[trev0006]

Video - MythBusters - Crash Force
Mythbusters crew decided to revisit an old myth that was drawing the ire of the show's fans for quite some time. And it's sure to be an interesting topic to automotive enthusiasts.
When two cars collide, each traveling 50 miles per hour, does the resulting force equal one car hitting an immovable object at 100 miles per hour?
It seems like such simple physics, no? But don't forget Newton's third law. To quote the great Wikipedia of knowledge, "Whenever a first body exerts a force F on a second body, the second body exerts a force −F on the first body. F and −F are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction." Or, more simply, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

[speedmiester]

Awesome videos, just goes to show how driving at 50mph increases your chances of survival in the event of a crash compared to higher speeds.
I just shudder to think the condition of the occupants in a 100mph crash.

[Rehaan]

In the controlled experiment in their studio, I couldn't fathom that swinging something from 90* up instead of 45* up would mean it crossed BDC at twice the speed. It just didn't seem right to me.

I'm no physics expert, so i looked this up :

Velocity @ bottom of swing = √{2 x gravity x Length of string [1 - cosine (angle)]}

Source

Assuming a constant g = 9.8 and length of string = 1m :
v = √{19.6 [1-cos(a)]}

Velocity for 45* drop = 3.05 m/s
Velocity for 90* drop = 5.33 m/s

Thats not double the speed!?

Have i got this wrong somewhere?

cya
R

PS - Man that 100mph crash was ridiculous!!