Felix Baumgartner and the Science behind it.
I woke up early today only to find everyone chatting about the recent news of Felix Baumgartner, who recently just cracked the world record of jumping off the highest point ever and free falling towards the ground. Although many people admire him for this fact, due to my obsession of science, I applaud him more for the fact that he has managed to break the sound barrier with nothing either than the pull of the Earth's gravity. This would not have been possible if he was not at such a height as his terminal velocity would have been much slower if he were at a lower height due to the increased number of particles in the air. However, because there were 99% (approximately) less particles from the place where he jumped off, he was able to reach that speed, and he didn't even reach terminal velocity at that point! However he did need to slow down at that point, as at that point it would have been too dangerous for him to continue to accelerate.
One must wonder what it is like travelling faster than the speed of sound. What does it feel like? Or more importantly, what does it sound like? Would Felix be able to hear any sound at all? What would his view be like? Will the speed cause any side effect on his vision? I have come to know of the fact that Formula 1 racers tend to lose their perception of colour during a race due to the fact that they are accelerating at a very fast rate, therefore the increase of G's would cause a deficit in blood in some areas and would thus blur ones vision in some aspects. However I digress.
Felix's hundreds of previous jumps have been crucial to this event. Had it been a less experienced person doing the jump, I doubt he would have had the ability to break the sound barrier or perhaps survive the jump in the first place due to the "unexpected circumstances" which took place right before the jump. I am sure his country are very proud of him and that he will be given an award for his feat, although the occasion of the award remains unknown in my perspective.
It is a tragedy however, that his deed will forever remain unofficial as he has failed to do a task which would verify his actions. I do wish that the results and measurements taken do get stored as well; it would be a shame to let such a "scientific experiment" go to waste even though it has not been properly verified. However I am sure that future generations would look back at this man and use him as a role model to state that anything is possible, even for us humans, so weak as people but so powerful as visionaries.
Thank you Felix, for being an inspiration to all of us.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
One must wonder what it is like travelling faster than the speed of sound. What does it feel like? Or more importantly, what does it sound like? Would Felix be able to hear any sound at all? What would his view be like? Will the speed cause any side effect on his vision? I have come to know of the fact that Formula 1 racers tend to lose their perception of colour during a race due to the fact that they are accelerating at a very fast rate, therefore the increase of G's would cause a deficit in blood in some areas and would thus blur ones vision in some aspects. However I digress.
It is a tragedy however, that his deed will forever remain unofficial as he has failed to do a task which would verify his actions. I do wish that the results and measurements taken do get stored as well; it would be a shame to let such a "scientific experiment" go to waste even though it has not been properly verified. However I am sure that future generations would look back at this man and use him as a role model to state that anything is possible, even for us humans, so weak as people but so powerful as visionaries.
Thank you Felix, for being an inspiration to all of us.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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