Questions For You
Everyone knows what a FAQ is, and we even have one on our site. I answer questions all the time, and my wife assumes that I have an answer for everything. The truth is, there are a lot of things I don't know, but would like to. If you know the answer to any of the following questions, please email us. I'll give you credit and post your answer too.
- What is the terminal velocity of a Cheerio?
- If a Cheerio impacts the earth at vterminal will it break?
I've made a few calculations and come up with 16 mph. I used a quadratic drag approximation for a spherical cheerio with cross sectional area of 6.36 x 10-5 m2 and a mass of 1.07 x 10-4 kg. Does anyone have a better answer? Maybe someone with access to a wind tunnel can provide some experimantal data.
2. If a Cheerio impacts the earth at vterminal will it break?This was actually the question that made me figure out vterminal for a Cheerio anyway. My guess is that a Cheerio will not break at vterminal impact. Just examining a Cheerio, it seems to be too structurally sound to suffer much damage from a sudden deceleration from 16 mph. To figure this out theoretically requires me to remember too much physics. Maybe someone from Caltech can get roof access to Milikan, enlist a few spotters, and tell me the answer.