I’m sure not, but I’m having a discussion with a person who says that at some point everything just falls apart. I tried to explain to him that there is a terminal velocity to every object in the atmosphere but that it is different for every object (shape and mass).
Answer
Dear Alan,
As you can read in the answer to question 5135 (Is there such a thing as a maximum fall speed?), the maximum fall speed depends on the air resistance that the object experiences. This in turn depends on the speed of fall (the acceleration is determined by the mass of the object), the size and the shape of the object. The exact formula for air resistance can be found in the attached link. The moment this force is in equilibrium with the gravity on the object, the object will no longer fall faster and the maximum fall speed has been reached.
To make your discussion partner feel intuitive, just ask if a sheet of paper and a tennis ball fall down just as quickly. You can also easily test this yourself. Due to its small mass and large surface, a sheet of paper will experience a lot of air resistance and fall much more slowly. Of course a tennis ball weighs more, but if you take a small metal (or glass => marble) ball instead of the tennis ball and a large piece of (wallpaper) paper with the same mass, the ball will fall down faster than the paper.
Your discussion partner is right about something: the moment you let go of something, it always “falls” at the same speed: it then has a velocity of 0. However, the final velocity depends from object to object (as long as there is an atmosphere).
Hopefully this resolves the discussion.
Bart
Answered by
ir. Bart De Schouwer
For my position I am the manager of a group of engineers who maintain production equipment. It is mainly with my ready knowledge (education, interests, …) that I could answer questions.
Kapeldreef 75 3001 Leuven
http://www.imec-int.com
.