Journal of Aeronautics & Aerospace Engineering
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Landell-Mills N

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• Research Article
  Buoyancy Explains Terminal Velocity in Skydiving
  Author(s): Landell-Mills N*Landell-Mills N*
  
  Estimates show that skydivers in free-fall displace a mass of air downwards equal to their own mass every second, in order to maintain a constant terminal velocity. This is also demonstrated at indoor skydiving centers where air blown upwards can suspend skydivers in mid-air. Like a boat floating in water, the skydiver is floating on air. Consequently, Archimedes principle of buoyancy can be used to explain the physics of terminal velocity in skydiving. Conventional physics explains that drag, the force needed to push air out of a skydiver’s path, sets a limit to a skydiver’s velocity. Which is correct but incomplete. It is more accurate to add that according to buoyancy, the skydiver’s velocity will increase until a mass of air equal to his own mass is displaced each second. Drag on a skydiver is defined by the equation: Drag = 0.5 (Velocity2 × Air Density &ti.. View More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2168-9792.1000189

  Abstract PDF

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