AT Physics II.

Air Resistance
The motion of falling objects is usually described with constant acceleration. This is only approximately true: air
resistance, a friction which increases with increasing speed, acts agains gravity, so the speed of falling objects tends
toward a limit (called terminal velocity; terminal speed would be better.) The physics of air resistance applies to
motion through any sort of fluid: gas or liquid. To a reasonable approximation, fluid resistance tends to depend
on either the first power of the speed (a linear resistance) or the second power (a quadratic resistance).
At small speeds, fluid resistance is linear;
Fresist = bv

(low speeds)

where b has the units of N/(m/s) = kg/s. The force bv is sometimes called the viscous drag. It arises mainly
from the cohesion of the layers of the fluid.
For large speeds, fluid resistance is better described by a quadratic dependence on speed;
Fresist = cv 2

(higher speeds)

where the units of c are N/(m/s)2 = kg/m. This term is usually called drag. It is related to the momentum transfer
between the moving object and the fluid through which it travels.
You may recall the arguments used to derive Boyles Law from the kinetic theory of gases, that the pressure was
related to the momentum transfer between gas atoms or molecules and the walls of the surrounding container. In
much the same way the drag coefficient c can be related to other quantities;
c = 12 CD A
where CD is a geometric factor depending on the shape of the object (equal to 21 for a sphere), is the density of
the fluid, and A the cross-sectional area of the object. The factor 12 is put in for convenience.
In general, both terms (and others, proportional to higher powers of v) may be present;
Fresist = bv cv 2 +
If v  1, drop the second term; ignore the first term if v  1.
The speeds of everyday objects are large enough that the effects of fluid resistance are due entirely to quadratic drag.
Skydivers are slowed appreciably by the quadratic term; viscosity does nothing. The same is true for Hollywood
heroes evading gunfire by swimming underwater. Two meters of water will slow bullets to a few percent of their
original speed. Sadly, the realistic quadratic drag needs more intricate math than linear, viscous drag. Students
are typically tested on the unrealistic viscous drag. Well do both, but lets start with the easier case of viscous
drag.
Viscous drag: linear dependence on speed
Viscous drag typically appears in one of two situations: with a driving (constant) force, usually gravity, and on its
own. First, on its own.
Say an object has an initial velocity vo and encounters a resistive force of the form Fresist = bv directed opposite to
the motion. We assume all other forces balance out. For example we might have a car driving along and encountering
air resistance (though in reality, the quadratic resistance would be the dominant term.) Alternatively, we might
fire a bullet horizontally though a resistive medium like industrial strength jello:

Then
Fnet = Fresist

ma = bv

so that

dv
b
= v,
v(0) = vo
dt
m
This is an example of a separable differential equation. Rewrite as
a=

(V1)

b
dv
= dt
v
m
and integrate both sides;
Z

dv
=
v

b
dt
m

or

ln v =

b
t+C
m

where C is a constant. There is no reason to add a constant on both sides; if we had added, say, C1 on the left
side and C2 on the right, we could combine them by subtracting C1 on both sides; and set C = C2 C1 . Then
exponentiating both sides gives
eln v = v = e(b/m)t+C = eC e(b/m)t
Determine the value of eC by using the initial condition;
v(0) = vo

vo = e C e 0 = e C

and consequently
If

dv
b
= v, v(0) = vo then v(t) = vo e(b/m)t
dt
m

The graph is a standard exponential decay:

Besides tough jello, the other way viscous drag appears is in free fall :

The net force is now the difference between the gravitational force and the viscous drag:
Fnet = mg bv = ma
(we are taking down to be positive.) The differential equation from Newtons Law is
a=

b
dv
= g v,
dt
m

v(0) = vo

(V2)

Very often, a problem involving free fall begins with an object dropped from rest, i.e. with vo = 0. But its easy
enough to allow other values of vo . Again the differential equation is separable;
dv
= dt
g (b/m)v

Factor out (b/m) in the denominator, multiply both sides by (b/m) and integrate:
Z
Z
dv
b
=
dt
v (mg/b)
m
The right hand side is easy. For the left hand side, use a u-substitution; let u = v (mg/b). Then du = dv, so
Z
b
du
= ln u = ln(v (mg/b)) = t + C
u
m
We do exactly what we did before. Exponentiate both sides to obtain
v (mg/b) = eC e(b/m)t

v=

mg
+ eC e(b/m)t
b

Use the initial condition to determine eC : v(0) = vo , or

v(0) =

mg
+ eC = v o
b

so that
v=

e C = vo

mg
b

mg 
mg  (b/m)t
+ vo
e
b
b

or rearranging,


mg 
1 e(b/m)t
b
Note that in the limit as t , the object tends toward the terminal velocity vT ;
i mg
h
mg 
1 e(b/m)t =
vT = lim vo e(b/m)t +
t
b
b
v = vo e(b/m)t +

You can also obtain vT easily from the original differential equation (V2) by setting a = 0:
a=0=g

b
vT
m

vT =

mg
b

There are three possible graphs, depending as whether vo is greater than, equal to, or less than vT :

In every case, the velocity tends toward the limiting value of vT . Nearly always, though, the initial value of the
velocity is taken to be zero, corresponding to the bottom-most curve above:
If


dv
b
mg 
= g v, v(0) = 0 then v(t) =
1 e(b/m)t
dt
m
b

Distance traveled with viscous resistance

By definition, v = dx/dt. Its easy enough to write down an expression for the distance x = x xo traveled as a
function of time in terms of an integral;
Z t
x =
v dt
0

For the tough jello, (V1),

Z

x =

vo e(b/m)t dt =


mvo 
1 e(b/m)t
b

The object keeps moving till v = 0, which happens only in the limit t . Then
 mv
mvo 
o
x = lim
1 e(b/m)t =
t b
b
There is a second, elegant way to obtain this result. We know a = (b/m)v. Write, using the Chain Rule,
a=

dv
dv dx
dv
b
=

=v
= v
dt
dx dt
dx
m

Divide both sides by v to obtain the simple

b
dv
=
dx
m
which is a constant. That means the graph of v vs x is a straight line;
 
b
v=
x + vo
m
In particular, when v = 0, we obtain x = mvo /b, exactly as before.
For the case of free fall, (V2),
Z

x =
0

 mg 

m  (b/m)t
mg 
1 e(b/m)t =
t+
e
1
b
b
b

Its clear that this increases without limit; as t , this becomes (mg/b)t, which is just vT t. No surprise there.
Its worth looking at the special case when b  1; then
e(b/m)t = 1 (b/m)t + 12 (b/m)2 t2 +
and consequently

.
m2 g
mg
t + 2 1 (b/m)t + 21 (b/m)2 t2 + 1 = 21 gt2
b
b
which is exactly what youd expect, in agreement with Galileo. This is about the limit of what you might see on
an AP examination, but heres the quadratic resistance for completeness.
x =

Drag: Quadratic dependence on speed

Again, say that either an object is passing horizontally through a resistive medium or else is freely falling. Take
the tough jello case first:
Fresist = cv 2 = Fnet = ma
so
a=

c 2
dv
v =
m
dt

and v(0) = vo

Again this differential equation is separable;

Z

dv
=
v2

c
dt
m

and both sides are easily integrated;

1
c
= t+C
v
m
Use the initial condition to determine C; when t = 0, v = vo ;

1
=C
vo

(D1)

so

1
1
c

=
t
v vo
m

which can be manipulated into

v=

vo
1 + (cvo /m)t

Heres the graph:

The bullet does stop in the limit as t , but in that limit, its acceleration is proportional to 1/t2 :
a=

cvo
vo
m
dv
=

2
dt
m (1 + (cvo /m)t)2
ct

which becomes very small very rapidly.

For free fall, the math is quite a bit more complex. Then
Fnet = ma = cv 2 + mg
or

dv
c 2
=g
v
dt
m
This equation is separable, but the left hand side looks tough to integrate:
Z
Z
dv
c
c
=

dt = t + B
v 2 (mg/c)
m
m

(D2)

where B is a constant. For ease of manipulation let 2 = mg/c, and let I be the integral of the left hand side;
Z
dv
I=
2
v 2
Were the sign of 2 positive, I would be the inverse tangent. This is a known integral, but probably unfamiliar:
Z
 
dx
1
1 x
=
tanh
x2 a2
a
a
where tanh1 x is the inverse hyperbolic tangent of x. The hyperbolic trigonometric functions are not generally
known, even among calculus students. It turns out that all of the inverse hyperbolic trig functions are expressible
in terms of natural logs. And thats how well do this integral: by factoring, and using partial fractions:


1
1
1
1
1
=
=

v 2 2
(v )(v + )
2 v v +
Then

Z
I=

so that

dv
1
=
v 2 2
2

1
ln
2

dv
1

v 2


v
v+


=

dv
1
=
ln
v+
2

c
t+B
m

v
v+

Multiply both sides by 2 and exponentiate both sides to get

v
= e2 (c/m)t e2B
v+
If, as is usually the case, v(0) = 0, then e2B = 1, and
v
= e2 (c/m)t
v+
which can be solved for v;

v=
Resubstitute =

1 e2 (c/m)t
1 + e2 (c/m)t


=

e (c/m)t e (c/m)t
e (c/m)t + e (c/m)t


= tanh

 c 
t
m

mg/c and find

r
v=

mg
tanh
c

r


gc
t
m

Heres the graph:

As x , tanh x 1, so terminal velocity in this case is

r
r
 r
mg
gc
mg
tanh
t =
vT = lim
t
c
m
c
which is also obtained easily from the original equation of motion when a = 0:
r
mg
c 2
a=0=g
vT vT =
m
c
Distance traveled with quadratic resistance
For free fall with quadratic resistance (D2), its clear that the distance traveled will again be without limit. Here
it is formally (cosh x is the hyperbolic cosine, and cosh(0) = 1):
r
 r
r


r 
Z tr
mg
gc
mg
m
gc
tanh
t =

ln cosh
t ln 1)
x =
c
m
c
gc
m
0
r


m
gc
=
ln cosh
t
c
m
By definition,
cosh x =

ex + ex
2

so that

lim cosh x = 12 ex

and consequently
x

 m  r gc
c

r
t=

mg
t = vT t
c

again as would be expected from Galileo (and much as we found with linear drag). This increases without limit
as t .

For the quadratic resistant tough jello (D1), we have

Z
x =
0

m 
cvo 
vo
ln 1 +
=
t
1 + (cvo /m)t
c
m

This also increases without limit as t , because limt ln t = . With the linear viscosity, the object stopped,
but with quadratic viscosity, it does not (or at least, the distance increases without limit). Whats going on?
The elegant approach provides more insight. As before, write
a=

dv
dv dx
dv
c
=

=v
= v2
dt
dx dt
dx
m

and dividing both sides by v leads to

dv
c
= v
dx
m
This is a separable differential equation, with v(0) = vo and x(0) = 0;
Z
Z
dv
c
dx
=
v
m
Weve seen this before! It leads to
v = vo e(c/m)x
Its clear that v = 0 only in the limit x . So x becomes unbounded as v approaches zero. Evidently if the
acceleration a depends on a power of v greater than or equal to 2, then a 0 as t at least as fast as t2 ,
and v decreases too slowly to keep the stopping distance x finite.
Example. Water as a Bulletproof Vest. A person pursued by enemies with guns attempts to avoid injury by diving
into some body of water. Assuming drag only, at what depth of water will the speed of bullets fired
vertically into the water be reduced by 99%? Use the following: water = 1 103 kg/m3 , Abullet = r2 ,
.
rbullet = 0.5 cm, vo = 800 m/s, and m = 10 grams. Assume CD = 0.5, and ignore gravity.
Solution. From the earlier empirical formula,
.
c = 12 CD A =

1
2

.
3
0.5 (1000 kg/m )( (0.5 102 m)2 ) = 0.02 kg/m

because 1 cm = 1/100 m. Also, 10 grams = 0.01 kg, and assume CD = 0.5. Then (c/m) = 2 m1 , and
using the formula from before,
v(x) = 800e2x
If the velocity is to be reduced by 99%, it means that the speed will equal 1% of its original
value, namely 8 m/s. (At this speed, the bullets would cause very little damage.) That is,
8 = 800e2x
or what is the same thing,
1
100

= e2x

x=

1
ln 100 = ln 10 m = 2.30 m
2 m1

about what the television show Mythbusters found some years back.
More about viscosity
When adjacent layers of a fluid move at different speeds, the resulting behavior is called shear. Make a thin sandwich of a fluid between
two flat plates of area A. The bottom plate is fixed, the top plate is free to move laterally (parallel to the plate.) Exert a lateral force
on the top plate. The fluid layer nearest the top acquires a speed vtop ; deeper layers acquire lesser speed. Let v(y) describe the fluids
velocity as a function of depth y. The viscosity (the Greek letter eta,
e) is defined from Newtons Law of Viscosity in terms of the
shear stress = F/A, which has the units of pressure, or Pascals (N/m2 );
=

F
v
=
A
y

It might be clearer if we used viscosity to refer to the linear resistance bv itself, and the coefficient of viscosity, in analogy with
dry friction, but this is not the language traditionally used.
The units of viscosity are poise, after the French physicist J. L. M. Poiseuille (1797-1869), who studied blood flow in narrow tubes;
1 poise (P) = 1 g/cm-s = 0.1 pascal-second (Pa-s)
The viscosity of water at

20

is about 0.01 poise, or 103 Pa-s; air at STP has a viscosity of about 1.8 105 Pa-s.

In 1851, the Irish mathematical physicist G. G. Stokes (1819-1903) derived the formula for b for a sphere moving slowly in a fluid:
b = 6r
where r is the spheres radius. In the same article Stokes introduced a dimensionless ratio which others made much use of later, notably
the English engineer Osborne Reynolds (1842-1912). This ratio was named by the German physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (in a 1908
lecture) the Reynolds number. It is usually denoted Re;
Re =

drag
vL

viscous drag

where L is a characteristic length for the object moving through a fluid (say the radius or the diameter of a sphere), v its speed,
the density of the liquid and its viscosity. Generally, high Reynolds number (anything much bigger than 1) means that viscosity is
negligible; low Reynolds number (less than 1) means viscosity dominates over drag. If we say L 1 m and v 1 m/s for a person
walking, and use = 1.2 kg/m3 for air at STP, we get Re = 6.7 104 . The viscosity of air is not important for everyday objects.
The term viscosity derives from the Latin viscum, (mistletoe), used to make a sticky goo called birdlime for catching birds on twigs.
The ancient Romans used to eat small songbirds; this custom is still followed in some parts of Italy and France, where it is now illegal.
Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951) may have been the most spectacularly successful supervisor of physics students in history; four of his
Ph.D. students won the Nobel Prize. (No one else is even close.) Among these were Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli and Hans Bethe
(who gave Richard Feynman his first university job at Cornell.) Nominated a record 81 times for the Nobel, he did not win it himself.
Sommerfeld wrote a highly influential series of textbooks in theoretical physics which have been translated into many languages.

v.2.0.1

26 November 2011