Whats the terminal velocity of a pineapple?

[espio100]

Asking for a friend
I had to calculate you need to drop a pineapple from 553 meters to generate enough force to bash in someones skull and kill that said person but thats like 104.11 m/s wich is quite a lot (implying the watermelon weighs 905g (or 8.87 N))

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[SeventhSandwich]

This is a non-trivial problem. Terminal velocity is a result of fluid friction with the atmosphere, which is a function of stuff like shape, density, and surface area. This is a complicated problem to solve mathematically for most shapes besides spheres. The easiest way to figure this out would be to drop a pineapple from very high up.

[espio100]

This is a non-trivial problem. Terminal velocity is a result of fluid friction with the atmosphere, which is a function of stuff like shape, density, and surface area. This is a complicated problem to solve mathematically for most shapes besides spheres. The easiest way to figure this out would be to drop a pineapple from very high up.

I know but idk maybe some of you knew. Lets just imply the pineapple is balloon shaped, then what?
Is it even possible to reach 104m/s in the first place? A pineapple is somewhat earo dynamic I think

[Maxwell.]

you could probably approximate the shape close to one of these and use the numbers in the terminal velocity equation but like seventh said it's easier just to drop it from high up

[bestguy22]

why would your friend want to know the terminal velocity of a pineapple

[espio100]

I dont really know how to calculate drag :/
Im handicapped, remember

why would your friend want to know the terminal velocity of a pineapple

Its for a book, and the book is for a project for school
They picked a random subject and the subject was a killing someone with a pineapple or something

[Maxwell.]

I dont really know how to calculate drag :/
Im handicapped, remember

simple google search


that's for terminal velocity, it's derived from the force and drag equation, look at the drag equation as well

[SeventhSandwich]

I know but idk maybe some of you knew. Lets just imply the pineapple is balloon shaped, then what?

Not sure. I'll contact some of my AE friends and ask them. My hunch is that a pineapple would not reach 104.11 m/s. My reasoning is that, all things equal, terminal velocity tends to increase when you have an object with a higher mass which is closer in shape to a sphere. Google tells me that a bowling ball has a terminal velocity of around 74 m/s. A bowling ball is both heavier and more spherical than a pineapple, meaning you would expect a pineapple to fall at less than 74 m/s.

There is another flaw with the question you're asking here though:

I had to calculate you need to drop a pineapple from 553 meters to generate enough force to bash in someones skull

I'm not sure how you actually went from pineapple speed to impulse force. Remember that impulse is F_avg * change in time. How did you determine how long a pineapple takes to impart its momentum into a human skull?

[sir dooble]

A pineapple is somewhat earo dynamic I think

I don't think it is really. All the pines face outwards and increase drag, like little parachutes.

The leaves on top do the same if dropped upside down.

Maybe it's better if you chop the pineapple into cubes and drop it, like a pineapple shotgun.

[Maxwell.]

Maybe it's better if you chop the pineapple into cubes and drop it, like a pineapple shotgun.

we should outlaw pineapples

[espio100]

Oh I guess dropping it doesnt work then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks tho!