Eli5: what happens if an object is pushed past it’s terminal velocity?
In: Physics
So you’ve got some accelerative force pushing it past its terminal velocity? Fine. Nothing much happens (unless you have some object that’s prone to falling apart in the wind). “Terminal velocity” just means the speed at which a falling object (accelerated down by gravity) is no longer accelerating, because of the upward force on it from air resistance. It does NOT mean some velocity that the object can’t move faster than, regardless of what forces act on it; only and nothing more than the velocity at which the force of air resistance equals the force of gravity. Bullets routinely exit gun muzzles at velocities (are pushed way past) they would never reach in free fall. Even water hoses can spray water droplets at speeds faster than falling rain. I don’t have data on the speed of water out of a super soaker. 🙂
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