Flying at the Speed of Sound: What Would a Human Feel?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the hypothetical experience of a human flying at the speed of sound while wearing a jetpack. Participants consider various aspects of this scenario, including physical sensations, sound perception, and the effects of air pressure and friction. The conversation involves theoretical reasoning and speculative scenarios rather than established facts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that a human would feel nothing at constant speed unless accelerating, referencing Newton's second law.
  • Others argue that moving through air at high speeds would still involve forces acting on the body due to drag, challenging the idea that one would feel nothing.
  • There is a suggestion that if a person could withstand extreme conditions, they might feel air piling up in front of them, similar to a human torpedo in water.
  • Some participants mention the intense heat from air friction, with one asserting that a human would be engulfed in a fireball, while others contest this claim, stating that the temperatures would not be sufficient to create such an effect.
  • A participant references historical experiments, specifically Joseph Kittinger's high-altitude free-fall, to illustrate human experiences at extreme altitudes, although this is noted to not directly relate to breaking the sound barrier.
  • There is a debate over the accuracy of claims regarding Kittinger's speed and whether he actually broke the sound barrier during his jump.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the sensations experienced at the speed of sound, with no consensus reached on the effects of air pressure, friction, and sound perception. Disagreements also arise over the historical context of Kittinger's jump and its relevance to the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the hypothetical nature of the scenario, assumptions about human survivability under extreme conditions, and unresolved questions about the physical effects of flying at such speeds.

  • #31
Wow, this is great. I haven't posted in awhile, but there's lots of good stuff here, things I didn't even think about. I did have an idea: what does a fighter pilot experience who ejects out of a plane at Mach+ speed? By Newton's 1rst Law, the pilot travels at Mach+ speed while inside the airplane. During the first view moments after he ejects, by Newton's 1rst Law, he will continue with a tangent velocity the same as what he had inside the plane. That means, as a human, he would be traveling at Mach+ speeds for awhile, unless his parachute opens too quick. In this case, the human would be traveling faster than the sound barrier. Would such a case be analgous to the free fall scenerios depicted below? If so, that might answer the question of what a person experiences traveling at Mach Speed through the answer.
 
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  • #32
I am not sure that pilots ever do eject at those speeds. It would be quite dangerous.
 

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