falling spider

[lauriemac]

if you throw a spider out of a 4th floor window, will it survive the fall?

[Clanad]

Depends on the mass of the spider and its ratio to the surface area of its body which, in turn, produces a ratio that determines its air resistance. A smaller spider (or any insect) could survive a fall from many thousands of feet, whereas a South American tarantula probably wouldn't survive your example of a fourth floor window heigth.
An example from Straight Dope involves an insect that is 0.002 meters tall, 0.002 meters wide, and 0.006 meters long and weighs 0.00002 kilograms. He therefore has a surface area of 0.000056 square meters and a mass:surface area ratio of 0.36. This is low enough, compared to air resistance to survive any fall...

[Teddio]

The aerodynamic drag force on the spider will equal its weight at a relatively low speed. Thus its terminal velocity will be quite low and it is unlikely that the average British spider will suffer any serious injury if dropped fron any floor. Spiders silly enough to roll their bodies into a ball however are likely to come a cropper !

[heathfield]

Spiders are soft-bodied creatures, and for those who care about them, aerodynamics or not, the advice is never to just throw them out of a window.

[wildwood]

mk