Falling in low-G.

On 5/25/06, Matt Gallimore wrote:
(...)
> Perhaps the reason is that Rama had gravity by inertia, not by mass (like Earth and Moon). With angular momentum, accelerating during the fall is less an issue than differences in velocity. Therefore, relative peripheral speeds dominate landing forces.
(...)

I don't remember this passage, but a possible explanation is: a person
falling in a habitat would hit the ground at the rotational speed of
the point were he jumped from minus the loss of speed due to air
friction. Also, although the ground itself could have a rotational
velocity much higher than that of the jump point, conceivably air
layers in a habitat would form concentric "cylinders of speed", and
the air rotating at increasingly high speed following the
ever-approaching ground would work as an "rotational acceleration
field". (Perhaps I should draw something instead of making up those
weird names, but I hope that you are getting what I am trying to say.
;-) So yes, conceivably one could jump from a very high altitude in a
habitat and arrive at the ground at a very low speed. Bad news for
suicides fond of tall buildings! ;-)