How does air resistance affect the motion of an object?

1 Answer
Stuart W.
Nov 7, 2015

Air resistance acts similarly to friction in that it will oppose any motion. Air resistance slows things down.

Explanation:

Friction and Air Resistance act much the same in that they impart a force that points in the opposite direction of the object's motion. When an object is not moving there is no air resistance or friction present.

In the air resistance formula (#F=1/2rhov^2C_dA#) the higher the velocity the more air resistance there will be for an object.

An example of this effect can be seen in vacuum tubes. In normal air a bowling ball will fall much faster than a feather. However, in a vacuum tube where the air resistance is 0 (a vacuum reduces the density of the air to 0 which will reduce the force to 0) they will fall at the same rate.

This holds true for ANY object in the absence of air, since the only reason fall rate will vary for a single location is due to air resistance.

Here is a video that shows the very thing we are talking about:

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