Due to terminal velocity, you can’t kill someone by dropping a small object from up high. You can however kill someone by dropping a large object with a lot of mass, or a pointy object with enough mass, etc due to the way other aspects of physics works. Plus dropping a penny on someone at terminal velocity would hurt, so just avoiding the whole thing is a good idea.
A Small Object Like a Penny Dropped From High Enough Can Kill Someone myth
Terminal Velocity Busts the Dropping a Penny From the Empire State Building Myth
Due to the way terminal velocity caps the maximum speed that something can fall, a small and light object like a penny will never gain enough speed to kill someone regardless of how high it is dropped from.[1][2]
Thus the old saying that says “if you drop a penny from the Empire State Building, it can kill someone below” is a myth.
The terminal velocity of a dropping penny can be up to 100 mph with no wind (Myth Busters estimated 64.4 miles per hour for example), but that won’t kill someone, it would just hurt if it hit the right way.
What Happens When You Drop A Penny Off The Empire State Building? DEBUNKED.What is Terminal Velocity?
It is the effect of drag force acting against the gravitational pull. As an object falls and the speed of the object increases, drag force increases (the force of the liquid or gas the object is moving through pushing back on it increases).
At first, the object’s fall accelerates, but eventually drag force and gravity stops the acceleration and the object falls at a constant speed. This constant speed is terminal velocity.
What Impacts the Speed at Which an Object Falls?
The speed an object falls is impacted by a few factors:
- Time in the air. It takes time to reach terminal speed, and the amount of time can be impacted by the other factors below.
- The wind. The more wind, the slower the fall.
- The “projected area ” (horizontal surface area; like a parachute) relative to its mass object falling. In short, a parachute will have a lower terminal velocity than a bullet, because objects with larger projected areas relative to mass create more drag force.
- Mass. An object with little mass, like dust, will fall slower because of forces in the air like the wind. Gravity has the same effect on all objects, so weight doesn’t matter in that sense. However, currents in the air can overcome the mass of very light objects and keep them in the air. So, in practice, a feather is going to fall slower than an Apple.
- How thin the air is. Thin air means less drag force, so terminal velocity increases at higher altitudes.
FACT: An object moving downward faster than the terminal velocity will actually slow down until it reaches the terminal velocity.
Article Citations
- Terminal Velocity. Wikipedia.org.
- Can you really kill someone by dropping a penny off the Empire State Building? BusinessInsider.com.
Conclusion
Author: Thomas DeMichele
Thomas DeMichele is the content creator behind ObamaCareFacts.com, FactMyth.com, CryptocurrencyFacts.com, and other DogMediaSolutions.com and Massive Dog properties. He also contributes to MakerDAO and other cryptocurrency-based projects. Tom's focus in all...
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432 hz Did not vote.
We should remember the fact that our common tuning system relies on 12-tone Equal Temperament.
Tuning forks tuned within the 432 Hz frequencies.
The tone frequencies used with 440Hz as Concert Pitch are being used in both cases.
capacitance system Did not vote.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally,
it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could
be giving us something enlightening to read?
Thomas DeMicheleThe Author Did not vote.
See spam comment, this is why we are friends because you are nice.
Tom Doesn't beleive this myth.
From 5. above, “How thin the air is. Thin air means less drag force, so terminal velocity decreases at higher altitudes.”
It seems to me that thinner air means higher terminal velocity due to less drag force from the thinner air.
Please explain if I.m wrong. Just found your site, I really like it! Just stumbled on the above.
Thomas DeMicheleThe Author Did not vote.
Thanks for the compliment, it should have been “Thin air means less drag force, so terminal velocity increases at higher altitudes.”
EE Did not vote.
Well since a penny cant use a phone this is pretty obvious.
Thomas DeMicheleThe Author Did not vote.
Well that is going in the record books under silly mistakes. Thank you for the joke and the correction. 😉