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/// Jack was right; there is no need to add Ludwik's
restrictions. It *is* a fact that, at their various terminal
velocities, the drag forces on *any* collection of objects will be
proportional to the masses of those objects (since they are
*equal* to the gravitational forces on those objects.) This does
*not*, however, imply that drag forces are, in general,
"proportional to" the mass of the object to which they are
applied. I'll go out on a limb (a short and sturdy one, I think)
and note that they don't even *depend* on the mass. Drag forces
depend on the velocity, shape, size, surface characteristics, and
attitude of the object and also on properties of the medium
through which the object moves. They never depend fundamentally
on the object's mass.
Notwithstanding all of the above, there is nothing "wrong" withas the product of the object's
*expressing* a >drag coefficient<
mass with another positive constant.///
John Mallinckrodt mailto:ajm@csupomona.edu
Cal Poly Pomona http://www.csupomona.edu/~ajm