On Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:33:50 -0700 (PDT), Joseph DeMartino   
    wrote:   
   >On Sep 23, 4:15 pm, Sue in PA  wrote:   
   >   
   >> [How did] Sheridan survive that plunge into a 2 mile high chasm.   
   >   
   >Well, the "two mile high" part sounds dramatic, but a two mile fall is   
   >no more deadly than a fall of a few hundred feet.  Sheridan would have   
   >reached terminal velocity (about 195 km/h or 122 mp/h for a typical   
   >skydiver in free fall) in under 20 seconds.  Beyond that it didn't   
   >matter if he fell one more foot or sixty miles, he wouldn't gain any   
   >speed or be any deader at the bottom, *based on the distance* fallen,   
   >than at the point where for force of drag acting on his falling body   
   >exactly matched the force of gravity pulling him down.   
   >   
   >The unknown variables are the gravity and atmospheric pressure on   
   >Z'ha'dum, how much the atmosphere thickened (or thinned, or did   
   >neither) as he dropped and what effect the nuclear blast in the city   
   >above had on conditions in the shaft.  Any number of factors could   
   >have resulted in Sheridan's speed being markedly reduced before he hit   
   >bottom, including updrafts from the hotter interior of the planet.   
   >His survival does seem unlikely, but given some of the skydiving   
   >accidents people on *this* planet have survived, I wouldn't put it in   
   >the totally implausible column.   
   >   
   >Regards,   
   >   
   >Joe   
   I believe the line "Will you catch me if I fall" contains the   
   necessary hint... ;-)   
   Charlie   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
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