Scientist Drops People 150 Feet to Study How Brain Perceives Time
Understanding how the brain perceives the passage of time could lead to treatments for mental illnesses. Why does time seem to slow down during a life-threatening situation? Our reporter falls 15 stories to find out A FEW MOMENTS AGO, I was strapped into a harness and winched 150 feet into the air. Four massive steel girders support my weight, and I can see that I'm the highest object around for miles. I am about to become the fastest-moving man in science, and I can barely keep my breakfast down. This contraption is called the Suspended Catch Air Device, but the folks at the Zero Gravity Thrill Amusement Park in Dallas prefer the more colloquial "Nothin' But Net." That's because when the operator releases my rope, I will fall, untethered, until I plop into a modified circus net. The terrifying free fall will last less than three seconds, but to me it will...