Goldfinger Ejector Seat Analysis

Goldfinger Ejector Seat Scene

By Logan Yenser

Goldfinger is one of the quintessential Bond films. It stars Sean Connery as Agent 007, as he tries to stop the titular villain from contaminating the United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. The movie was well received by critics and audiences, with it having a 97% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an 89% audience score. The movie gave us some of the most famous lines from the franchise, "A martini. Shaken, not stirred." as well as the gadgets that would become the series' trademark.

One of these gadgets would be the technologically advanced Aston Martin DB5, and the part of that that we are going to analyze is the ejector seat that was placed in the car. The question that we are going to analyze is A) What is the final velocity of the person in the ejector seat? and B) How much force is needed to use that seat effectively?

We are going to start with question A: What is the final velocity of the person in the ejector seat? In order to answer this, we have to use the formula:

vf^2=vi^2+2ayh

In order to effectively use this formula, we have to look at each part of the formula and determine what each part of the formula is. 

vi^2 = Δp=m(vf-vi)

Δp=m(vf-vi) = 100 kg (vf-0)

vf = -9.52 m/s

vf^2=(-9.52 N)+2(-9.8 m/s)(2.4 m)

vf^2=904.96 m/s^2

The final velocity of the person in the ejector seat would have a final velocity of 904.96 m/s^2.

Now we are going to answer the second question, which is how much force would the ejector seat have to have in order to eject the person. To do this, we have to use the formula:

<F>=ΔP/ΔT

Now, we have to look at each part of the formula like we did on the previous question. 

ΔP = 952 N 

We determined this in the previous formula

ΔT = About 1 second

If you look at the scene, it takes about one second from when Bond presses the button to when the henchman is lifted through the roof and out of the car. 

Plugging in the numbers into the formula, we can determine that:

                                                                         <F>=952 N/1 Sec

                                                                                =952 N

The ejector seat would need 952 newtons of force in order to eject the henchman from the car.

Overall, the ejector seat and the movie as a whole is an entertaining two hours to spend, with the key takeaway being that if you were to watch any of the James Bond films, this is the one to watch.