maximum speed?

Question

What's it called when a skydiver reaches maximum speed in free fall so that they cannot go any faster?

And do different objects (lighter or heavier) and different shapes (aerodynamic or not) have an effect on the maximum speed?

Answer 1

If they have different shapes, they do. You reach your terminal velocity when you are no longer accelerating: the force pulling you down is the same as the drag slowing your descent. If you have a large surface area your terminal velocity is lower. Have a look at this site:

Answer 2

When a skydiver reaches maximum speed it's call the freefall speed, and the record is 321 mph.
In phisics, the freefall speed is call "Terminal Velocity": After falling for a long time, an object will descend at a steady speed known as its "terminal velocity." A person has a terminal velocity of about 200 mph when balled up and about 125 mph with arms and feet fully extended to catch the wind.
This terminal velocity exists because an object moving through air experiences drag forces (air resistance). These drag forces become stronger with speed so that as a falling object picks up speed, the upward air resistance it experiences gradually becomes stronger. Eventually the object reaches a speed at which the upward drag forces exactly balance its downward weight and the object stops accelerating. It is then at "terminal velocity" and descends at a steady pace.
The terminal velocity of an object depends on the object's size, shape, and density. A fluffy object (a feather, a parachute, or a sheet of paper) has a small terminal velocity while a compact, large, heavy object (a cannonball, a rock, or a bowling ball) has a large terminal velocity. An aerodynamic object such as an arrow also has a very large terminal velocity.

Answer 3

The maximum speed of a falling object as it fall through air is called terminal velocity. And contrary to popular belief, it is not actually free fall, since free fall means there are no other forces acting on the object aside from gravity.

The mass and shapes of objects falling do affect the terminal velocity. The easiest way to visualize this is to think of the skydiver with his (or her) parachute. When the parachute is not yet deployed, the skydiver falls at a breakneck speed. However, when the parachute opens, we still have the same mass, but now the parachute has changed shape. The change in shape also changed the terminal velocity to a slower, safer speed for the skydiver.

Now imagine 2 skydivers, say the Blob and Toad (both from the X-Men series). Say that they save the exact same type of parachute. The force the parachutes will then exert will exactly be the same (air resistance). In that case, Blob would fall faster than Toad since Blob is bigger, hence gravity has a larger effect on him as compared to the smaller Toad.The total force (hence the terminal velocity) will then be larger on the Blob, so he falls faster.

Hope you like this. :)

Answer 4

A falling skydiver would eventually reach a terminal velocity where his acceleration due to gravity is nullified by drag from air rushing past him.

The more aerodynamic the skydiver, the faster he would fall before reaching a terminal velocity. Mass has no influence on the speed at which an object falls.

Answer 5

These answers are spot on from what I read; for the true test recall that on going to the moon, the astronauts carried out a conundrum attributed to Galileo; dropping a hammer and a feather in an almost air free environment from the same height:

the feather and the hammer hit the surface at the SAME time, proving that mass has nothing to do with the rate at which objects fall.

Just imagine if the guy in charge of packing the feather had messed up though- where are you going to find one on the moon?!?!

Answer 6

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