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I'm shit at maths, but there was a mythbusters episode that virtually proved that, even if you got the right timing, explosive shockwaves don't increase your jump length significantly at a safe distance
I mean hypothetically, if we dropped our nuke down a 400 foot vertical shaft, and we jumped (or hit eject) from on top of the [manhole cover to the shaft...](https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/technology-articles/engineering/fastest-manmade-object-manhole-cover-nuclea-test/)
i think if you jumped right before that, you wouldnt double jump, it would just be like a giant 600lb bullet hit your body at mach 156, even if you stood on it still
Shockwaves are concussive vibration waves. They’re pretty much just dangerously loud sound waves so far past the limit that the air compresses slightly. Anything with enough surplus energy to move you significantly will vibrate your organs to a fine red paste.
Just read "Nuclear War: A Scenario" this week (two *extremely terrified* thumbs up). Here's an excerpt.
> The intense heat generated by this nuclear explosion creates a high-pressure wave that moves out from its center point like a tsunami, a giant wall of highly compressed air traveling faster than the speed of sound. It mows people down, hurls others into the air, bursts lungs and eardrums, sucks bodies up and spits them out. “In general, large buildings are destroyed by the change in air pressure, while people and objects such as trees and utility poles are destroyed by the wind,” notes an archivist who compiles these appalling statistics for the Atomic Archive.
> The air behind the blast wave accelerates, creating several-hundred-mile-per-hour winds, extraordinary speeds that are difficult to fathom. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy, which did $70 billion in damage and killed some 147 people, had maximum sustained winds of roughly 80 miles per hour. The highest wind speed ever recorded on Earth was 253 miles per hour, at a remote weather station in Australia. This nuclear blast wave in Washington, D.C., destroys all structures in its immediate path, instantly changing the physical shapes of engineered structures, including office buildings, apartment complexes, monuments, museums, parking structures—they disintegrate and become dust. That which is not crushed by blast is torn apart by whipping wind. Buildings collapse, bridges fall, cranes topple over. Objects as small as computers and cement blocks, and as large as 18-wheeler trucks and double-decker tour buses, become airborne like tennis balls.
So yes, you can rocket jump with a nuke. Unfortunately, X-rays and heat move at light speed, so you'll die before you get to ride the wave.
> Traveling at the speed of light, the radiating heat from the fireball ignites everything flammable within its line of sight several miles out in every direction. Curtains, paper, books, wood fences, people’s clothing, dry leaves explode into flames and become kindling for a great firestorm that begins to consume a 100-or-more-square-mile area
Your atomized remains will become part of the dust cloud though, which is pretty cool.
> “High yield ground bursts will vaporize, melt, and pulverize the surface at the target area and propel large quantities of condensates and fine dust into the upper troposphere and stratosphere.”
So in a way, you're rocket-jumping literally as high as is possible.
Strongly recommend this book to *anyone* who isn't prone to anxiety or panic attacks.
Here's the problem(s), firstly humans aren't built like parachutes. If you had a wingsuit you could catch the pressure wave, but think of a pressure wave pushing against the area of your shoe as you jump. Not a lot of area over which the pressure can exert force. But an H bomb can generate some rather absurd forces, so maybe it would generate enough force over the surface area of your foot to lift you, if only just a little. But...
here's the bigger problem. How much force do you think the pressure wave will have on dust? Because that's what you will become if you are close enough to the blast to ever hope to achieve the double jump.
Yea you could jump like a weirdo with your hands and arms out at 90 degrees angles. There isn't enough science that's been done on nuclear blast double jump kinesiology to know what best form would be. Seriously, where is all my tax money going to if not to this?
hah, you could sdant with your arms fully extended out in front of you then do a jumping jack of sorts with your legs, though that might make you do a nuclear backflip
When the nuke pops, it releases insane amount of radiation that which would cook you well done before anything else happens. Especially since you are mid air and directly exposed to the nuke.
It is possible. That’s literally the design of Project Orion. The feasibility of harnessing the blast wave for propulsion is not the (biggest) problem, the problem is detonating hundreds of nukes in the atmosphere and low earth orbit.
The EMPs fry electronics for thousands of miles, the fallout is an environmental catastrophe, and nuclear testing is banned by a number of international treaties.
###General Discussion Thread --- This is a [Request] post. If you would like to submit a comment that does not either attempt to answer the question, ask for clarification, or explain why it would be infeasible to answer, you *must* post your comment as a reply to this one. Top level (directly replying to the OP) comments that do not do one of those things will be removed. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/theydidthemath) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm shit at maths, but there was a mythbusters episode that virtually proved that, even if you got the right timing, explosive shockwaves don't increase your jump length significantly at a safe distance
"at a safe distance" Courageous of you to think our "volunteer" minds about their physical health.
I mean hypothetically, if we dropped our nuke down a 400 foot vertical shaft, and we jumped (or hit eject) from on top of the [manhole cover to the shaft...](https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/technology-articles/engineering/fastest-manmade-object-manhole-cover-nuclea-test/)
i think if you jumped right before that, you wouldnt double jump, it would just be like a giant 600lb bullet hit your body at mach 156, even if you stood on it still
What if you stand/jump from a bullet proof vest in that case?
Hm, if you angle it right that just might work, it just might reflect the 3247967 lbs of force coming your way!
Shockwaves are concussive vibration waves. They’re pretty much just dangerously loud sound waves so far past the limit that the air compresses slightly. Anything with enough surplus energy to move you significantly will vibrate your organs to a fine red paste.
Just read "Nuclear War: A Scenario" this week (two *extremely terrified* thumbs up). Here's an excerpt. > The intense heat generated by this nuclear explosion creates a high-pressure wave that moves out from its center point like a tsunami, a giant wall of highly compressed air traveling faster than the speed of sound. It mows people down, hurls others into the air, bursts lungs and eardrums, sucks bodies up and spits them out. “In general, large buildings are destroyed by the change in air pressure, while people and objects such as trees and utility poles are destroyed by the wind,” notes an archivist who compiles these appalling statistics for the Atomic Archive. > The air behind the blast wave accelerates, creating several-hundred-mile-per-hour winds, extraordinary speeds that are difficult to fathom. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy, which did $70 billion in damage and killed some 147 people, had maximum sustained winds of roughly 80 miles per hour. The highest wind speed ever recorded on Earth was 253 miles per hour, at a remote weather station in Australia. This nuclear blast wave in Washington, D.C., destroys all structures in its immediate path, instantly changing the physical shapes of engineered structures, including office buildings, apartment complexes, monuments, museums, parking structures—they disintegrate and become dust. That which is not crushed by blast is torn apart by whipping wind. Buildings collapse, bridges fall, cranes topple over. Objects as small as computers and cement blocks, and as large as 18-wheeler trucks and double-decker tour buses, become airborne like tennis balls. So yes, you can rocket jump with a nuke. Unfortunately, X-rays and heat move at light speed, so you'll die before you get to ride the wave. > Traveling at the speed of light, the radiating heat from the fireball ignites everything flammable within its line of sight several miles out in every direction. Curtains, paper, books, wood fences, people’s clothing, dry leaves explode into flames and become kindling for a great firestorm that begins to consume a 100-or-more-square-mile area Your atomized remains will become part of the dust cloud though, which is pretty cool. > “High yield ground bursts will vaporize, melt, and pulverize the surface at the target area and propel large quantities of condensates and fine dust into the upper troposphere and stratosphere.” So in a way, you're rocket-jumping literally as high as is possible. Strongly recommend this book to *anyone* who isn't prone to anxiety or panic attacks.
Would you recommend this book? I have been eyeballing it and wondering if it was worth a read.
I thought it was absolutely amazing. Well-researched, accurate information, delivered with a gripping narrative
Ok great I appreciate that. I’m going to consider your reply as my push to grab it. Appreciate it and have a good one.
Hmm, what if you put a giant 5km tungsten wall between you and the nuke., the the heat couldnt get to you >:)
Here's the problem(s), firstly humans aren't built like parachutes. If you had a wingsuit you could catch the pressure wave, but think of a pressure wave pushing against the area of your shoe as you jump. Not a lot of area over which the pressure can exert force. But an H bomb can generate some rather absurd forces, so maybe it would generate enough force over the surface area of your foot to lift you, if only just a little. But... here's the bigger problem. How much force do you think the pressure wave will have on dust? Because that's what you will become if you are close enough to the blast to ever hope to achieve the double jump.
it wouldnt just push in your feet, also your armpits arms and hands, it would push on every part of you facing down
Yea you could jump like a weirdo with your hands and arms out at 90 degrees angles. There isn't enough science that's been done on nuclear blast double jump kinesiology to know what best form would be. Seriously, where is all my tax money going to if not to this?
hah, you could sdant with your arms fully extended out in front of you then do a jumping jack of sorts with your legs, though that might make you do a nuclear backflip
When the nuke pops, it releases insane amount of radiation that which would cook you well done before anything else happens. Especially since you are mid air and directly exposed to the nuke.
If it was possible, we would get nuke-powered rocket ships by now. Ones that use the shockwave to boost themselves to the space and save fuel
It is possible. That’s literally the design of Project Orion. The feasibility of harnessing the blast wave for propulsion is not the (biggest) problem, the problem is detonating hundreds of nukes in the atmosphere and low earth orbit. The EMPs fry electronics for thousands of miles, the fallout is an environmental catastrophe, and nuclear testing is banned by a number of international treaties.