I think I understand that driving faster increases drag because there’s more air pushing against your vehicle, but why is the drag for that distance greater at higher speeds? If a car is driving slower but across the same distance, wouldn’t the total impulse created by the drag be the same as going faster because it’s delivered over a greater time, even though it’s a smaller force at any given moment?
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The best way I’ve heard it explained is that when you go twice as fast you are running into twice as many air molecules, AND they are hitting you twice as hard, which makes drag roughly quadruple instead of double.
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