Wooden vs iron sword causing bone fracture

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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the comparative analysis of wooden and iron weapons in causing bone fractures, specifically referencing the case of Kaakutja, an Aboriginal man. The data indicates that the trauma observed in Kaakutja's skull closely resembles injuries inflicted by an African 'Samburu' sword, suggesting that wood cannot slice bone as effectively as iron. The discussion also highlights the mechanical properties of various materials, including the Janka hardness of different woods, and the implications of weapon design on injury outcomes.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of biomechanical injury mechanisms
  • Familiarity with weapon types, specifically swords and boomerangs
  • Knowledge of material properties, particularly Janka hardness
  • Basic principles of physics related to impact and trauma
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the biomechanical effects of different weapon types on human skulls
  • Study the Janka hardness scale and its relevance to weapon design
  • Explore case studies on peri-mortem weapon trauma in anthropology
  • Investigate the physics of impact forces in relation to weapon materials
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for anthropologists, forensic scientists, and researchers in biomechanics who are examining the effects of weaponry on human skeletal injuries.

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I'm trying to talk science to anthropologists and hope an academic physicist will let me quote him. Here is the data and my purpose is to prove that wood can't slice a skull the way a sword does . good grief ...
" On this basis, the boomerang is the most probable candidate for the main trauma. , ..Of the weapons tested, the frontal wound observed in Kaakutja most closely resembles that produced by an African ‘Samburu’ sword".
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308184804_The_death_of_Kaakutja_A_case_of_peri-mortem_weapon_trauma_in_an_Aboriginal_man_from_north-western_New_South_Wales_Australia
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Paediatric ceiling fan-induced head injury | Radiology Case ...
https://radiopaedia.org/cases/paediatric-ceiling-fan-induced-head-injury
Dec 26, 2015 - Child struck on the head by a ceiling fan. ... Depressed curvilinear skull vault fracture with an underlying linear ...
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Fan Decapitation | MythBusters | Discovery
http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/mythbusters-database/decapitated-by-fan/
Apr 11, 2012 - The Mythbusters asked: Can you be decapitated by a ceiling fan? ... a standard household fan 52-inch (132-centimeter) wooden ... 600mm blade
.26miles per hour (42 kilometers per hour). . concussion or a bloody nose, but the blades are too dull and slow to decapitate.
The industrial fan —metal blades that whip around at 54miles per hour (87 kilometers per hour) — . The blades acted like rotating machetes, slicing straight through the neck, jugular and vertebrae."
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13 x10mm wide neck cervical vertebrae, 100mm flesh.
Aboriginal skull Kaakutja . 110mm bone excision to about 20mm wide
wooden fan trauma on child skull 100mm bone linear crack , 10mm crater

'The atlantoaxial (C1–2) joint in pigs is similar to that in humans and could serve as a human substitute. The pig cervical spine is highly similar to the human cervical spine, ."
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Max arm-speed of baseball pitcher is about 100mph : 160 ft/sec.
Vortex 56 Inch High Velocity Ceiling Fan - Stainless Steel
Industrial fan . 700mm blade x 150mm. Area 1050 sq cm
Indonesian keris sword , similar thickness 530mm x 50mm. Area 265 sq cm. = . 4 weight mass

wooden fan 600mm blade x 150mm. Area 900 sq cm.
boomerang hardwood blade 600mm x 50mm. Area 300 sq cm. thickness is about 10mm and weight similar to keris and to wooden fan-blade about 5mm thick.

Janka hardness boomerang blade
Gidgee 4270
Mulga acacia 3820
( Hickory 1820 ).

So in broad terms would you say a wooden blade or sword was used on the Aboriginal skull?
 
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An iron boomerang will not work.
 
No you're thinking of iron boats which sank look at the Titanic.
 
Aluminium and lightweight carbon based structures (wood) work though,
I love Carbon, but so does everybody.
The perfect way to decapitate somebody would probably need a sword constructed from depleted Uraniam
 
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Swedish svardet means "sword" , it became lightweight carbon but sank and stopped working. .
"Svärdet was under the command of Claes Uggla, and fought in the Battle of Öland. Before the surrounding enemies could board Svärdet, a Dutch fireship accidentally set her ablaze. The fire eventually reached the gunpowder store, which set off an explosion that sank the ship. "
Charcoal and iron sink. Uranium blades at mach6 are deadly.
 
I suppose that a lot of people got very annoyed about that,
 
Absolutely . I'm quite annoyed.