Question: Will the g-force of a military jet make your brain cells split?

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  1. It’d be very dangerous for pilots if it did! It’s been a while since I did physics, but I think I can answer this…

    So sitting still under normal gravity is a G-force of 1, which we all know is fine. However if you start to accelerate, like going in a car or a carnival ride, then you can experience stronger G-forces, some rollercoasters are up to 3G-force !!

    Humans start to feel the affects of G-forces at around 4 to 5 G, things like loss of vision, feeling dizzy and sick leading to a loss of consciousness. This is because less blood is able to reach your brain, so you black out.

    In a military aircraft, like a MiG fighter jet, pilots can experience up to 9-G!! BUT pilots wear specially designed G-suits that push the blood back up towards their heads during high G manoeuvres.

    So the g-force of a military jet would reduce the blood supply to your brain, causing you to black out. Unless you were wearing a G-suit!

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  2. You’d be in some pretty serious trouble if your brain cells started to split. The main problem pilots have in fighters is when the extreme turns and climbs cause all the blood to drain from their head (a black/grey out) or pushes extra blood into their head (red out). There is a simple explanation behind this that has to do with acceleration. Think of how it feels in a plane taking off, or even your car accelerating, that force you feel pushing you into your seat is acceleration. Imagine that force much, much stronger. Pilots and astronauts do special training and wear special pressure suits to help them deal with the high acceleration forces (or G’s) they face.

    A really strong acceleration of your brain (for example if a boxer or footballer gets hit really hard in the head, or a car crash) can cause serious damage to your brain cells.

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