[Runequest] Fact check

[Sven Lugar]

I have to concur with that assessment & the remains of the chute would 
be blown over the entire length of the ringworld. Even a HALO jump on 
Earth you spend a goodly time wondering if you are even going to hit the 
continent you are aiming at so shreds of silk would be really flying.

Sköl,
Sven

On 3/25/2013 10:44 AM, Styopa wrote:
> T-7s had a weight limit of ~360-400 lbs, claiming they could reliably 
> land 2 individuals, but those are WW2-size guys, ie ~150-180lbs each.
>
>
> Of course, parachutes depend on gravity.  As a Ringworld ostensibly 
> generates gravity through centrifugal (centripetal) force the question 
> becomes - if the troll can generate enough force on departure to 
> counteract this rotation (ok that's a lot - 
> http://www.alcyone.com/max/reference/scifi/ringworld.html ) he'd just 
> HANG there, not falling at all.
>
> Whatever velocity he can generate on takeoff is going to reduce his 
> falling speed.
>
> But no, siz 37 = about 650kg.  The iron plate for that individual 
> would be what, at least another 200kg, call it a total of 800kg. 
>  Assuming no substantial start velocity as above, a 2000-lb weight on 
> a WW2 paratrooper's chute means it would be shredded almost instantly 
> and the troll would end up a troll-colored smear in a troll-shaped crater.
>
> Assuming that his density is about 1.1, surface area with everything 
> is (generously) 3sqm, his terminal velocity would be about 70 m/s in 
> air.  He's going to hit at nearly 160 mph.
>
> He'd reach this in about 8 seconds - call it 10, with the time for the 
> chute to shred - after which he'd only have fallen only about 325m. 
>  From that point on he's not accelerating any more, then it's just 
> falling and screaming.
>
> He has 800,000m to fall.
>
> He'd fall for about 3 minutes to a spectacular splat.
>
> At least, that's my guess.
>
> On Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 12:28 PM, Leon Kirshtein <leonbk at yahoo.com 
> <mailto:leonbk at yahoo.com>> wrote:
>
>>     I have a question which may seem a *trifle* unusual. But I think
>>     that I'm more likely to get an answer from this list than
>>     anywhere else.
>>
>>     Could an eleven-foot-tall SIZ 37 great troll in iron platemail,
>>     carrying a troll maul, a greatsword, and a backpack, using a
>>     standard WWII paratrooper parachute, successfully parachute to a
>>     landing if he started from from 500 miles up the Spill Mountains
>>     (i. e. the rim) of the Ringworld?
>>
>>     Also, what would be the effects and strain of a 500-mile
>>     parachute jump, both on the troll and the parachute? I've never
>>     parachuted at all, so I don't know. It seems to me that the seams
>>     and straps might break?
>>
>>     And did they use silk or nylon for parachutes back then?
>>
>>     Thanks!
>>
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