Dropping a Coin: Myth vs Physics

Ever wonder what would happen if you dropped a coin from the Empire State Building?

The Empire State Building is 1,454 feet tall, which is roughly 443 meters.

If you hold a coin at the top and let it go, gravity will start pulling it downward

immediately. As it falls, the coin will accelerate at approximately 9.8 meters per second

squared, until air resistance starts to slow it down. Air resistance is

the force of air pushing against the coin as it moves. This prevents the coin from accelerating

indefinitely. Eventually, the coin will reach a constant speed, called terminal

velocity. For a small coin, this is about 25 miles per hour, or 40 kilometers