So I just learned what Terminal Velocity is, that gravity pushes down as much as the air molecules are pushing up, meaning that it reaches as fast as it can when it reaches that point (terminal velocity) and will not go any faster.
With no air in space to stop the “pushing up” can things increasingly build up speed with not cap point?
I tried googling and it says this “The only terminal velocity in space is the speed of light. For anything moving more slowly than the speed of light the limiting factors are the specific impulse (the force applied multiplied by the time it acts) and the mass of the object, which together determine the acceleration and the time that acceleration acts.”
But I don’t really understand that, I don’t understand “specific impulse (the price applied multiplied by the time it acts)” what does “acts” mean?
Also I understand there is also no gravity in space, but I know that planets can exert gravity without actually pulling the object into its atmosphere…..
Can someone explain this to me in layman’s terms??
In: Physics
“Terminal velocity” specifically refers to objects free-falling through air under the effects of gravity.
In deep space where there’s neither air nor a nearby gravitational object, the term doesn’t really apply.
You can continue accelerating under your own power until you hit “relativistic” speeds near the speed of light. Once your velocity starts to become an appreciable fraction of light speed, the energy required to further accelerate you starts to increase dramatically. It will require infinite energy for an object with non-zero rest mass to reach the speed of light.
Impulse is just the power of your engines – how much force they’re applying and for how long. Since there’s no friction in space, only the power of your engines and your fuel supply matter.
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