I released a spider today and after launching it from about six feet up, which was about 72 times its height, I started to wonder about this.
EDIT: Took out a typo. I didn’t think anybody would care or notice but you know, Reddit.
In: Biology
If you dropped a feather from a skyscraper, it wouldn’t fall any faster or hit the ground any harder. Every object has a certain amount of “lateral surface area” which creates drag via the air below/around it. A barbell or rock is dense and the air flows right around it. Bugs, on the other hand, have lots of legs, hairs, wings, shells, and other things to slow them down. Combine that with their relatively lower density and low weight overall, they are susceptible to air and wind currents much more than a human or a heavy object.
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