Re: timing data for falling objects

[Michael Bowen <fizzbowen@MINDSPRING.COM>]

At 10:19 2002/07/07, Brian Whatcott wrote:

> It is conventional to express a force due to air drag as
>  Fd = Cd . A . 1/2 rho V^2
> where Cd is a coefficient expressing a shape and texture at a reasonable
> range of sizes and speeds
>
> A is a representative area
> rho is a density
> V is the air speed    .....in any consistent system of units.
>
> The Cd is the carpet under which all the variabilities seen in
> experimental situations are swept.

Yes, Brian, that is in accordance with my vague recollection. Hugh made it
sound (to me) as though he had conceived of a way to demonstrate the linear
dependence of Fd on A, while correcting for confounding variations in Cd
and V^2 (perhaps by somehow holding them fixed?). (We are also implicitly
assuming that rho is constant for classroom velocities.)

It was the details of the means of correcting for the Cd and V^2 dependence
that interested me.

--MB