Question

C8M.2 On October 14, 2012, Felix Baumgartner became the first human being to break the sound barrier while falling freely. He jumped from a capsule that was lofted by a bal loon to an altitude of 127,852 ft (38.96 km). The speed of sound at that altitude is 690 mi/h. (a) Assuming that air friction is negligible at such alti- tudes, how far would he have to fall to reach the speed of sound? (The gravitational potential energy formula given in this chapter is accurate to better than 1% even at such altitudes. Track units carefully, though!) (b) Friction is not negligible even at this altitude. Baumgart ner actually reached the speed of sound at an altitude of 109,731 ft (33.45 km). What fraction of the system's change in gravitational energy was converted to inter- nal energy (mostly thermal energy in the air) by the time Baumgartner reached the speed of sound?

Answer 1

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