subject: The Anatomy of a Fall [print this page] The Anatomy of a Fall The Anatomy of a Fall
Humans have a natural fear of falling. It is theorized that the fear of falling stemmed from that part in the evolution of man when he had to take to the trees in order to escape predators. Existing evidence supporting this theory is the seeming paralysis exhibited by the body during deep sleep. Humans needed to develop this ability to be able to rest and avoid falling from their sleeping places on branches.
Humans have always been fascinated by the things they fear and they have almost made a science out of studying the fear of falling. Some of the early insights into the science of falling can be seen in the martial arts. In throwing an opponent to the ground, defensive tactics dictate that avoiding the brunt of the fall means dissipating the force by configuring the body to flow with the direction of the fall, a sort of follow-through.'
There is a lot of force to be considered when dealing with a fall. As taught in high school physics, there is an increase in the force of fall as height increases on account of the falling object's acceleration due to gravity. In other words, the higher they are, the harder they fall. The weight of the falling object also affects the amount of force upon hitting the ground.
So in the design of fall restraint systems, it's all about managing the force produced by the body falling. Essentially that equates to how to dissipate the forces so that all parts of the system take their corresponding share of the strain.
This is why fall restraint systems are designed to take on significant strain. Take the ropes used in such systems. These ropes can stretch by as much as a third of their original length without breaking. They are strong enough to absorb the force of falling, but not too much as to suddenly stop the fall, as the sudden stop can break a person's neck.
Although there are parts of fall restraint systems that can stretch and flex to absorb energy, there are parts that are rigid to take on most of the strain that has been left out by the energy absorbing component, such as the anchor and the connecting parts like carabiners.
