ELi5: How come ants can survive almost any fall but humans can’t?

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I know it has to do something with mass, but i’m clueless.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

terminal velocity.
Mass spread across area dictates the maximum speed at which an object NOT IN VACUUM can fall due to air resistance pushing back against the falling object.

Humans are squishy endoskeletal beings. A fall from 3 meters results in an impact speed of ~17mph(27kph)….thats easily enough to fracture a human spine. 15 meters gets you up to ~38mph(61kph). Terminal velocity for the average person is around 120mph (193kph) SERIOUS SPLAT ACTION!

And weigh next to nothing, theyre terminal velocity is 4mph (6.4kph). Their exoskeleton is more than strong enough to manage that.

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