Travelling at 40 MPH fatal???

[Christianbookworm]

I know, clack bait title. I remember hearing/reading somewhere that people in the 19th century thought it would be fatal for people to ride in trains at 40mph. However, galloping horses can be that fast, so why did they think the human body can't handle those speeds? Acceleration is the problem, not velocity! What other misconceptions like those surround today's technology? People thinking they could be harmed by radio waves?

[Meh Gerbil]

I know, clack bait title. I remember hearing/reading somewhere that people in the 19th century thought it would be fatal for people to ride in trains at 40mph. However, galloping horses can be that fast, so why did they think the human body can't handle those speeds? Acceleration is the problem, not velocity! What other misconceptions like those surround today's technology? People thinking they could be harmed by radio waves?

Actually, a doctor made that prediction.

[Christianbookworm]

Actually, a doctor made that prediction.

...

Did he not know what the orbital and rotational velocity of the planet is? A LOT more than a few dozen MPH. I have heards that it would not be fun to be at airplane speeds unprotected.

[Truthseeker]

...

Did he not know what the orbital and rotational velocity of the planet is? A LOT more than a few dozen MPH. I have heards that it would not be fun to be at airplane speeds unprotected.

Irrelevant as long as we are discussing how harmful speed can be. Actually it is speed relative to something, for example, the train relative to the surrounding air. If the train were going at meteoric speed through the air, it'd burn up like a meteor. If a car were moving at 40mph relative to another car, a bad, bad wreck may result.

[Christianbookworm]

Irrelevant as long as we are discussing how harmful speed can be. Actually it is speed relative to something, for example, the train relative to the surrounding air. If the train were going at meteoric speed through the air, it'd burn up like a meteor. If a car were moving at 40mph relative to another car, a bad, bad wreck may result.

True. Why is it that 300 mph in an airplane is fine, but 300mph winds will kill you? Is it because the plane is much sturdier than your flesh? What physics terms are in play(tensile strength, friction, etc.)? Or is it a variation of how it's not the fall that kills, but the hard landing at the end?

[rogue06]

I know, clack bait title. I remember hearing/reading somewhere that people in the 19th century thought it would be fatal for people to ride in trains at 40mph. However, galloping horses can be that fast, so why did they think the human body can't handle those speeds? Acceleration is the problem, not velocity! What other misconceptions like those surround today's technology? People thinking they could be harmed by radio waves?

"Rail travel at high speeds is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia."

Most experts figure the quote is apocryphal, not appearing in any of his works and first cited around 1980.

[Roy]

Most horses top out at somewhere around 30 mph.

Skiers can travel faster though.

[rogue06]

Skiers can travel faster though.

So can sky divers. Your point?

[Sparko]

well stopping from going 40mph can be fatal, if you stop fast enough. like hitting a tree.

[rogue06]

well stopping from going 40mph can be fatal, if you stop fast enough. like hitting a tree.

Hence the concept that falls are never fatal. It is the sudden stop at the end that are deadly.

[Roy]

So can sky divers. Your point?

Skiing, unlike sky-diving, preceded trains, and unlike horses, allows people to move > 40mph.

[Wally]

Hence the concept that falls are never fatal. It is the sudden stop at the end that are deadly.

Or to put it scientifically, It's not the velocity, it's rapid changes in velocity that are harmful.

[shunyadragon]

I know, clack bait title. I remember hearing/reading somewhere that people in the 19th century thought it would be fatal for people to ride in trains at 40mph. However, galloping horses can be that fast, so why did they think the human body can't handle those speeds? Acceleration is the problem, not velocity! What other misconceptions like those surround today's technology? People thinking they could be harmed by radio waves?

Layman misconceptions and foolishness concerning science and technology dominate our world today. Beliefs such as: (1) The astronauts saw the Great Wall from the moon. (2) Our earth and all of our physical existence is less than ~10,000 years old. (3) Elvis Presley is alive and well in a govenment witness program. (4) Your iPhone Flashlight is Spying on You.

. . . and many many more.

[rogue06]

Layman misconceptions and foolishness concerning science and technology dominate our world today. Beliefs such as: (1) The astronauts saw the Great Wall from the moon. (2) Our earth and all of our physical existence is less than ~10,000 years old. (3) Elvis Presley is alive and well in a govenment witness program. (4) Your iPhone Flashlight is Spying on You.

. . . and many many more.

Pfff. Everybody knows Elvis died leading the raid that killed Osama bin Laden

[37818]

Source: Car Seats - www.childrenshospitaloakland.org/main/injury-prevention-child-safety-information.aspx

If you are traveling at 30 miles per hour while holding your 10-pound baby, and have a motor vehicle crash, the baby would be pulled from your arms with an accelerated force of almost 300 pounds and be thrown into the dashboard or windshield.

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