I have an enormous helium balloon shaped like a zeppelin and it's very aerodynamic. It attaches to my body through a series of cables and a climbing harness. It reduces my body weight by 52.3 lbs while only causing 0.2x my body's normal drag. I think I can run 30 seconds faster per mile for a marathon with this. Since it's part of my outfit, can the marathon organizers disqualify me? I mean, I'm basically just running with a fancy balloon.
Wouldn't it start pulling you backwards fairly quickly? The upward motion of the balloon is transferred to the string, which is transferred to you in a force that's angled up and back at an angle of theta. The backwards force would be F*cos(theta), while the upward force would be F*sin(theta).
A helium balloon capable of reducing your body weight by 52 pounds would contain approximately 21 cubic meters of helium, which would make it about 9 and a half feet around, not counting the weight of the balloon and harness itself.
I would love to run with a giant balloon, but I think I'd love to do the long jump more.
Watch out for crosswinds.
marathon regulations wrote:
I have an enormous helium balloon shaped like a zeppelin and it's very aerodynamic. It attaches to my body through a series of cables and a climbing harness. It reduces my body weight by 52.3 lbs while only causing 0.2x my body's normal drag. I think I can run 30 seconds faster per mile for a marathon with this. Since it's part of my outfit, can the marathon organizers disqualify me? I mean, I'm basically just running with a fancy balloon.
I did the same thing in the 1963 Montreal marathon. Ran 1:57:43.
But these no-good liberals erased it from the record books.
I think you should go with a hydrogen balloon. You could get the same uplifting result with a smaller balloon resulting in less drag.
Be careful around smokers and electric lines though.
Thank you for the hydrogen tip. You're right, this is a much better solution.
Also I painted a portrait of Galen Rupp on my balloon.
Your calculations can't possible be correct. That's gonna be a big ol' balloon, son. Drag is a function of velocity. The faster you go, the greater the force of drag on the balloon, which will, of course, cause you to slow down. This is a force acting directly AGAINST you. I don't think this can possible be made up for by reducing your weight by 30 to 40%.
Can you run faster in water since your apparent weight is greatly reduced? No, because the drag works so hard against you. I know that's an extreme example, but think about it.
Awesome idea, though. That's all I know about it, so I'm not really that smart. I still think you should try it. I could be wrong.
Add some propellers so you don't have to drag the balloon along. I think you are onto something, OP.
If Ryan Hall can airplane in a marathon, then you can zeppelin.
Try ingesting the helium