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Is it true that if you dropped a penny off the Empire State Building it would kill somebody if it hit their head?
Answer:
No, a penny falling from the Empire State Building cannot kill a pedestrian. It is unlikely to even penetrate the skin of a pedestrian.
When an object falls to earth it gains speed. It eventually gains so much speed that it doesn't accelerate anymore, this is called Terminal Velocity.
If a human were to jump off a plane he would accelerate to his terminal velocity. If you take the mass of an average grown human, his terminal velocity would be about 100 something miles per hour. But the mass of a penny is only about 1 gram, so its terminal velocity would only be about 56mph. That means that the penny would accelerate to this speed and then it won't accelerate any more and it will maintain this current speed.
You also have to take into consideration that on a building as high as the empire state building wind rushes up the sides so your measly little penny would simply be blown away.
In the slim chance that it would hit a pedestrian, it would more than likely sting but he would be able to walk away and live another day. It is unlikely that the penny would even penetrate the skin of the human.
Even though the urban legend might not be true, it's really not recommended that you try it out yourself. The Empire State Building authorities have always insisted that nobody has ever dropped such an item from the top of the building, although this cannot be confirmed.
When an object falls to earth it gains speed. It eventually gains so much speed that it doesn't accelerate anymore, this is called Terminal Velocity.
If a human were to jump off a plane he would accelerate to his terminal velocity. If you take the mass of an average grown human, his terminal velocity would be about 100 something miles per hour. But the mass of a penny is only about 1 gram, so its terminal velocity would only be about 56mph. That means that the penny would accelerate to this speed and then it won't accelerate any more and it will maintain this current speed.
You also have to take into consideration that on a building as high as the empire state building wind rushes up the sides so your measly little penny would simply be blown away.
In the slim chance that it would hit a pedestrian, it would more than likely sting but he would be able to walk away and live another day. It is unlikely that the penny would even penetrate the skin of the human.
Even though the urban legend might not be true, it's really not recommended that you try it out yourself. The Empire State Building authorities have always insisted that nobody has ever dropped such an item from the top of the building, although this cannot be confirmed.
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