If you jump out of a plane, you will accelerate towards the Earth for a while. The speed at which you fall will eventually even out as a result of air resistance. This is known as terminal velocity. For a human being, this is reached at about 125 mph, for the average raindrop it is around 18 mph. It will take you around 14 seconds to reach this speed if you are in normal atmospheric pressure. If you jump at higher altitudes, where the air is less dense – you can fall even faster!
In October 2012, skydiver Felix Baumgartner fell to Earth at a supersonic speed of 1,357.6 km/h (843.6 mi/h), becoming the first human to break the sound barrier in free-fall. He also broke the record for the fastest speed in free-fall. He skydived from a balloon on the edge of space, breaking 8 world records in one jump.
If you found this useful and think you would benefit from some additional help, please contact us.
