Car Crash Physics Project: Whiplash & Brain Injury Risk

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on a physics project analyzing whiplash and brain injury risk in a minivan struck by a truck at 75 mph. The user seeks to calculate the reasonable acceleration of the minivan post-collision and the resulting forces experienced by passengers. Key points include the importance of considering angular kinematics and the torque effect on the neck due to seatbelt restraint during impact. The conversation emphasizes the need for a detailed understanding of momentum and impulse to accurately assess the physics involved. Overall, the project aims to quantify the g-forces experienced by occupants to evaluate concussion susceptibility.
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Okay so I have to do a project that examines whiplash and brain injury in physics. My scenario is a minivan full of 7 people of various masses. This van is at rest and gets struck from behind by a truck going 75 mph. What is a reasonable acceleration for the van after it gets struck? I'm trying to find the force applied on the car, so I can calculate the amount of g's each person is feeling and determine how susceptible they are to concussions (10-50 g's).

Also if anyone knows how I could incorporate angular kinematics, that'd be great.
 
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Are you familiar with momentum and impulse?
 
AlephNumbers said:
Are you familiar with momentum and impulse?
Yes, I used momentum and impulse in my draft and was told to redo my project because it wasn't focused enough on the physics behind whiplash :(
 
Okay. Think about the person in the car. If they are wearing a seatbelt, what happens when they get hit?
 
AlephNumbers said:
Okay. Think about the person in the car. If they are wearing a seatbelt, what happens when they get hit?
Their body/head jolts forward and backward?
 
Yes, but it is important to specify that their head and neck rotate due to the torque exerted at somewhere around the base of the neck by the seatbelt.
 
If it were simply a linear motion then their heads would have to pop off their bodies and fly until they came into contact with something else. Surely you can see how absurd that would be?
 
AlephNumbers said:
If it were simply a linear motion then their heads would have to pop off their bodies and fly until they came into contact with something else. Surely you can see how absurd that would be?
Yeah I get that, I'm just trying to figure out what a reasonable acceleration is for the car that gets hit
 
Look up values for the mass of a truck and the mass of a minivan.
 

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