Comments | little_details: Falling into the water

monissaw in little_details

Falling into the water

Jul 09, 2011 13:54

I'm trying to find out what happens when someone falls into the water. Do they stay near/on the surface? Go down and come back up? Go down and stay down ( Read more... )

~buoyancy, ~water, ~drowning

Comments 27

charlycrash July 9 2011, 21:05:47 UTC

Try and find video of people diving into water fully clothed.

From a metre or so and fully clothed you'd be neutrally buoyant-ish, I think. So if you can't swim you may well be in trouble.

How far you went down would depend on your position when you fell in. Could be anything from centimetres to a few metres.

monissaw July 10 2011, 01:31:45 UTC

That works for me. Thanks.

smirnoffmule July 9 2011, 21:08:32 UTC

I have no actual professional or otherwise expertise, so I'm sure there are numerous factors which make circumstances vary, but I was recently a bystander on the scene of a drowning incident - a boy fell ten feet or so into a canal lock, went straight down, didn't come back up again. Emergency services had to drain the lock to locate him.

marycatelli July 10 2011, 01:04:58 UTC

Note that hitting water can be like hitting concrete if you fall from far enough.

monissaw July 10 2011, 01:32:16 UTC

Ouch. I don't think it's near enough to that far though.

monissaw July 10 2011, 01:07:08 UTC

That's not a good way to know :(

This was how I wrote it originally, but since than, I've read other things that make me think I was making too many assumption. Thanks.

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monissaw July 10 2011, 01:35:52 UTC

I think I need to rewrite this. Thanks, I think.

deannawol July 9 2011, 21:26:52 UTC

Generally, when you fall in, you go below the water because your weight breaks the surface tension. But it depends on a lot of factors ( ... )

deannawol July 9 2011, 21:33:50 UTC

Oh, also weight. If they have no fat on them it's pretty damned impossible to float. It's fat that keeps you up when you're floating on your back or front.

oliviaobscura July 10 2011, 01:11:46 UTC

I think that also depends. I am really skinny and float very well, especially in salt water. Probably because I have no muscle. That also means I tire easily, so I reckon I'd sink after a while from the weight of the clothes. Is he wearing shoes? It's impossible to tread water in heavy shoes.

monissaw July 10 2011, 01:36:24 UTC

I want him to go down! :)

Thread 6

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monissaw July 10 2011, 01:30:14 UTC

*nods* This makes sense.

I only ever jumped from the side of a pool and that was a long time ago so I can't remember much other than the difference between intending to go into the water and not.