Drip Drop
At a height , a raindrop, , has a radius of 5 mm. Another raindrop, , has a radius of 0.5 mm at the same height. If we start measuring their falls from the same height , Which raindrop is expected to hit the ground first?
Hint : It is possible for smaller raindrops to fall faster than larger raindrops
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1 solution
It is generally common knowledge that larger raindrops hit the ground faster than smaller raindrops. However, this does not always apply. In fact, it has been proven that smaller rain drops can actually go faster that larger rain drops if they go past their terminal velocity. The raindrops that do this are known as "super-terminal" raindrops. It is believed that these super-terminal raindrops are the result of larger raindrops being broken apart.
In this scenario, the origin of the raindrops, their original sizes, and their original speeds are never given to us, so it is therefore impossible to tell which one will fall first.