Air Resistance and Gravity: 5 Facts You Should Know!

Air resistance is the resistive force felt on any system, and gravity is an attractive force. Let us understand the relationship between air resistance and gravity in this article.

Air resistance governs the object’s speed and can change its velocity moving due to the effect of gravity. The air resistance can act against gravity and drag the object upward from the ground, increasing its potential energy and slowing down its kinetic speed if the airflow direction is upward.

We shall further try to understand the relation between air resistance and gravity, how both balance each force, and their effects on each other. We shall also ponder on the dependency of the acceleration and speed of an object due to the effect of gravity and air resistance.

Is air resistance and gravity the same?

Air resistance and gravity exert a certain amount of force on the object that assists its motion. Let us understand whether these forces are the same or not.

Air resistance and gravity are both different forces. Air resistance is a friction force that drags an object away from its initial path, and gravity is a pull force of the Earth. Gravity is a strong force of attraction that brings objects at height to the Earth’s surface, and the air can resist only light objects.

Relationship between Air Resistance and Gravity

Let us find the relation between air resistance and gravity and elaborately discuss how both are related to each other with an example.

Air resistance is a reaction force if gravity is the action force. The air resistance on an object acts in the upward direction while gravity pulls it downward. The air resistance depends on the air velocity and is responsible for increasing or decreasing the object’s speed under the influence of gravity.

When air resistance and gravity are balanced?

If the air resistance and gravity are balanced, the object will remain floating in the air. Let us see when the air resistances and gravity are balanced.

The air resistance and gravity are balanced when the system follows Newton’s third law; that is, the gravitational force exerted on the object is equal in magnitude and acts in the direction opposite to the velocity of air that pushes the object upward against the gravitational pull force.

Does gravity affect air resistance?

Gravity exerts a force on an object and drags it closer to the Earth’s surface. Let us see how gravity affects air resistance in detail.

Gravity affects the air resistance by increasing it. The air resistance comes into the picture only when the object accelerates through the air column and is directly dependent on the object’s speed. Due to gravity, the object is pulled towards the ground escalating its speed, thus increasing the air resistance.

Air Resistance Affect the Acceleration of Gravity

The object’s acceleration of gravity is 9.8 m/s² and is constant. Let us discuss whether or not the air resistance felt on an object can affect its acceleration.

Air resistance reduces the acceleration of gravity. The air resistance acts immediately in response to the accelerating object due to the gravitational pull to push it upward, thus reducing the acceleration of an object. Without air resistance, the object would fall toward the ground at high speed and higher impact.

Air Resistance vs Gravity

We have discussed the dependency of air resistance and gravity on each other in this topic. Let us now understand the difference between the both here below.

Air Resistance	Gravity
Air resistance is a resistive frictional force exerted on the object accelerating in the air column.	Gravity is a force of attraction between two bodies having higher potential energy.
The air resistance reduces the object’s speed.	Gravity increases the object’s speed.
The air resistance is responsible for floating the objects in the air column.	Gravity brings the object toward the ground.
Air resistance is a type of buoyant force.	Gravity is the attractive force.
The air resistance is caused due to the motion of the object through the air medium and the temperature difference.	The gravity pull is caused when the object is raised above ground level.
The air resistance increases the potential energy of an object.	Gravity reduces the potential energy of an object by converting it into kinetic energy.
The air resistance is originated from the air.	Gravity originated from the Earth.
The air resistance drags the object in the air column.	The gravity accelerates the object at 9.8 m/s² during its free fall.
The air resistance force can act in any direction depending on the direction of motion of an object.	Gravity is pointing towards the Earth’s core.
The air resistance depends upon an object’s size, speed, and shape.	Gravity is equal for all objects, irrespective of their shape and size.

Air Resistance vs Gravity

Conclusion

We can conclude from this article that air resistance and gravity are related quantities. The air resistance is responsible for slowing the object’s acceleration toward the ground due to gravity. The air resistance acts in a direction opposite to the gravitational pull.

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AKSHITA MAPARI

Hi, I’m Akshita Mapari. I have done M.Sc. in Physics. I have worked on projects like Numerical modeling of winds and waves during cyclone, Physics of toys and mechanized thrill machines in amusement park based on Classical Mechanics. I have pursued a course on Arduino and have accomplished some mini projects on Arduino UNO. I always like to explore new zones in the field of science. I personally believe that learning is more enthusiastic when learnt with creativity. Apart from this, I like to read, travel, strumming on guitar, identifying rocks and strata, photography and playing chess.