How can an iPhone survive a drop from nearly 5,000 feet? We explain to you

Last January, we learned that an iPhone 14 Pro Max survived falling through the open door of an Alaska Airlines plane from an altitude of approximately 5,000 meters. The discovery of the fully intact plane on the side of the road left many wondering how such an unlikely survival was possible.

Determined to get to the bottom of this physics-defying feat, the Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern decided to test its endurance claims with a series of controlled fall experiments. And according to the results of his experiment, Some electronic devices can withstand drops from extreme heights well.

An iPhone can survive an extreme drop

For reference, Stern dropped an iPhone 14 and Samsung Galaxy S23 from a height of 300 feet onto a grassy field without a case. Remarkably, both flagship phones suffered no real damage other than some superficial scratches and dirt.

To understand why the 5,000-foot dive didn’t turn the Alaska Airlines iPhone into a broken remnant, Stern consulted two physics experts: former NASA engineer and YouTuber Mark Rober and Professor Rhett Allain of Southeastern Louisiana University. According to them, there are two basic principles in the game: terminal velocity and deceleration forces. As Mark Rober explains: ” It doesn’t matter if the phone falls from a height of 90 meters or from space. The result will be the same because of what is called terminal velocity. “.

Allain explained that smartphones are quickly available due to their compact size and shape. The maximum speed in free fall is approximately 96 km/h, and air resistance prevents further acceleration. This maximum speed, combined with the cushioning effect of landing on grass, results in relatively low deceleration forces at impact.

“ Grass buffers the object’s fall, allowing for slower deceleration. Harder surfaces, like asphalt or your bathroom tiles, will cause much more abrupt deceleration “, Allain explained, emphasizing why dropping the phone from table height is much more dangerous.

So while a 5000 meter drop may seem like a disaster, combination of top speed restrictions and fairway landing location It created conditions in which the iPhone could escape without any problems. Another iPhone was also found intact after a similar incident.