry! said:
I don't know how many of you guys have ever played Red Alert 2... But I remember those Rocketeers, damn they were annoying. You get like a swarm of 50 of them and you can take out the entire other teams base. (They were basically just flying soldiers with jet packs and used like a machine gun sort of weapon)
Again with the leg-pulling.
 
  • #48
DaveC426913 said:
Again with the leg-pulling.

Oh I wasn't leg pulling this time lol.

Just conversation this is in the general discussion.
 
  • #49
tavernarijare said:
I believe the Wright Brothers heard the same thing from everyone when they proposed there flying device ... It will be ... I am actually putting together and will test some ideas to make this possible... I am currently in the design phase of creating a superman suite ... With all of Supermans powers ... the current problem we have is that a human can only run at 26 miles per hour before there knee pop out of socket/ and or break ... the flying idea will be done as seen in the iron man movie ... through jet thrust ... more of a suite than actually like superman but ... close ... the suite will be powered by thousands of solar cells ... solar cells are used in very expensive watches to make them last for a thousand years ... and of course using the suns energy to give the whole suite power ... As Superman receives his powers from the sun ...we will too ... Any comments or Ideas let me know ... Man has thrived on making the impossible, possible . Jesus walked on water ... Man can create a suite as a will ...

I can't see how this person is serious. It must be a troll.
 
  • #50
Sorry! said:
Oh I wasn't leg pulling this time lol.

Just conversation this is in the general discussion.

I know what you're talking about. I never played the game much but I always thought those little guys with the jet packs were pretty cool.
 
  • #51
Leonardo da Vinci had many drawings that human flights were indeed possible. Have you ever take a good look at his drawings?
 
  • #52
jhooper3581 said:
Leonardo da Vinci had many drawings that human flights were indeed possible. Have you ever take a good look at his drawings?

I can also draw superman with a cape, that does not mean said drawing proves it to be possible.
 
  • #53
Why this thread isn't deleted amazes me. Seriously...? What point does this thread serve other than to promote nonsense?
 
  • #54
jhooper3581 said:
Leonardo da Vinci had many drawings that human flights were indeed possible. Have you ever take a good look at his drawings?

I am a fan of da Vinci, yes. I am well-familiar with his drawings. My office is decorated with them for inspiration.

But drawings do not fly. What's your point?



I'll beat you to the punch: you obviously think his devices worked. They did not.
.
.
.
 
Last edited:
  • #55
Cyrus said:
Why this thread isn't deleted amazes me. Seriously...? What point does this thread serve other than to promote nonsense?

Wow, I don't say this very often - but I couldn't possibly agree more with Cyrus.:confused::uhh::biggrin:
 
  • #56
Cyrus said:
Why this thread isn't deleted amazes me. Seriously...? What point does this thread serve other than to promote nonsense?
So we can have fun and post awesome videos like this..

Now hush up! ;-p
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #57
Warning: Don't try this at home!

Flying is easy. Just jump and aim for the ground and miss.
 
  • #58
jeremylorino said:
Is human flight possible? I'm not talking about flapping your wings. I'm talking about flying like Superman. I think it's possible. Does anyone have an explanation? I fly all the time in my dreams and I feel like I could fly in real life. Please be serious about this post because I am.

Although our bodies do not allow flight, I believe that some kind of alteration or addition to a human may allow flight, but I do not think such an ability would occur naturally. I'm guessing something that would allow a person to travel at an extremely fast rate or some way to counter gravity's pull.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #59
I used to make the room spin by drinking enough beer.
 
  • #60
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #61
Humans can fly on their own right now... until they hit the ground.
 
  • #62
Superman's powers make a lot more sense if his actual power is to change the inertial mass of matter through contact.
 
  • #63
I don't know whether or not this was brought about as a response to all of the physics-based criticism, but a few years back the authors at DC decided that Supe's powers were all psionically based. I can't think of that as an improvement, since psionic ability doesn't exist either, but at least they're consolidating all of their **** into one pile.
 
  • #64
Human flight might one day become possible with the discovery of a room temperature superconductor. If scientists discovered a room termperature superconductor one could create extremely powerful magnetic fields rather cheaply. You could wear a belt with these magnets on it that would allow you to levitate off the ground like superman.

Also, since water is a diamagnet if you had a powerful enough superconducting magnet you could make yourself levitate in the pressence of this magnetic field. Scientists have already levitated small animals using the diamagnetic property of water.

This isn't exactly flying like superman but it is the closest we could get.
 
  • #65
tmyer2107 said:
Human flight might one day become possible with the discovery of a room temperature superconductor. If scientists discovered a room termperature superconductor one could create extremely powerful magnetic fields rather cheaply. You could wear a belt with these magnets on it that would allow you to levitate off the ground like superman.

Also, since water is a diamagnet if you had a powerful enough superconducting magnet you could make yourself levitate in the pressence of this magnetic field. Scientists have already levitated small animals using the diamagnetic property of water.

This isn't exactly flying like superman but it is the closest we could get.

It's already been done in 1985.

http://scienceblogs.com/omnibrain/backtothefuture_hoverboard.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #66
I'll just stick to my jetpack. Now I need to go to the store and get some eggs, hope I don't hit a bird, they taste bad. And bikers think they have it rough.
 
  • #67
Human Flight is possible, but not on Earth (outside of aircraft). The gravity is not right on this celestrial object. It would be possible on Titan.
 
  • #68
When I was a kid, I imagined a tiny computer device that attached to my wrist. It could hold all the VCR movies and play them, along with all my cassette tapes and even do various calculations like my Tandy calculator. It could also communicate with my friends like a cordless phone. But that was only a dream. There's no way you can squeeze hours of VCR tapes and cassette music into a tiny device, and talk to people with it, too.

Now if you really want to talk about wild, another kid had this idea of shooting a rocket to the moon with a robot that would map it and send back video or pictures.
 
  • #69
If human consciousness is held within a field, as it has been proposed, then the idea of consciously willing yourself off the ground could be conceptualized by manipulating your own field of consciousness.
I mean that's what makes sense to me.
Consider the possibility that this field could somehow slip through the air without the hindrance of friction, drag, or even gravity.
Forget aerodynamics.
Its like electricity. Only, instead of manipulating the flow of electrons through a solid medium like metal, it is the flow of consciousness through time and space.
I think human flight is possible if somehow we can concentrate brainwaves into a rhythmic pattern instead of the chaotic signals and electrical randomness of the unfocused mind. If somehow we could realize that the spaces between our destinations are simply different aspects of ourselves, we could be more convinced that we can move at all.
So really the question is, "Is it possible to convince oneself of his own imagination?"
 
  • Like
Likes Neuerer92
  • #70
Mr. E. said:
If human consciousness is held within a field, as it has been proposed, then the idea of consciously willing yourself off the ground could be conceptualized by manipulating your own field of consciousness.
I mean that's what makes sense to me.
Consider the possibility that this field could somehow slip through the air without the hindrance of friction, drag, or even gravity.
Forget aerodynamics.
Its like electricity. Only, instead of manipulating the flow of electrons through a solid medium like metal, it is the flow of consciousness through time and space.
I think human flight is possible if somehow we can concentrate brainwaves into a rhythmic pattern instead of the chaotic signals and electrical randomness of the unfocused mind. If somehow we could realize that the spaces between our destinations are simply different aspects of ourselves, we could be more convinced that we can move at all.
So really the question is, "Is it possible to convince oneself of his own imagination?"

OK, I know this thread has been drawing only half-serious responses, and it is, after all, in GD, but this seems to have crossed the line; it is both quite serious and quite woo-woo-ist at the same time.

Let's pretend you said this tongue-in-cheek, so the thread doesn;t get locked...
 

Similar threads

Aerodynamics of Insect Flight
    • General Discussion
Replies
3
Views
780
Velocity and the human experience
    • General Discussion
Replies
6
Views
765
Plotting My Air Flight Path from Photos
    • General Discussion
Replies
24
Views
1K
What is the most advanced software that simulates human behaviour?
    • General Discussion
Replies
4
Views
846
Got the new Microsoft Flight Sim for Christmas
    • General Discussion
Replies
7
Views
884
I Can a microscopic insect fly by flapping rigid wings?
    • Classical Physics
Replies
2
Views
637
What types of things do you get second opinions on in life?
    • General Discussion
Replies
20
Views
904
Be Aware of Bias Before Taking Exams: Lessons from a Flight Disaster
    • General Discussion
Replies
1
Views
713
"New" theory of human movement as described by Tesla. Right?
    • General Discussion
Replies
1
Views
963
Exploring the Impact of Video Games on Dream Flying Experiences
    • Biology and Medical
Replies
3
Views
913

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top