terminal velocity in space?

Question

is there a terminal velocity or maximum speed which can be reached in space?

Answer 1

This question is a little more involved than might appear at first glance.

Of course the "universal speed limit", that of light is the first thing to pop into ones head (as proven by previous answers) However, one consider what terminal velocity IS.

Terminal Velocity is the speed at which an object in motion has equal force driving it, as is opposing it. Or in other words, NO NET FORCE. Such instance is noted when a feather falling no longer accelerates, and floats gently to the ground.

Terminal velocity in space, although, speed in space is not generally thought of in terms of such, would require that any force on an object (gravity of nearby planets, stars, etc.) is completely countered by another force such as molecules (yeah, it's space, but it isn't completely empty) This includes gas clouds, the occasional floating particle, and an asteroid.

At any conclusion, even if something had an equilibrium of forces, the forces would only count for a (relatively) short period of time. (read: the forces on an object will continually change.)

Therefore, it is mostly up to interpretation as to whether or not an object would be reaching it's terminal velocity.

Coming back to the speed of light.... physics nowdays has shown that the closer and closer one approaches the speed of light, the more (exponentially more) energy is required to accelerate. Simplified, this means that to approach the speed of light, one must use infinite resources. That is somewhat similar to a real estate agent saying "the larger the house, the larger amount of cash you'll put forth per square foot. Soon enough, you'll require an infinite dollar amount to purchase a large enough house. ... do YOU have infinity dollars? ... how about infinity plus one?

Answer 2

Terminal Velocity In Space

Answer 3

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In the stratosphere, there is air (it's not "space") but it's less dense. With less dense air there is less air resistance. The rule for terminal velocity is this: Fg = drag(v) On the left, force of gravity is usually taken to be fixed. On the right, drag force is a function of velocity. Solve for the velocity when the equation is equal, that's the terminal velocity. If there was another planet with more gravity but the same density atmosphere, then there would be a higher terminal velocity. The drag function is an increasing function, so you need a higher velocity to match the higher gravitational force. The relationship is not linear, though. In the stratosphere, the lower density makes the drag function smaller at the same velocity. So to match the same gravity, the velocity must go up.

Answer 4

Geeze Arthur, did you just regurgitate Pyro's answer in a less intelligible way?

Of course, there is no true general 'terminal velocity' in space, but as Pyro stated, if the net forces on an object are zero, then acceleration has stopped, and hence, you have attained a 'terminal velocity' IE: YOU ARE NOT ACCELERATING.

Ka-POW!

Answer 5

"Is it only air resistance which causes this massive change?" Yes "Also, if there was another earth-like planet, but with a stronger gravitational pull, would the terminal velocity be higher (with air resistance" Yes [Added: I was assuming the same air density but in fact stronger gravity would cause the air pressure to be greater for any given thickness of atmosphere. It might be one of those situations where you need to decide exactly which things are the same and which things are different.] "...and without)" Without air resistance is in a vacuum and there would be no terminal velocity, a body would just keep accelerating. How cool was that jump!!

Answer 6

No it cannot be registered because terminal velocity is an object falling to a stop and than can only be done if it falls into a planets athmosphere.. There is no way of telling what the fastest speed can be reached in space because nobody knows for sure..

Answer 7

The speed of light is the obvious answer. According to our current notions of physics the speed of light is constant and can not be exceeded. Of course, we're really not entirely positive that this is true (no one's ever had a chance to test it). As for the idea that the terminal velocity is infinite (or does not exist), wrong again. Although space is frictionless, there are other forces at play in space that would impede your speed (even when casting aside relativity as discussed in other responses). Gravity from every body in space is the most obvious such force. There is nowhere in the universe where you are completely free from the effects of gravity, which pull you from place to place as you traveled. There are also various electromagnetic forces at play in outer space (emanating from stars as nuclear fusion releases electromagnetic radiation) such as solar wind. These forces would also act against your motion. Of course, given their inconsistent nature you would never reach a "true" terminal velocity.

In fact the entire concept of terminal velocity can not be properly applied to outer space, but your rephrasing: maximum speed, can be addressed. The answer, however, is no one really knows. The speed of light is pretty close, but we simply don't know.

Answer 8

speed of light ( but not really - just theoretically the speed limit with almost infinite power )

your mass increases as you approach the speed of light and reaching it is probably impossible for mass as opposed to energy

but the practical speed is much much slower since space is not empty at just a fraction of the speed of light a few atoms would destroy your ship ( literally an atomic bomb ) and because of the speed it probably could not be diverted - even with the 'force fields' of science fiction the radiation produced would fry you

Answer 9

no, unless you hit, something like an asteroid or planet or whatever...but newtons 1st law says objects in motion stay in motion unless acted up by another object...since theres nothing to act on it then velocity is infinite in space...untill you reach light speed then thats a whole different story!

Answer 10

speed of light