Guy Stares Death in the Face for Physics Experiment

Scientists test out their theories all the time, whether we’re talking about new formulas or physics laws. Speaking of which, we recently heard about a physicist named Andreas Wahl, who decided that proving a law on paper just isn’t as awesome as proving it on camera, which is why he went ahead and risked his own safety as part of a show called “Life on the Line.” The show was broadcasted on a Norwegian channel named NRK Viten, which means that you won’t actually be able to view the entire program if you don’t live in Norway. Still, you can check out the experiment itself in the following video.

As you can see, Andreas was hanging from a line that was attached to nothing else but a small ball at the other end. As he physicist was free-falling towards the ground, the ball caused the line to wrap itself against a pipe thus stopping his fall. This movement is based on a Newtonian law of circular motion, and it showed how objects with a centripetal force follow a curved path and accelerate as they approach a central point. Andreas’ experiment had him hanging 46 feet (14 meters) in the air, and while I trust Newton’s laws as much as the other guy, I probably wouldn’t have risked my life in order to prove him right. Still, Wahls dedication and courage is certainly impressive, wouldn’t you agree?