Air Resistance
Air resistance is a force that slow down objects that are moving through the air This is because the air is made of particles, like any other material and these rub on the surface of a falling object, the resulting friction slowing down the rate of acceleration due to the downward pull of gravitational force |
Air resistance is air pushing against a moving object.
The air pushes on the object as the air gets out of the way to let the object through. If you've ever been on a rollercoaster, or cycled fast down hill, you might have felt this air resistance as a wind on your face. Air resistance is usually not considered in physics. Air resistance provides the additional complication of the insubstantial nature of air. Children can experience air resistance by trying to run with open umbrellas held horizontally but in terms of helping them and adults to refine their ideas about the frictional force between air and objects, there is a clear progression in thinking that needs to be considered: If presented as a frictional force with one of the surfaces as a fluid, the sequence is similar for friction. Additional considerations are: The greater the surface area of the object, the greater air resistance Obviously the more surface there is, the greater the number of particles that the falling object is likely to collide with resulting in increased friction. The faster an object is falling through air, the greater the air resistance The faster that the object is falling increases not only the frequency of impact but the force of impact which results in greater friction forces acting between the object and the air. The effect of air resistance can be seen on the left. |
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