How to catch a falling child?

A toddler has survived after falling from the 10th floor with a person to cross the street. The story stirred and prompted scientists to ask how to "catch" a falling child.

Wu Juping broke his arm because he saved the 2-year-old from falling from the 10th floor. Photo: ChinaDaily.

Zhang Fangyu, 2, woke up after 10 days of coma due to a fall from her family's apartment window in Zhejiang Province, China. A 31-year-old woman, named Wu Juping, could help her, but she fainted because of the strong impact that broke her arm.

Similarly, Nottinghamshire's mother saved her 16-month-old son from a 12-meter hotel balcony in Florida, USA. Or Helen Beard, 44, who was at the pool, saw a child about to fall and run to support, and the two fell to the floor.

Such cases rarely occur in real life, but what can a person do to prevent a child from falling from above?

Dr. Jardine Wright, from the University of Cambridge, said on the BBC that the heavier the fall and the higher the fall, the greater the interaction between the ' inspiration ' and the falling object. As for time, on the contrary, the longer the time, the less the interaction force decreases.

According to physicists, the key to minimizing injury to both the child and the " excitement " is to try to disperse the energy of the collision as well as extend the time of impact to the maximum, for example Fall apart while supporting the child.

Dr Jardine Wright said that it is possible to liken a way to keep a child in this way like football's " catch balls ", as we often see them falling off when catching the ball, doing so could help reduce the impact level of the impact, limiting the damage to the maximum for both people.

In addition, the energy of the falling process can be dispersed to reduce the rate of falling and the level of interaction between the person and the child by transferring energy to another object while falling. This principle is often applied while acting action films, they often let stuntmen fall to a roof before landing, but difficult to apply in emergency situations.

It is also possible to spread something relatively soft on the ground so that energy can be absorbed into it when the child and the person fall down, so both can land more gently.

The fact is that things often happen in a very short period of time so it is difficult to apply all the above theories in practice, the more difficult it is to prepare both a spring mattress or a canvas to protect the child. Children are safe, so it is best to practice sharp thinking to take timely and intelligent actions to help save people and still ensure safety for themselves.