what is maximum velocity for a falling object?

Answer 1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_velocity

Answer 2

The term used for this is "terminal velocity". This is where the acceleration of a falling object becomes zero, because the pressure of the falling object against the air is offset by the air pushing back against the object. The closer an object is to outer space but still subject to the force of gravity, the faster the object will fall, because the air is thinner at higher altitudes. So there is no exact answer to your question.

However, there was a man....I forget his name...that worked for NASA back in the 1960's who jumped out of a special hot air balloon at well over 100,000 feet above sea level. He did this as an experiment to prove that astronauts could bail out at higher altitudes after a launch that went wrong, and still survive the bailout. The guy was clocked falling to earth at over 600 miles per hour!!!! He actually broke the sound barrier and is the only human to break the sound barrier in a freefall and survive. Most skydivers, on the other hand, fall at approximately 200 MPH or less. 200 MPH is generally approached when the skydivers tucks their arms in and puts their head straight down, which offers the least resistance to air.

Answer 3

That depends on several things. The gravity of the body the objec it falling towards (9m/s^2 for earth), and the density of the fluid the object is falling through (air), and the drag coefficient of the object. the equation looks like this:

Terminal Velocity = ((2 x mass x gravity)/(density x surface area x drag coefficient))^(1/2)

Answer 4

Infinity.
To find the "maximum" speed, you would need to know the force of gravity (on earth it is 9.8m/s^2), how far the object is falling, the initial speed of the object, and air resistance amongst other things.

Answer 5

The object's velocity will increase until the force of air resistance matches the gravity force.

Answer 6

If it falls to earth, air resistance, structure and mass are the determinant elements as said above. If it falls in a vacuum, it really is called esacpe velocity and equals ?(2GM/R) G = common gravitational consistent, M = mass of planet, R = radius of planet

Answer 7

For a person in free fall, the terminal speed is about 60 m/s or 135
miles/hour.

Answer 8

depends on it's mass and it's density.
9.8 mps^2 is acceleration not velocity

and actually MikeY, an object cannot reach the speed of light in a vaccuum.

Answer 9

Terminal velocity does not a standard rate it depends on many factors, the main one is atmospheric drag. Look here;
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/termv.html

Answer 10

*BUZZ* WRONG! 9.8 m/s^2 is the acceleration of gravity. Terminal velocity is closer to around 54m/s.

Answer 11

The speed of light in a vacuum.