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Terminal Velocity

Terminal Velocity

Section titled “Terminal Velocity”

An object that falls under the weight only is said to be in free-fall, which means the air resistance is zero.

In reality, air resistance will also act on falling objects. Since air resistance increases with speed, at some point in time, the forces on the object become balanced. So it falls at a constant velocity known as terminal velocity.

Air resistance comes from collisions of an object with air particles. The greater the speed, the greater the number of collisions. The greater the number of collisions, the greater the resistance.