Grabbing something at Terminal Velocity

[akhmed966]

I know in Hollywood people fall a couple stories and grab onto a pole or something and survive, which most of the time doesn't seem too far fetched. But what if you were falling at terminal velocity and grabbed onto a horizontal pole? (The pole being a cantilever, and not flexible or anything at all, like a real world scenario)

Suppose if you grabbed onto it with both arms, would the force just rip your arms off, or just dislocate your arms and actually survive it?

What if you caught it between your chest, and wrapped your arms around it, parallel to the bar. I assume the force would still be fatal, and cause more damage since all the force will be undistributed. Would it be like grabbing a sword or something and just rip right through you or would you actually survive it.

If neither of these ways are possible, is there a way to survive without the pole being flexible?

 

[K^2]

The only falls people survive at terminal velocity are into something that gives quite a bit. Dense bushes, deep snow, that sort of thing. Anything that stops any part of your body more or less instantly is sure to be fatal.

 

[phinds]

I know in Hollywood people fall a couple stories and grab onto a pole or something and survive, which most of the time doesn't seem too far fetched.

Actually, it does if you think about it. The force of an adult male weighing, say 180lbs falling 3 stories and grabbing a solid railing is certainly enough to dislocate his shoulder even if he could manage to hang on, which I think is likely impossible since hands aren't that strong.

The damage that the heroes sustain, and more or less casually walk away from, in movies is usually completely ridiculous.

 

[btbam91]

Wow, haha. Never thought about this topic before but is certainly very intriguing.

One of my assignments in high school physics class was to watch a movie and note all of the "physics is broken" moments. Haha.

 

[PJC01]

I must clarify that terminal velocity is the maximum speed an object can reach while falling through a fluid (such as air) due to the balance of gravitational force and air resistance. It is typically around 120 mph for a human body in free fall.

That being said, the scenario described in this content is highly unlikely and would not be possible in a real-world scenario. Grabbing onto a horizontal pole at terminal velocity would result in a fatal impact due to the immense forces involved.

Firstly, the force of air resistance at terminal velocity is already equivalent to the weight of the falling object, which means that grabbing onto a pole would not significantly slow down the person's descent. In addition, the impact of the person's body hitting the pole at such high speeds would be catastrophic and would most likely result in severe injuries or death.

Even if the person managed to wrap their arms around the pole parallel to the bar, the force would still be fatal. The human body is not designed to withstand such extreme forces, and even the strongest bones and muscles would not be able to withstand the impact at terminal velocity.

In terms of flexibility, the rigidity of the pole would not make a significant difference in this scenario. The force of impact would still be fatal regardless of whether the pole is flexible or not.

In conclusion, it is not possible to survive grabbing onto a pole at terminal velocity in a real-world scenario. Hollywood may portray such scenarios for dramatic effect, but in reality, the laws of physics would make it impossible for a human body to withstand the forces involved.