What energy changes take place when a ball that is falling through the air reaches its terminal velocity?
I know that at terminal velocity, kinetic energy remains constant. I know that potential energy decreases because the height changes and air friction against the ball causing heat but I know that is minimal. I really need to know also, where does all that extra potential energy go because before terminal velocity, I would have said kinetic energy but because this is constant, where does the bulk of the potential energy go. Please correct me if I am wrong.
The kinetic energy might be constant, but you have to remember that at the point it attains its terminal velocity it is traveling at a great speed. KE is directly proportional to the square of velocity. The heat produced by air friction can not be ignored.
There could be other forms of energy transformation taking place, such as sound, light, etc. But the sum of all these different forms of energy would still be equal to the initial potential energy of the ball .
teddy boy
June 24th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I may be wrong but I think at terminal velocity, the potential energy goes to counter air resistance.
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Mass, acceleration, and volocity remain constant. Due to the fact that it is at terminal velocity, there is no potential energy unless there is a change in direction.
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
The kinetic energy of the falling object remains constant. But the air it falls through gets heated by friction (thermal), but it also gets slightly compressed in front, slightly expanded behind, and moved all around (kinetic energy).
Grav. potential energy into kinetic energy (falling object) into thermal and kinetic energy (of the air)
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
The potential energy of the ball is decreasing at the rate
m*g*V watts
100% of this energy is used to heat the air through friction.
References :
Rocket Scientist
June 24th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
The loss of potential energy is used to generate heat around the ball or causing the ball's temperature to rise.
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
The potential energy of the ball is given by mgh, where m is its mass, g is accel due to gravity and h is height above the earth (for heights small compared to the radius of the earth).
As the ball descends, its value of h decreases, and so its potential energy decreases. If there were no friction, the loss of potential energy would generate a gain in kinetic energy (speed); however, at terminal velocity, the force of air friction balances the force of gravity, and no acceleration occurs. The potential energy that is lost goes to doing work against friction and heating the atmosphere.
References :
June 24th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
The kinetic energy might be constant, but you have to remember that at the point it attains its terminal velocity it is traveling at a great speed. KE is directly proportional to the square of velocity. The heat produced by air friction can not be ignored.
There could be other forms of energy transformation taking place, such as sound, light, etc. But the sum of all these different forms of energy would still be equal to the initial potential energy of the ball .
teddy boy
References :