Terminal Velocity Calculator
Terminal Velocity Calculator
Terminal velocity is the maximum speed a falling object reaches when air resistance grows strong enough to balance the force of gravity, so it stops accelerating. Enter the object's mass, drag coefficient, cross-sectional area facing the airflow, and the surrounding air density to find it.
A larger surface area or a higher drag coefficient both lower terminal velocity, since either one increases the air resistance pushing back against gravity at any given speed — this is exactly why a skydiver falls dramatically slower spread out belly-down than diving head-first in a compact position, despite having identical mass in both cases. Because terminal velocity depends on the ratio of weight to drag rather than weight alone, two objects of very different mass can actually reach similar terminal velocities if their shape and surface area happen to scale together in the right way.
- The formula is v = √(2mg / (ρACd)), where m is mass, g is gravity, ρ is air density, A is cross-sectional area, and Cd is the drag coefficient.
- A larger surface area or higher drag coefficient lowers terminal velocity - this is exactly why skydivers slow down dramatically by spreading out (belly-down) versus diving head-first.
- This is the real-world counterpart to the idealized Free Fall Calculator, which ignores air resistance entirely - terminal velocity is what actually limits how fast falling objects go.
How do I calculate terminal velocity?
Use v = √(2mg / (ρACd)), where m is the object's mass, ρ is air density, A is cross-sectional area, and Cd is the drag coefficient.
What is the terminal velocity of a skydiver?
A typical skydiver in a belly-down position (around 80 kg, Cd ≈ 0.7, area ≈ 0.7 m²) reaches a terminal velocity of about 51 m/s, or roughly 185 km/h.
Terminal Velocity Calculator
Terminal velocity is the maximum speed a falling object reaches when air resistance grows strong enough to balance the force of gravity, so it stops accelerating. Enter the object's mass, drag coefficient, cross-sectional area facing the airflow, and the surrounding air density to find it.
A larger surface area or a higher drag coefficient both lower terminal velocity, since either one increases the air resistance pushing back against gravity at any given speed — this is exactly why a skydiver falls dramatically slower spread out belly-down than diving head-first in a compact position, despite having identical mass in both cases. Because terminal velocity depends on the ratio of weight to drag rather than weight alone, two objects of very different mass can actually reach similar terminal velocities if their shape and surface area happen to scale together in the right way.
- The formula is v = √(2mg / (ρACd)), where m is mass, g is gravity, ρ is air density, A is cross-sectional area, and Cd is the drag coefficient.
- A larger surface area or higher drag coefficient lowers terminal velocity - this is exactly why skydivers slow down dramatically by spreading out (belly-down) versus diving head-first.
- This is the real-world counterpart to the idealized Free Fall Calculator, which ignores air resistance entirely - terminal velocity is what actually limits how fast falling objects go.
How do I calculate terminal velocity?
Use v = √(2mg / (ρACd)), where m is the object's mass, ρ is air density, A is cross-sectional area, and Cd is the drag coefficient.
What is the terminal velocity of a skydiver?
A typical skydiver in a belly-down position (around 80 kg, Cd ≈ 0.7, area ≈ 0.7 m²) reaches a terminal velocity of about 51 m/s, or roughly 185 km/h.