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[deleted] OP t1_iqnsyyv wrote

Yes, of course. Terminal velocity is simply the speed where downward force is equal to air resistance. For a free-falling object, the downward force is only the weight of the object. If you increase the total downward force on the object, it will go faster. E.g. an airplane nose-diving with its engines at full throttle will "fall" faster than an airplane with its engines off.

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RobusEtCeleritas t1_iqnftki wrote

An object falling vertically, while subject to quadratic drag, will have a terminal velocity of

v*t* = sqrt[W/b],

where W is the weight of the object and b is the coefficient of the drag force.

If you apply a downward force F in addition to the weight of the object, the terminal velocity will instead be

v*t* = sqrt[(W + F)/b].

So for F > 0, the terminal velocity will be higher than the F = 0 case.

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BurnOutBrighter6 t1_iqoiwic wrote

Yes. "Terminal velocity" is just the fastest something will go in freefall in air, when air resistance cancels out gravity.

It's not some sort of speed limit. You can throw something faster than its terminal velocity by hand. For human bodies, terminal velocity is about 190 mph. So if you've ever flown in an airplane or ridden a bullet train, you've gone faster than your terminal velocity too.

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