<p dir="ltr">You know, Asher, I had a sneaking suspicion that something like that might apply to the Ringworld. A sixteen-foot fall in gravity would be harder on a larger creature - but I'm not sure that it would be on the Ringworld.</p>
<p dir="ltr">So he might survive, then. Probably would. He'd have to make a Jump roll, and I'm not sure how much damage he'd face. Nor can I think how he might get back up, unless he grabs some technology. But thanks to the superconductor plague, he might have trouble doing that!</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Mar 26, 2013 10:11 PM, "Asher Royce Yaffee" <<a href="mailto:ashersensei@gmail.com">ashersensei@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Hi, All,<div> With your permission, I will become dull, plodding and pedantic.</div><div><br></div><div> First, the case of the fleas on the sling. Imagine that 10,000 Greek mercenaries wandering through the Persian empire have some slingers with them. One of these slingers is especially flea-bitten, so much so that there are even fleas on his sling.</div>
<div> As flea-bite swings his sling about, our first flea hangs onto the sling at six inches radius (distance outward from center). Circumference (distance around edge) is 2 times pi times radius. So, 1st flea travels 2 x 3.14 (or so) x 6 = 37.68 inches with each rotation of the sling. Every time flea-bite swings once around, 1st flea travels about a yard.</div>
<div> Our second flea hangs on at 12 inches radius. So, 2nd flea travels 2 x 3.14 x 12 = a little over two yards. No surprise, right?</div><div> But, in a single swing of the sling, that means 2nd flea travels twice as far as 1st flea. And that means 2nd flea travels twice as fast.</div>
<div><br></div><div> Where am I going with all this? The troll on the rim is like the 1st flea -- closer to the center. Only this time, the center is a star instead of a slinger's hand. The floor of the ring is like the 2nd flea. The floor is farther out from the sun. Therefore, the floor is spinning faster than the rim.</div>
<div><br></div><div> When the troll makes his jump, he has the rotational velocity (motion spin ward) of the rim. When the troll reaches the ring floor, he will encounter a landscape with greater rotational velocity. So, if he lands in a forest, the trees will come at him as if he drove a car into them.</div>
<div><br></div><div> How much faster is the floor than the rim? I have to look up the formula and plug in the numbers. First chance I get. In the meantime, ...</div><div><br></div><div> Maybe the troll doesn't need a parachute for his drop. His top speed of descent will be about 9.8 meter/second, or 32 feet/second -- the equivalent of me jumping from 16 feet. (A 16-foot drop is very bad for me, but maybe the troll can make it.) Maybe he needs the parachute instead to speed up, to help him "catch up" with the ground speed when he gets within a few hundred meters of the floor. Deploy it sideways in order to match the local windspeed (which people on the floor would perceive as the still air and normal breezes of the day).</div>
<div> Does that make sense?</div><div> Sincerely,</div><div>Asher</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
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