Is it possible to create some kind of water modulation device for non parachute bridge jumps?

[honeyjigga 0]

Hey Guys,

I have been thinking about this for a real long time now.

People can jump from a number of different heights with no parachute to land in water. But eventually the higher you get and fall from you would feel the water hit you like hitting concrete.

I would love to climb to the top of the golden gate bridge in just a wet suit or dry suit with a life jacket and jump with no parachute, but do so by using a machine that has been switched on at sea level before I climbed. What this device does is it changes the water structure to make it soft enough so that when you do fall into it from phenomenal heights, you will not feel like you are hitting concrete but just hitting water at the same softness as if you were jumping from below 5 meters. Is it possible to create such a device?

I know that if it is possible it would definitely not be some handy device you could put in your pocket but one day it could be. Imagine how amazing it could be for the military or for construction workers doing work on a bridge over a lake or river.

But my dream is such a device for the ordinary thrill seeker. There are many people out there like me who really want thrill seeking sports but without all the training. Sky diving, base jumping all very risky and lots of training involved. When you jump you can't just get up and go again you need to re roll your parachute and then hop onto a plane. It's the same thing for base jumpers except you re roll your parachute and then climb a hill or whatever and jump again. I would love to just have that wet suit and life jacket and climb and jump and climb and jump again and again. It would be awesome.

So can such a system be developed

Imagine how good it could be for suicide victims. There are a lot of bridge deaths. So Instead of governments putting up nets and railings around bridges to stop suicidal people from jumping which makes the brisdges look ugly. They could just deploy this system at sea level that could make the water soft enough so if suicide victims do jump they do make it on touch down. Also the device could run via solar power and also make solar energy that could be sold to the national grid. It seems a win win situation,

What do you think?

Imagine jumping fro the tallest bridge in the world with such a device, with no parachute, or birdman suit or anything else. Well you could use the birdman suit if you wanted to, to slow yourself down to 40 mph. But maybe the first generation of the device you would need to slow yourself down to 40 mph other wise the hit to the water would be painful even if the device was able to modulate the water softness. I don't know what you quite call this term. anyone know?

Anyway is it possible or just a pipe dream?

[AggieDave 6]

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There are many people out there like me who really want thrill seeking sports but without all the training.

This is exactly what is wrong with many sports now days, including skydiving. This attitude followed by the lawsuits that fly when these sorts of people get hurt!

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[grimmie 173]

Just when you think you have read it all around here...

[Psychonaut 0]

Uhh.. that doesn't sound plausible at all nor does it make much sense..

Change the water structure? Water never changes, it doesn't know if you are jumping off the canoe or the 200ft bridge. You're going to be hauling a little bit more ass after falling from 200ft; look up your physics properties and you'll understand why it feels more like concrete.

Stay high pull low

[airtwardo 6]

Hey Culligan Man!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[billvon 2,380]

>Is it possible to create such a device?

Sure! There are several ways.

One is to continually bubble a lot of air (or other gas) through the water; this effectively reduces the density of the water, making impact less severe. Problem there is that since the water is less dense, you'd sink to the gas emitter and just stay there, so without a SCBA system you'd drown.

Another is to reduce local gravity. An ultradense degenerate-matter plate above the bridge of the right mass could reduce gravity to say .5G's at the water surface; this would decrease impact speed significantly (although not close to 50%.) You might have to reduce acceleration to .25G's. On a bridge with traffic this would be a problem since everyone's traction would go down by a factor of four, and if you had a spring scale in your RV it wouldn't read right. Another minor problem with this is that you'd have a huge bulge of water beneath the bridge, and boats would have trouble clearing the bridge unless you made it much higher (which would sorta negate the benefits.)

A third is a big bungee cord - but that might get into the "needing gear and skill" thing.

A fourth would be to boil the water so there is continually steam in it; similar to option 2 but without needing to pump gas into it. It would be uncomfortable though.

A fifth could be a system that would fire an artillery shell towards you once it saw you exit the bridge. The shell could then explode directly beneath you, and the violent expansion of gases would tend to slow your fall. Or detonate it just under the water which would have much the same effect as option 2.

A sixth could be an array of wind tunnels that generate a (say) 200mph upward wind. When you approached the array of fans, the one directly beneath you could be either moved out of the way or disintegrated with high explosives, allowing you to impact the water at a greatly reduced speed.

Or, perhaps easier, you could cover the water with styrofoam packing pellets; a few meters would likely render impact survivable. Better yet, use an agent that causes oil to foam up. Ensure the bridge is near an oil spill (a little easier right now) and spray the agent under the bridge. Again, you'd need a few meters of the stuff, so you'd want to make sure there was plenty of oil.

[wildWilly 0]

You're talking about a bubble machine, which divers and freestyle skiers have been using for years. It usually consists of a pattern of tubes on the bottom of the pool that are connected to a compressed air source and is controlled by the coach( or other staff) to momentarily decrease the water density on impact. It is then turned off til the next diver or jumper. Unfortunately it wouldn't work on the Golden Gate as it would be impossible to build it the entire length of the bridge and have it working 24/7. Not to mention any boat that crossed it would probably sink due to the decreased water density.
They work great in a pool. I've trained at the Hall of Fame pool in Ft. Lauderdale and they had one there. That was back in the 80's.
Nice idea though.

Willy

growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

[shveddy 0]

Giant concrete cone strapped to your feet. It'll break the surface tension of the water like a bullet, and the weight distribution will make sure you go in feet first.

[nickfrey 0]

rufkm!!!

[councilman24 36]

Lets see, our buddies on mythbusters did at least two of these. The bubbler to sink a ship and the explosion to slow an impact.

Of course did he say he wanted to survive to do it more than once?

Oh, and why is this still in skydiving?

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[Andy_Copland 0]

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There are many people out there like me who really want thrill seeking sports but without all the training. Sky diving, BASE jumping all very risky and lots of training involved.

Because you're lazy idiots. I'm cranky and telling it how it is.

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

And I thought I was mental...

[Calvin19 0]

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Hey Guys,

I have been thinking about this for a real long time now.

People can jump from a number of different heights with no parachute to land in water. But eventually the higher you get and fall from you would feel the water hit you like hitting concrete.

I would love to climb to the top of the golden gate bridge in just a wet suit or dry suit with a life jacket and jump with no parachute, but do so by using a machine that has been switched on at sea level before I climbed. What this device does is it changes the water structure to make it soft enough so that when you do fall into it from phenomenal heights, you will not feel like you are hitting concrete but just hitting water at the same softness as if you were jumping from below 5 meters. Is it possible to create such a device?

I know that if it is possible it would definitely not be some handy device you could put in your pocket but one day it could be. Imagine how amazing it could be for the military or for construction workers doing work on a bridge over a lake or river.

But my dream is such a device for the ordinary thrill seeker. There are many people out there like me who really want thrill seeking sports but without all the training. Sky diving, base jumping all very risky and lots of training involved. When you jump you can't just get up and go again you need to re roll your parachute and then hop onto a plane. It's the same thing for base jumpers except you re roll your parachute and then climb a hill or whatever and jump again. I would love to just have that wet suit and life jacket and climb and jump and climb and jump again and again. It would be awesome.

So can such a system be developed

Imagine how good it could be for suicide victims. There are a lot of bridge deaths. So Instead of governments putting up nets and railings around bridges to stop suicidal people from jumping which makes the brisdges look ugly. They could just deploy this system at sea level that could make the water soft enough so if suicide victims do jump they do make it on touch down. Also the device could run via solar power and also make solar energy that could be sold to the national grid. It seems a win win situation,

What do you think?

Imagine jumping fro the tallest bridge in the world with such a device, with no parachute, or birdman suit or anything else. Well you could use the birdman suit if you wanted to, to slow yourself down to 40 mph. But maybe the first generation of the device you would need to slow yourself down to 40 mph other wise the hit to the water would be painful even if the device was able to modulate the water softness. I don't know what you quite call this term. anyone know?

Anyway is it possible or just a pipe dream?

sure, it could be done, but one thing you are forgetting is water, even when dissipated through a "bubbler" carries a lot of inertia. freefall through rain can hurt, heavy rain is super painful. now hitting something at high speed that is half water half air? not something that could be repeated with any safety or desired repeats.

A device could be made to shut off "bubbler" immediately after impact, the jumper could wear flotation, and float to surface. I would guess with the amount of air you would have to pump under water the best increase in safe freefall hight would be about 100%, (meaning you could jump from maybe 200') and the bubbler device would cost a few hundred thousand USD$.

just learn to skydive. You would kill yourself BASE jumping. at least in skydiving you are not alone and there are enough assholes to, um, kill your dreams and keep you alive.

[johnmatrix 21]

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A fourth would be to boil the water so there is continually steam in it;

Yes, I think the best way to go would be some sort of small microwave energy weapon. Something that would boil water from a distance, in a fraction of a second, and allow it to cool as much as possible whilst still having the bubbles within to cushion the impact.
Like one of those bubble machines they have in the diving pools. But you wouldn't want to be falling into boiling water...

I think I heard a story once of a construction worker who fell from a bridge and lived because a spanner falling below him broke the surface of the water.
Probably bullshit though.

[half-a-greek 0]

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A fourth would be to boil the water so there is continually steam in it;

Yes, I think the best way to go would be some sort of small microwave energy weapon. Something that would boil water from a distance, in a fraction of a second, and allow it to cool as much as possible whilst still having the bubbles within to cushion the impact.
Like one of those bubble machines they have in the diving pools. But you wouldn't want to be falling into boiling water...

I think I heard a story once of a construction worker who fell from a bridge and lived because a spanner falling below him broke the surface of the water.
Probably bullshit though.

I Know Mythbusters tried that theory, but they were chasing down a myth about a construction worker that threw his hammer right before impact, blah blah blah. I forget the outcome... it might have been probable death. Anyways, If you do decide to fling yourself off of the golden gate bridge, don't forget video

[honeyjigga 0]

wow! I have certainly switched on a lot of thinking caps in this thread.

I think with all ideas that people have in this world we should try them unless we wouldn't get anywhere. We didn't sit around thinking what if this and what if that to get to the moon. We just did it. Let's not forget that here.

I saw a video on youtube about a man who survived a jump off the golden gate bridge. He was suicidal but made it to tell his story and when he had jumped he suffered broken ribs and legs and strained his ankle but is back in one piece now. There have been many deaths but far few survivors. They say they reason they survived was because they landed feet first into the water in the perfect position. Now my dream is if you can build such a water modulation device to allow people to start off by jumping feet first but later actually able to fall in on their belly or head first. But that's way later once the general principle of safe water feet landing can be demonstrated.

I have a method that's been in my mind for a while and that is to create a machine that sits under the water and can create a wave like pattern like a whirlpool motion using electricity to charge water to make them bubble. Which is similar to the bubble method being explained by someone further a few posts up. Now I am not looking just yet to see if we could cover the whole length of a bridge to prevent suicides from taking place. But that is the intention later. But for now the idea is primarily for thrill seekers. You still have to line up yourself to make that perfect jump into a water circle radius with a diameter of about 20 meters where along that sizable area either outside the circle or inside would be the machine that changes the water.

I believe we would need some experts in physics and chemistry to see if such a thing could be done.

I imagine it's possible using electromagnets, gyroscopes and copper wiring among many other very advanced technologies. We need an electrical and mechanical engineer in this thread.

It surely is possible

[timmyfitz 0]

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We didn't sit around thinking what if this and what if that to get to the moon. We just did it.

That is precisely what they did. They had to think of as many what if's before the lunar program could move forward. The "what if's" are the reason some projects take so long.

They certainly didn't "just do it".

[Calvin19 0]

Why would you want to prevent suicides? as soon as suicidals knew the bridge would not kill them, they would do it somewhere else.

this idea of water "modulation" to decrease density is possible, but not any where close to being worth it.

-SPACE-

[jakee 1,254]

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I think with all ideas that people have in this world we should try them unless we wouldn't get anywhere. We didn't sit around thinking what if this and what if that to get to the moon. We just did it. Let's not forget that here.

You seriously denigrate the work of thousands of the brightest engineers and scientists in the world at that time. The people who just "sit around thinking what if" are the people who figure out how to make the whole damn thing work and not just explode on the launch pad.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[ChrisL 2]

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It surely is possible

Possible? Hard to say for certain.

Some of the ideas presented, while theoretically possible, are much harder and much more expensive to implement than just getting adequate training in skydiving for yourself.

So clearly the burden of effort and expense involved have not been eliminated, you just want someone else to assume those burdens while you enjoy the fruits of their labors :)

Good luck with that

__

My mighty steed

[fastphil 0]

sure, it could be done, but one thing you are forgetting is water, even when dissipated through a "bubbler" carries a lot of inertia. freefall through rain can hurt, heavy rain is super painful. now hitting something at high speed that is half water half air? not something that could be repeated with any safety or desired repeats.

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But Calvin, isn't this because you're falling into the sharp end of the rain drop...

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[yoink 321]

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wow! I have certainly switched on a lot of thinking caps in this thread.

I imagine it's possible using electromagnets, gyroscopes and copper wiring among many other very advanced technologies. We need an electrical and mechanical engineer in this thread.

It surely is possible

Best. Troll. Ever.

[johnmatrix 21]

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I have a method that's been in my mind for a while and that is to create a machine that sits under the water and can create a wave like pattern like a whirlpool motion using electricity to charge water to make them bubble.

You have to make sure your test subject does not fall into the machine due to their increased descent rate through this bubbling water. Or else you could make the machine out of some sort of flexible mesh, like hose tubing, that could provide a final cushion for the subject.

Don't give up! Many things we take for granted (combustion engine, refridgeration, antibiotics) would not exist now had it not been for a highly ridiculed online forum post.

[CobraRover 0]

Quote

Quote

wow! I have certainly switched on a lot of thinking caps in this thread.

I imagine it's possible using electromagnets, gyroscopes and copper wiring among many other very advanced technologies. We need an electrical and mechanical engineer in this thread.

It surely is possible

Best. Troll. Ever.

I know. I still can't believe how many people are actually quoting him and giving him serious answers.

[jim_32766 0]

When I hiked through the Grand Canyon our guides would entertain themselves by jumping from the walls down in to the river below. When they made the higher jumps, like 70ft or so, they always made sure to land in water just below a small waterfall. Of course the water was often deeper there, but they said the main reason for targeting that particular spot was that the aerated water made the landing softer. I never tried it so can't provide any first hand reports.

The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.