| YouTube: | https://youtube.com/watch?v=crVwMW-tOqU |
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| View count: | 129,758 |
| Likes: | 10,003 |
| Comments: | 191 |
| Duration: | 00:48 |
| Uploaded: | 2022-11-02 |
| Last sync: | 2025-06-27 14:45 |
Citation
| Citation formatting is not guaranteed to be accurate. | |
| MLA Full: | "Could dropping a penny from a tall building hurt someone? #shorts #science #SciShow." YouTube, uploaded by SciShow, 2 November 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=crVwMW-tOqU. |
| MLA Inline: | (SciShow, 2022) |
| APA Full: | SciShow. (2022, November 2). Could dropping a penny from a tall building hurt someone? #shorts #science #SciShow [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=crVwMW-tOqU |
| APA Inline: | (SciShow, 2022) |
| Chicago Full: |
SciShow, "Could dropping a penny from a tall building hurt someone? #shorts #science #SciShow.", November 2, 2022, YouTube, 00:48, https://youtube.com/watch?v=crVwMW-tOqU. |
Check out the previous episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBaL_0duVVk
Hosted by: Niba Audrey Nirmal (she/her)
Emma Dauster: Writer
Justine Ghai: Fact Checker
Amy Peterson: Script Editor
Savannah Geary: Editor, Associate Producer
Daniel Comiskey: Editorial Director
Sarah Suta: Producer
Caitlin Hofmeister: Executive Producer
Hank Green: Executive Producer
Sources:
https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/pst/article/view/2948/2733
https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/video-red-bull-stratos-mission/
Previous episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBaL_0duVVk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62sRY_B7krM&t=128s
Image Sources:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/st-marks-square-st-marks-cathedral-and-its-tower-royalty-free-image/887212298?phrase=pigeon%20sidewalk%20wide&adppopup=true
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stokes_sphere.svg
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/skyscrapers-house-building-icon-royalty-free-illustration/889463720?phrase=tall%20building&adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/bird-and-incoming-airplane-royalty-free-image/946139378?phrase=plane%20bird&adppopup=true
Hosted by: Niba Audrey Nirmal (she/her)
Emma Dauster: Writer
Justine Ghai: Fact Checker
Amy Peterson: Script Editor
Savannah Geary: Editor, Associate Producer
Daniel Comiskey: Editorial Director
Sarah Suta: Producer
Caitlin Hofmeister: Executive Producer
Hank Green: Executive Producer
Sources:
https://journals.le.ac.uk/ojs1/index.php/pst/article/view/2948/2733
https://sservi.nasa.gov/articles/video-red-bull-stratos-mission/
Previous episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBaL_0duVVk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62sRY_B7krM&t=128s
Image Sources:
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/st-marks-square-st-marks-cathedral-and-its-tower-royalty-free-image/887212298?phrase=pigeon%20sidewalk%20wide&adppopup=true
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stokes_sphere.svg
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/skyscrapers-house-building-icon-royalty-free-illustration/889463720?phrase=tall%20building&adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/bird-and-incoming-airplane-royalty-free-image/946139378?phrase=plane%20bird&adppopup=true
If a penny fell from a really tall skyscraper, like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, would it really fall fast enough to seriously hurt someone walking on the street? Luckily, the answer is no. Myth debunked! ...and then re-debunked? Dropping a penny from a really tall height won't make it into a bullet to a bird on the sidewalk, There's something called terminal velocity, which keeps the penny from gaining infinite speed. See, if its falling through a bunch of air molecules, so at a certain speed it can't push them out of the way any faster than its already pushing them. So from atop a tall building, your penny will be falling for longer at the same terminal velocity as if it would if dropped from, like, a five story building. But if you dropped the penny from a plane 39 kilometers high those air molecules are less dense. and since it would have fewer molecules to push, it would go faster, and be more dangerous to, like, a bird flying just below. Anyone on the sidewalk, though, would still be fine, because the penny would slow down as it reaches denser atmosphere.