Air impact

[MirceaKitsune]

This is a little thing I've been idly wondering about; We usually know at what velocity a solid object must hit another to deal damage. It's also easy to tell at which speed hitting the water could harm a person, making diving from excessive heights potentially dangerous.

 

But what about air? At what velocity would an air current be powerful enough to break a solid object by itself, or even hurt a person? Can anything on Earth generate a current strong enough to wound someone for instance? What's the highest damage air itself was ever known to cause?

 

Note that I'm not talking about air currents that indirectly cause damage... such as the wind picking up a wooden plank and smashing a window with it. I'm talking about air alone.

[Endy0816]

There's Barotruama. Direct cuts are also possible with compressed air.

 

Blast waves from eruptions and meteorite break up are a couple of natural ways that it can do damage(on Earth).

Edited June 22, 2014 by Endy0816

[swansont]

Steam leaks are nasty — high pressure and invisible. "Air shears" are used in cutting sheet metal. Amputation is certainly a possibility.