Raindrops of different sizes fall with different terminal velocities through air.
The table shows the measured value of the terminal velocity for raindrops of different sizes.
Raindrop size | Drop diameter / mm | Terminal velocity / m s-1 |
small | 0.5 | 2.1 |
medium | 2.0 | 6.5 |
large | 5.0 | 9.1 |
Derive, using Stokes’ law, the following expression for the terminal velocity v of a spherical raindrop in terms of its radius r.
where is the density of rainwater and is the viscosity of air.
You should ignore upthrust.
Show that the expression given in (a) produces a value of about 800 m s-1 for the terminal velocity of a large raindrop.
= 1.0 × 103 kg m-3
= 1.8 × 10-5 Pa s
Explain whether Stokes’ law is suitable for calculating the terminal velocity of raindrops.
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