So, even though I knew almost everything that was gonna happen on last night's 24, I still absolutely loved it. However, the ending left me incredibly perturbed, because come on, Jack jumped out of the plane (in his words) at the last possible moment. Then Jack hides behind a rock from an atomic blast like Arnold did in Predator. Thing is, I still think he was too close to the blast to not suffer repercussions...
WARNING, MATH AHEAD!
Let's say the plane was flying at 210 MPH (the top speed the military guy said). If I remember correctly, Jack jumped out with 4 minutes left. George continued flying straight for another 2.5 minutes, therefore he was 8.75 miles away from Jack. I'll round it up to 9 miles for now, taking into account Jack directing his shoot in the opposite direction..
Now, with 1.5 minutes left, George takes the plane into a 30 degree nosedive, hitting the ground in 1 minute (with 30 seconds to spare). If he was traveling at the same speed of 210 MPH (I will not take into account any acceleration falling), that means in the span of a minute, he traveled 3.5 miles (18,480 ft). Using the formula:
( sin (30 deg) / horizontal dist travelled ) = (sin (90 deg) / 3.5 miles )
Horizontal distance travelled = 1.75 miles.
Now, let's assume George wasn't perfectly timed to 30 seconds, or his angle was a little off of 30 degrees, we'll round this up to 2 miles.
Therefore, when the bomb went off, Jack was only 11 miles away from the nuclear blast. Is this plausible to survive? Well, according to this site provided by my friend Mark, the blast itself would only effect a 7 mile radius, so he could have survived that. However, the 100 mile radius would be affected by some serious radiation... don't think Jack's outta the woods yet. In their words:
3,000 Rem*
Distance: 30 miles
Much more than a lethal dose of radiation. Death can occur within hours of exposure. About 10 years will need to pass before levels of radioactivity in this area drop low enough to be considered safe, by U.S. peacetime standards.
*Rem: Stands for "roentgen equivalent man." This is a measurement used to quantify the amount of radiation that will produce certain biological effects.
Now, I'm not sure how the wind direction is taken into affect, but from the picture it doesn't seem to be a factor at that close of a range.
posted by Holz |
10:47 AM |
Rant & Rave, Bitches! (0)
Watching: Lost, Heroes, 24, Criminal Minds Listening: Brobdingnagian Bards Reading: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Playing: Final Fantasy XII Eating: Healthy...er Doing: Running... hopefully Wishing:
Comic Quote of the Week
"It's trying to end the suffering of everything. Do you want to discuss our options? Maybe together we can, you know, workshop?"
"Okay, best way to stop a ten-story godlike monster from destroying existence? I'm gonna go with hitting, you have anything?"
"You took mine."
Wesley and Angel, Angel: After The Fall #15
Who Am I?
Name: Holz Home: Sonoma County, California About Me: I'm a comfortador. See my complete profile
AKA: Ozymandias, DrOzymandias, Darth Angelus, Darque Feonix, Trip McNeely Kicking ass for: 29 years Job: UWing Systems Design Specialist Walking Theme: Believe It Or Not by Joey Scarbury Most watched movie: The Princess Bride Most read book: The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King
"Let a man get away with fuckin' you once, you stay bent over so's he can fuck you again whenever he damn well pleases. An' if one man can do it? Another will too. An' another, an' another still. So's being fucked, that's yer life. 'Til who you were, you ain't. 'Cause all you are is an asshole." 100 Bullets #42
