What is Stoke’s Law?

Stoke’s Law is an equation that expresses the velocity of small spherical particles in a fluid medium. The law is established by taking into account the forces acting on a certain particle as it falls through a liquid column under the influence of gravity. 

Stoke’s Law Definition

Stokes Law state that, “There is a drag force working on the spherical body which is following in a column and the upward drag force on the body ultimately equals the gravitational force then the body drops with a constant velocity.”

The force that retards a sphere passing through a viscous fluid is directly proportional to the sphere’s velocity, radius, and fluid viscosity. Sir George G. Stokes, an English physicist, stated the viscous drag force acts on a body dropping in a liquid, this force is denoted using the letter ‘F’.

Stoke’s Law

Stoke’s Law: Observe a raindrop falling from a height if you look closely you will notice that the speed of all the raindrops is constant and even though it falls from a height under the influence of gravity its velocity seems constant. These questions are answered using Stoke’s law

Stoke’s law was first proposed by the famous English scientist George Gabriel Stokes. This law tells us that the velocity of any object increases gradually when it is dropped in any medium until it reaches a constant velocity then that object proceeds without changing its velocity. 

This article will explore Stoke’s law, its definition, formula, examples, applications, conditions, etc.

Table of Content

  • What is Stoke’s Law?
    • Stoke’s Law Definition
  • Stoke’s Law Mathematical Expression
  • Stokes Law Formula
  • Importance of Stoke’s Law
  • Stoke’s Law Derivation
  • Limitations of Stoke’s Law
    • Negative Density Difference in Stoke’s Equation
    • High Content of Dispersed Solids
    • Dielectric Constant
    • Brownian Movement
  • Conditions for Stoke’s Law
  • Stoke’s Law Applications
    • Velocity of Raindrops
    • Parachute
  • Terminal Velocity
  • Terminal Velocity Formula
  • Stoke’s Law Examples

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What is Stoke’s Law?

Stoke’s Law is an equation that expresses the velocity of small spherical particles in a fluid medium. The law is established by taking into account the forces acting on a certain particle as it falls through a liquid column under the influence of gravity....

Stoke’s Law Mathematical Expression

In Stokes’s law, the drag force F acting upward in resistance to the fall is equal to 6πrηv, in which r is the radius of the sphere, η is the viscosity of the liquid, and v is the velocity of the fall....

Stokes Law Formula

Stokes’s law gives us a mathematical equation that tells us about the drag force acting on a spherical particle when passing through a liquid under the influence of gravity. Stokes Law Formula is stated as,...

Importance of Stoke’s Law

Following are the importance of Stoke’s Law:...

Stoke’s Law Derivation

The viscous force acting on a sphere is directly proportional to the following factors:...

Limitations of Stoke’s Law

Various limitations of Stoke’s Law are discussed below in the article,...

Conditions for Stoke’s Law

Conditions under which Stoke’s Law is valid are,...

Stoke’s Law Applications

Velocity of Raindrops...

Terminal Velocity

When a body falls through a viscous fluid, it produces relative motion between its different layers. As a result, the body experiences a viscous force that tends to retard its motion. As the velocity of the body increase, the viscous force (F = 6 π η r v) also increases. A stage is reached when the weight of the body becomes just equal to the sum of the upthrust and viscous force. Then no net force acts on the body, and it begins to move with a constant velocity. So, here comes the concept of Terminal Velocity....

Terminal Velocity Formula

The formula for terminal velocity (vt) is,...

Stoke’s Law Examples

Example 1: A raindrop of radius 0.3 mm falls through the air with a terminal velocity of 1 m/s. The viscosity of air is 18 × 10-5 Poise. Find the viscous force on the raindrop....

Summary – Stoke’s Law

Stoke’s Law is like a guidebook explaining why objects like raindrops fall at a steady speed instead of speeding up non-stop. Proposed by George Gabriel Stokes, this law dives into the world where tiny spherical objects slow dance with fluids, revealing why they eventually settle into a graceful, constant descent. Picture a raindrop tumbling down, initially picking up speed due to gravity’s pull....

Stokes law – FAQs

Define Stoke’s Law...