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Terminal velocity is the maximum speed attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid ... face down) free fall position is about 55 m/s (180 ft/s). [3]
The speed, achieved by the human body in free fall, is a function of several factors; including the body's mass, orientation, and skin area and texture. [1] In stable, belly-to-earth position, terminal velocity is about 200 km/h (120 mph). Stable freefall head down position has a terminal speed of 240–290 km/h (around 150–180 mph).
This velocity is the asymptotic limiting value of the acceleration process, because the effective forces on the body balance each other more and more closely as the terminal velocity is approached. In this example, a speed of 50 % of terminal velocity is reached after only about 3 seconds, while it takes 8 seconds to reach 90 %, 15 seconds to ...
A typical skydiver in a spread-eagle position will reach terminal velocity after about 12 seconds, during which time they will have fallen around 450 m (1,500 ft). [4] Free fall was demonstrated on the Moon by astronaut David Scott on August 2, 1971. He simultaneously released a hammer and a feather from the same height above the Moon's surface.
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An approximate rule of thumb for shock wave standoff distance is 0.14 times the nose radius. One can estimate the time of travel for a gas molecule from the shock wave to the stagnation point by assuming a free stream velocity of 7.8 km/s and a nose radius of 1 meter, i.e., time of travel is about 18 microseconds.
For human skydiving, there is often a phase of free fall (the skydiving segment), where the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity. In cargo parachuting, the parachute descent may begin immediately, such as a parachute-airdrop in the lower atmosphere of Earth, or it may be significantly delayed.