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Some athletes such as basketball players seem to have the ability to hang in the air when they jump. For example, when Michael Jordan jumps, it appears as if he is floating in the air at the top of his jump and defying gravity. Is there such a thing as "hang time"?
Physics tells us that when you jump, a force is only applied when you are in contact with the ground. The greater the force, the higher you go. As soon as you leave the ground, your upward speed begins to decrease at a rate of 10 m/s2. Once you reach your maximum height, your speed equals zero and you begin to fall back to the ground at the same rate that you ascended. No action can be done in the air to make yourself go higher or stay in the air longer.
Former NBA player,Spudd Webb, has a impressive vertical leap of 4 feet high. By using an equation that relates the rising and falling time and vertical height, we see that Spudd Webb is in the air .5 seconds on the way up, and .5 seconds on the way down. This record-setting jumper only has a hang time of 1 second.
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