Remember when your science teacher dropped a feather and a bowling ball in a vacuum? Admit it, your mind was blown when you discovered they fell at the same rate.
But that doesn’t mean they will do the same damage if they landed on your head. That’s because, even though the feather and the bowling ball are going the same speed, mass determines the force of impact. The bigger and heavier the object, the more potential for severe damage.
But that’s talking about the pull of gravity. What happens to a not so heavy object when it travels at a higher rate of speed? That’s the premise behind Protocol 4.
If you want your shelter tested, Texas Tech is the place to do it. The National Wind Institute at Texas Tech has developed a test for structures and shelters they call Protocol 4.
If a tornado receives an EF5 rating–like the ones that devastated the communities of Joplin, Missouri and Moore, Oklahoma– the winds reach 250 mph or more and the potential for damage is total destruction. Nothing left but the foundation. But having your home swept away isn’t the worst of it. Debris, large and small, flying at you, your family, your house is just as dangerous…if not more so.
To test the potential impact during an EF5 tornado, they shoot 2×4’s from a cannon at 100 mph. (Imagine firing that at your neighbor’s garage when he’s playing with power tools in the middle of the night. Here, this video will help.)
Atlas Safe Rooms passed Protocol 4. No surprise there. Families and businesses who purchase our shelters can rest knowing they are safe from the debris 250 mph winds can throw at them.
But it never hurts to up the ante a little bit. Right?
We decided to do a test of our own. We lifted a car approximately seventy five feet into the air, pointed it nose down directing all three tons into a smaller surface area, and dropped it onto our Safe Room. And the results? Well, check it out.
Approximately seventy five feet in the air and let it drop. This isn’t some hollywood special effect. No tricks. Just gravity doing its job.
You need a shelter that will withstand a barrage of debris. The volley of 2×4’s from a nearby construction site heading toward you like a pack of missiles. Your neighbor’s truck. The kitchen sink.
You want a shelter that will keep you safe and worry-free from everything nature can throw at you…literally. You need Atlas Safe Rooms.
