Is it possible

[dragon777]

If you were in a lift and it fell from 5th floor and the doors were open at the bottom...would you be able to jump out of the open doors?

LOL recurring dream

[sddsddean]

You would have to time it very well, as you would be doing around 23mph at the bottom.

[ladyalex]

I think it might cut you in half.....don't try it...please don't try it...think of the cleaners.

[dragon777]

thank you both - I dont want chopped in half - not even in a dream

[heathfield]

You'd be travelling at the same speed as the lift. Discounting any slowing of the lift due to air resistance as it fell down the shaft, if you managed to jump through the doors you'd hit the floor with the same speed as if you'd jumped from the fifth floor anyway. No advantage really. You might as well stay in the lift!!

[dragon777]

thanks Heathfield, sounds scientifically correct

will take the stairs from now on lol

[bookbinder]

For what it's worth: I read something that was written by a so-called safety expert, and he said the best thing to do in a falling lift is to spreadeagle yourself on the floor. This spreads the force. You'd no doubt be injured, but you have a better chance of surviving than if you were standing.

[boxtops]

Interesting, bookbinder, as I was told once that the best way to avoid breaking your legs when the lift hits the bottom, is to jump in the air at the point of impact, so the reverse force of the lift hitting the bottom doesn't shatter your legs. Quite how you judge that, I've never been able to work out (particularly since I would probably be paralysed with fear all the way down..)

[another-view]

Impossible boxtops, as you would have to jump at 23 mph to make any noticeable difference.

[boxtops]

I'll forget that theory then - just hoping that it never happens to me (or indeed to anyone here!).

[heathfield]

And I've never figured out how anyone in free fall could possibly manage to spreadeagle themselves on the lift floor. They'd be like astronauts in zero gravity and floating in mid-air!

[Quizmonster]

The question: "Can you save yourself from dying in a free-falling lift by jumping upwards at the last moment?" is an old favourite and the answer is: "No, you can't!" There are two separate "cant's" involved there...a) you can't save yourself and b) you can't jump upwards very effectively from a base that is itself falling rapidly...ie you can't really jump up while you're hurtling down. People will probably appear here telling you that you can do both, but they are talking nonsense. Click any or all of the following links for confirmation...
http://www.straightdo...classics/a1_205a.html
http://www.madsci.org...6/849198663.Ph.r.html
http://www.nasa.gov/e...fy_gravity/apple.html
http://sandwalk.blogs...rself-in-falling.html
http://helios.gsfc.na...a_gp_ev.html#elevator

Convinced?

[Dodger666]

I would think it more of a nightmare than a dream.

However, plummeting lift cars only occur in movies. Lifts have mutilple safety systems to prevent this happening. You also see them opening lift doors by forcing them apart by hand in movies. If the lift is well amintained this is impossible too.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/elevator4.htm

You can sleep soundly Dragon.

[BertiWooster]

'' ..However, plummeting lift cars only occur in movies. Lifts have mutilple safety systems to prevent this happening.''

Not on that ride in Disney world , Florida .

[Dodger666]

I think the rest of us are talking about the real world Bertie, not thrill seeking rides at Disneyworld.

You can rest assured the elevator drop ride at Disneyworld has all the necessary safety devices to prevent the car hitting the bottom. The true incident on which the ride is based ocurred in 1917 when lift safety standards weren't anywhere near what they are today.

[BertiWooster]

So , you dont recognise a tongue in cheek remark , then ?

[Quizmonster]

Tongue-in-cheek remarks are easily spotted "in the flesh" from the face of the person making them or the tone of his/her voice. What precisely was there in the words of your first response to give a hint that it was tongue-in-cheek, Bertie?

[BertiWooster]

The ride in disney world not having safety systems ?

Well , i didn't think anyone would really think i was being serious

[Quizmonster]

I can't reply for Dodger, obviously, but I myself assumed that there had - at some time - been a real-life lift accident at Disneyworld Florida! It seems as if Dodger thought the same. I mean, let's face it, there often ARE accidents involving fairground rides, despite an intense safety-consciousness on the part of the owners and inspectors.
But what the hey!

[Dodger666]

I agree with you Quizmonster. There was nothing in Bertie's remark that suggested it was "tongue in cheek" at all. In fact it needed a Google search to establish what he was referring to in the first place.

Perhaps if I'd been to Disneyworld I may have had some idea what he was talking about.

[BertiWooster]

I didn't even know that the ride in question is based on a real life incident .

Do you really think that i beleive that disney would have such a ride without safety systems ?