After validating a concept seen in Harry Potter in my last post about UAVs, it is now time to discuss Harry Potters amazing ability to "turn on a dime." Since Harry Porter and the rest of his friends seem to have their feet firmly planted on the ground, it is safe to assume that gravity exists in the magical world of Harry Potter.
When you are flying straight and level you experience a single g (one unit of gravity), the same amount you feel when you are standing on the ground (note: if you are at high alititude you feel a little less than one g, due to your distance from the center of the earth). However, when you peform a tight turn, or "pull up" fast, you can experience many g(s). Essentially, when you are in a really tight turn, you no longer weigh your typical 170 pounds, you now way 4 or 5 or 6 times as much. Your skeleton now has to support the equilivant of a 1,000 pound body. You can also experienc negative G(s) by making the aircraft fall faster than you do (the transition period between straight and level flight, and a steep dive).
The problem with high levels of G is that all the blood that is suppose to be going to your brain is now pushed down to your feet. Eventually, you get to a point where you black out, and if the G(s) sustain, your brain shuts down due to lack of oxygen. The way to counter act this is by tensing your muscles in your chest and lower body to squeeze the blood back up to your brain.
The manauvers conducted in the Harry Potter series easily translate into short periods of 10 to 13 G(s). Even the best fighter pilots cannot sustain this level without a pressurised flight suit (squeezes your lower body to shove blood back up to the brain). It is hard to imagine that a skinny kid would be able to do these manauvers without blaking out. If Harry Potter was truly the best broom flyer of the land, we should see him spending more time in the weight room.
For more information on the effects of G(s) on your body please visit
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