0:00:05 > 0:00:07Hi, everybody and welcome to Science Fiction,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10the show where we take all your misconceptions about science...
0:00:10 > 0:00:14And make them disappear completely.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Today's question, please, BUD E.
0:00:18 > 0:00:19HE COUGHS
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Oh, hold on there, love. Coming down with a bit of a virus, I think.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Today's question comes from Benny in Letterkenny.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Ah, Benny. Skyscrapers - that brings me back.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Do you know Big Apple, 1956?
0:00:37 > 0:00:40# Start spreading the news... #
0:00:40 > 0:00:41- Professor!- Argh!
0:00:41 > 0:00:43When an object is dropped from a high place,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46as it falls, it gradually picks up speed.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48Dropping faster and faster and faster,
0:00:48 > 0:00:50until, suddenly - crash, bang, wallop!
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Splits the people below down the middle, in two.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53But, Professor, hello?
0:00:53 > 0:00:57Have you completely forgotten about terminal velocity?
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Term, Term... Who's she?
0:00:59 > 0:01:00SHE SIGHS
0:01:00 > 0:01:03As the coin falls, gravity pulls it downwards,
0:01:03 > 0:01:07but the resistance of the air - also called drag - pushes it back up.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09This is turning into a bit of a drag.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12The cancelling effect of these forces ensures the coin
0:01:12 > 0:01:15does not reach a speed beyond its terminal velocity.
0:01:15 > 0:01:18So, although a coin dropping from a skyscraper might
0:01:18 > 0:01:20give you a bad bump on the head... Ow!
0:01:20 > 0:01:24It certainly couldn't build up enough speed to split you in two.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27So that's just a load of old science fiction. Ha!
0:01:32 > 0:01:35# I want to be a part of it
0:01:35 > 0:01:37# In Cork, in Cork... #
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Could somebody call me a taxi, please?
0:01:40 > 0:01:42# Shooby-dooby, doop-boop Boopy-doo, boo-boo... #