Chapter 2, Problem 32P

A world’s land speed record was set by Colonel JohnP. Stapp when in March 1954 he rode a rocket-propelled sled that moved along a track at 1020 km/h. He and the sled were brought to a stop in 1.4 s. (See Fig. 2-7.) In terms of g, what acceleration did he experience while stopping?

Figure 2-7Colonel J. P. Stapp in a rocket sled as it is brought up to high speed (acceleration out of the page) and then very rapidly braked (acceleration into the page).