Skip to main content
Home
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Header Menu

  • Activities & Multimedia
  • Ask An Explainer
  • About the Exhibit

Section Menu

  • Forces of Flight
    • The Four Forces
    • We Aren't Built to Fly
  • Gravity & Air
    • Gravity
    • Air
    • Buoyancy
  • Aerodynamics
    • Air in Motion
    • Subsonic Wings
    • Factors Affecting Lift
    • Alternative Theories of Lift
    • Pressure Drag
    • Friction Drag
    • Vortex Drag
    • Waves in the Air
    • Shock Waves
  • Propulsion
    • Propellers
    • Engines
    • Rocket Propulsion
    • Vertical Flight
  • Structures & Materials
    • Weight and Strength
    • Materials
    • Hypersonic Vehicles
    • Shaped for Space
  • Flight Dynamics
    • Control Surfaces
    • Roll, Pitch, and Yaw
    • Instruments
    • Gravity in Orbit
    • Newton’s Laws of Motion
    • Kepler’s Laws of Orbital Motion
    • Moving in Space
    • Thrusters and Spinning Wheels
  • Activities
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Ask an Explainer

Q:

What causes an object in air to slow down? For example, a tennis ball that is projected from a catapult. What slows it down?

A:

Drag is the force of flight that slows down objects, like tennis balls and planes, in the air. Drag can be caused by differences in air pressure and friction on the object’s surface. Drag is one of the four forces of flight. You can build your own plane to see how to reduce drag.

 

Ask an Explainer
Posted on November 12, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Categories:
Aerodynamics
Check out other Questions and Answers

Footer Menu

  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy
  • Kids Online Privacy Statement
  • Contact
  • About the Exhibition
  • Sponsors
  • Donate