The Durability of Bone: Long Falls

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter enterthetaiga
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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on the physics of falls and the durability of human legs compared to Valve's fictional "Long Fall Boots." It establishes that human leg bones can absorb approximately 200 joules of energy before breaking, with the angle and type of impact significantly influencing the likelihood of breakage. The conversation highlights the importance of bending knees upon landing, which can reduce impact forces by up to 36 times. Additionally, it notes that the maximum safe height for a fall without protective gear is only a few meters, while the effectiveness of the boots can be quantified as the ratio of terminal heights.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic physics concepts, particularly energy absorption and impact forces.
  • Familiarity with terminal velocity and its implications for falling objects.
  • Knowledge of human anatomy, specifically the structure and durability of leg bones.
  • Awareness of safety techniques for fall impact, such as bending knees.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the physics of terminal velocity and its effects on falling objects.
  • Explore studies on energy absorption in human bones and injury mechanics.
  • Investigate safety techniques for fall survival, focusing on knee bending and body positioning.
  • Examine the design and mechanics of fictional safety gear in video games, such as Valve's Long Fall Boots.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for physics students, game designers, safety engineers, and anyone interested in the biomechanics of falls and injury prevention strategies.

enterthetaiga
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I am doing a paper on the physics in Valve's Portal and got interested in the "Long Fall Boots" that prevent any damage no matter how far you fall. I can calculate the force they can withstand and all of that, but I wonder how much more durable these boots are than plain human feet. So here is my question:

How much force is required to break a pair of human legs given that the person is in free fall and lands on her (the character in portal is an average-sized female) feet on a hard, sturdy surface (like tile), or how much energy can a pair of human legs absorb?
 
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The long-fall boot are total fantasy.

The maximum energy a bone can absorb without breaking is surprisingly small. The leg bones can absorb about 200 J - and you get two of them per human. (I'm pressed to find a reference though.)

Breaking a bone depends on the angle and type of the impact as well as the force of the impact.
Breakages from modest falls usually result from a bad angle of landing - for a very long fall, the knee joint will fail even if nothing else does.

You'll have noticed that if you land with bent knees it is less painful than landing with straight knees.

If you bend your legs then the momentum change when you land is spread over longer.

Also see:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=312805
 
Humans have a terminal velocity so above a certain height (call it Hmax) any increase in height makes no difference to how fast you land. So that limits how effective the boots need to be.

The maximium safe height without magic boots is only a few meters (call it Hs).

So one approach would be to say that the boots are Hmax2/Hs2 times as effective.

Bending the knees is recommended...

http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Long-Fall

Bend your knees. Possibly nothing is more important to surviving a fall (or simpler to do) than bending your knees. Research has shown that having one’s knees bent at impact can reduce the magnitude of impact forces 36-fold

Sadly no source cited.

Perhaps of interest..

http://scienceblogs.com/dotphysics/2009/12/16/dangerous-jumping-calculator/
 

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