B Force required to bend/dent aluminum

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on analyzing a scene from "Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior" where the gyro captain's ultralight helicopter crashes but remains undamaged. The user is exploring how to calculate the force required to dent aluminum, considering the crash angle and the helicopter's weight. They initially consider using impulse calculations based on the helicopter's speed and stopping time but express uncertainty about the simplicity of this approach. An alternative method suggested is to evaluate the energy involved in the crash, comparing it to typical car crashes from the 1950s, which lacked crumple zones. This comparison aims to highlight the unrealistic portrayal of physics in the film.
Joe Butler
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For my physics class we have to show an example of bad physics in a movie. I am doing Mad Max 2: The road Warrior and the scene where the gyro captain crashes his ultralight helicopter but the helicopter is completely undamaged as he drives it later in the movie. I need to know what the force to dent aluminum would be assuming that he crashed with a 45 degree angle with the ground. I was going to use impulse as he goes from just over 56ft/s to 0 in .13s and use that to find force and we assume his plane weighs 500lbs.
 
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Not my field but I don't think it's that simple to calculate. Perhaps it would be easier approach it from an energy perspective. Compare the energy the gyrocopter has with a typical car crash or calculate the equivalent amount of dynamite.
 
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CWatters said:
Not my field but I don't think it's that simple to calculate. Perhaps it would be easier approach it from an energy perspective. Compare the energy the gyrocopter has with a typical car crash or calculate the equivalent amount of dynamite.
Thank You! I actually decided to compare it to car crashes from the 1950s as that was the pre"crumple zone" era
 
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