Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Can Dropping a Penny From The Eiffel Tower Kill Someone?

My myth was a penny dropped from the Eiffel Tower will fall with enough velocity to kill a person.  It means that if a penny is dropped at the top of a skyscraper, it will fall with enough speed to kill a pedestrian below.  This myth had to of come up when someone threw a penny over a ledge and made a wish.  They ended up killing a person while making the wish.
http://www.prlog.org/10822704-every-penny-counts-with-az-vacant-home-solutions.jpg
The Empire State Building is higher than the Eiffel Tower, and since a penny reaches its full speed at 280 feet per second, it won't do much damage to a person walking under the Eiffel Tower.  There isn't enough weight on the penny to do damage to a person, but it could hurt somewhat.  There also is too much air resistance for the penny to hit the full velocity.  Variables are also part of the equation.  There could be wind, temperature, pressure, if a bird hit the penny, and many more that could change the outcome of how the penny falls.  The velocity equation is:
                          http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conf60/Images/velocity_formula.gif


I think this myth is false.  I think this because the two sources that I found are about the Empire State Building, which is taller than the Eiffel Tower by 198 feet, say that a penny won't do much damage to a person below.  In these articles, the penny is said to be too light, so there is tumbling.  With tumbling, the speed of the penny is slowed down.  If there was a roll of pennies, then the myth would be plausible.  It would all depend on the variables of the day.

http://plone.scottsdalecc.edu/britishisles/images/eiffel-tower.jpg
Sites:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myths/threw-penny-off-the-empire-state-building.htm
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/quiz/money/money.html
( Note: You have to go to question 8 or 9 to get where I found my site, mythbusters.)
Citations:
Brain, Marshall. “What if I threw a Penny off the Empire State Building?” How Stuff Works. How Stuff Works, 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2010. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/‌science-vs-myth/‌everyday-myths/‌threw-penny-off-the-empire-state-building.htm>.
Mythbusters. “Money Myths.” Discovery. Discovery Communications, 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2010. <http://dsc.discovery.com/‌fansites/‌mythbusters/‌quiz/‌money/‌money.html>.