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[dirkzen]

So, as I watch men and bears and various other beasties go flying off into the distance as they're launched by my giant friends,  I often wonder -
how much force would that actually take to do that?   Just how strong are these giants anyhow?
Lets find out!

note~ this is just for fun.  Numbers and actual science may be a bit skewed,  so feel free to make any corrections,  or take this and run with it as far as you'd like.

If I remember correctly from my ancient physics class once upon a time,  Force = Mass times Acceleration

lets say an average person in Skyrim weighs around 99 KG  (..thats about 200-ish lbs)
mass times gravity -  99KG *  9.8 (gravity on an earth-type planet) = 970N!    woo!
alright
force = 970N * acceleration!
time to find acceleration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW-SPwhhgaM&feature=related
as you see here  (around :53)   the test subject appears to be launching into orbit at quite a speed..  now by looking at the ground...  i'm going to guess that he's traveling at around 60-70MPH   (96KPH)

so...
force =  970N * 96KPH
93,120 N
converted back into lbs..
20,934 lbs of force

So, by a very very rough, tired, half-assed science estimate..  the giants in Skyrim can exert at 'least' 20,934 lbs of force with every hit.

That was fun. 

[Trapezohedron]

While I am impressed by your efforts, shouldn't this be in the skyrim thread?

[Azkanan]

While I am impressed by your efforts, shouldn't this be in the skyrim thread?

I believe the effort alone merits the occasion! All hail newton! All hail giants!

[Virex]

Your units don't hold up though.
F_net = m*a
F_net = F_giant - F_g, taking up as the positive force direction and assuming all force exerted by the giant is in the up direction
 F_giant - F_g = m*a
 F_giant = m*(a+g), in other words, the giant has to overcome gravity and add some acceleration to that still.


Taking your estimate for the eventual velocity (96 KmpH) and assuming that the giant accelerates you to that velocity in 0.1 seconds, we get:
96 KmpH = 26.7 m/s
a = v/t = 267 m/s²
 F_giant = m*277
m = 99 kg
 F_giant =  26,400 N and I'm not familiar with the imperial units so you'll have to do the conversion yourself. However, that is enough force to accelerate a Fiat Panda with aproximately 2.5 m/s².

[DJ]

99kg is quite fat, the average person weighs closer to 80kg. I guess 99 could work for an armoured person, though.

Another problem is that 96km/h is nowhere near escape velocity. This means that if it really is enough to launch a person into orbit the gravity in Skyrim is much lower than 1G.

[Virex]

Watch the video, he doesn't quite go into orbit.


Besides, the 99 kg may even be a bit low, considering the amount of loot and stuff our spunky protagonist commonly carries in TES game.

[ThtblovesDF]

Well 99 kg seems fine as a average american weight : P

[nenjin]

Call our control subject a mage with an overloaded backpack.

[Twiggie]

10 stone for the human, plus 300lb of loot, weapons and armour makes 240kg

240 * 277 = 66480N

[Astral]

At first, I thought to myself: "That's a giant? It's so... normal sized."

Then I saw it moving closer. "Ohshitohshitohshit"

My depth perception in YouTube videos is off, apparently.

[Frumple]

Actual answer to how much force is "Magic." As noted somewhere, the giant hit down, i.e. that was a ricochet. There's absolutely no way, insofar as I know*, for something to be hit like that and bounce -- the player should have been turned into a fine slush spread over a notable portion of the countryside if that hit was governed by anything approaching real-world physical laws, not flying into the air.

Thus magic -- something innate to giants (or their clubs) keeps things hit by them from completely losing structural integrity on impact and somehow keeps all the energy imparted from discharging into the ground. Possibly some kind of emergent arcane property that comes into existence when any particular being reaches a sufficient level of strength.

In any case, all those number thus far would be skewed by assuming the force is being exerted upwards. It's not. There's also air resistance to consider, which would definitely be notable on something the size of a human body. That'd mean all those numbers are (probably considerably) low

* Unless the materials in Skyrimland are considerably different than in reality -- everything made out of that superball rubber, maybe, or something roughly equivalent.

[BigD145]

Actual answer to how much force is "Magic." As noted somewhere, the giant hit down, i.e. that was a ricochet. There's absolutely no way, insofar as I know*, for something to be hit like that and bounce -- the player should have been turned into a fine slush spread over a notable portion of the countryside if that hit was governed by anything approaching real-world physical laws, not flying into the air.

Thus magic -- something innate to giants (or their clubs) keeps things hit by them from completely losing structural integrity on impact and somehow keeps all the energy imparted from discharging into the ground. Possibly some kind of emergent arcane property that comes into existence when any particular being reaches a sufficient level of strength.

In any case, all those number thus far would be skewed by assuming the force is being exerted upwards. It's not. There's also air resistance to consider, which would definitely be notable on something the size of a human body. That'd mean all those numbers are (probably considerably) low

* Unless the materials in Skyrimland are considerably different than in reality -- everything made out of that superball rubber, maybe, or something roughly equivalent.

Giants have access to trampoline magic, obviously.

[Twiggie]

Actual answer to how much force is "Magic." As noted somewhere, the giant hit down, i.e. that was a ricochet. There's absolutely no way, insofar as I know*, for something to be hit like that and bounce -- the player should have been turned into a fine slush spread over a notable portion of the countryside if that hit was governed by anything approaching real-world physical laws, not flying into the air.

Thus magic -- something innate to giants (or their clubs) keeps things hit by them from completely losing structural integrity on impact and somehow keeps all the energy imparted from discharging into the ground. Possibly some kind of emergent arcane property that comes into existence when any particular being reaches a sufficient level of strength.

In any case, all those number thus far would be skewed by assuming the force is being exerted upwards. It's not. There's also air resistance to consider, which would definitely be notable on something the size of a human body. That'd mean all those numbers are (probably considerably) low

* Unless the materials in Skyrimland are considerably different than in reality -- everything made out of that superball rubber, maybe, or something roughly equivalent.

Giants have access to trampoline magic, obviously.

+1 internet

[Virex]

Actual answer to how much force is "Magic." As noted somewhere, the giant hit down, i.e. that was a ricochet. There's absolutely no way, insofar as I know*, for something to be hit like that and bounce -- the player should have been turned into a fine slush spread over a notable portion of the countryside if that hit was governed by anything approaching real-world physical laws, not flying into the air.

Thus magic -- something innate to giants (or their clubs) keeps things hit by them from completely losing structural integrity on impact and somehow keeps all the energy imparted from discharging into the ground. Possibly some kind of emergent arcane property that comes into existence when any particular being reaches a sufficient level of strength.

In any case, all those number thus far would be skewed by assuming the force is being exerted upwards. It's not. There's also air resistance to consider, which would definitely be notable on something the size of a human body. That'd mean all those numbers are (probably considerably) low

* Unless the materials in Skyrimland are considerably different than in reality -- everything made out of that superball rubber, maybe, or something roughly equivalent.

True, but assuming all the force is exerted upward gives a lower bound to the giant's punching power. You're quite right that neglecting trampoline losses and air resistance means that the actual giant's strength is going to be a lot higher than what's been calculated.

[Kilroy the Grand]

You know, I bet by looking at the stats of giants with the construction pack, you'd be able to make your character do the same thing.