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The math behind Michael Jordan’s legendary hang time - Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson

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Michael Jordan’s legendary slam dunk from the free throw line has been calculated at 0.92 seconds of pure hang time. But how many seconds could Jordan have gotten were he doing the same jump on Mars? Or Jupiter? Andy Peterson and Zack Patterson share the math equation behind hang time.

On Earth, how high would a person have to jump to have a hang time of 1 second? What would the equation of this jump look like?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Zack Patterson, Andy Peterson
  • Director Jon Portman
  • Animator Devin Renca
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Illustrator Jackson Tupper
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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