3 ms·
“…an object forced to move faster than its terminal velocity will, upon release, slow down to this constant velocity.” https://www.britannica.com/science/termi
by rmdashrfstar 5y ago
“…an object forced to move faster than its terminal velocity will, upon release, slow down to this constant velocity.”
https://www.britannica.com/science/terminal-velocity https://www.britannica.com/science/terminal-velocity
IIUC, the meteorite was forced or “released” into its “high magnitude inertial vector” initially, and would continue to decelerate as it approached to the surface… whether it did much of that on the way down is a different story!
- mr_toad 5y agoA lot depends on the initial velocity and angle of impact. Considering that the earths atmosphere isn’t much more than 100km thick, and a meteor could in theory come in head-on with an initial velocity of 70km per second, there isn’t going to much time for it to slow down.
- bagels 5y ago70km/s is interstellar material
- haimez 5y agoBased on some quick googling (not an expert in the related physics like some sibling commenters seem to be), earth’s orbital velocity around the sun is ~30km/s and the sun’s orbital velocity around the center of the galaxy is 250km/s
- MauranKilom 5y agoAir resistance is to first approximation quadratic with velocity. High initial velocities lead to very high braking force, so it wouldn't have 70 km/s for very long. Also see surrounding comments for more related physics.