Potential energy: so I guess one form of potential energy would be using mass and gravity and height. Question, in the real world if you take a ball up to 50' and drop it at some point it would reach terminal velocity. Then say you take it up to 2000' and drop it it, it would reach that same veocity and the energy that it would have would be the same when it impacted the ground. If you take it up to say 200,000' and drop it it would go much quicker with out all that pesky air resistance right. Then it would slow down and still hit with the same energy as at 50'. Is that right or am I way off? say though you observed the ball at 100,000' and the ball was dropped from 200,000' the ball could pass you going oh I don't know mach 1. Is there a formula that takes drag into account, would it even be worth it to incorperate a formula thats uses air temp. and pressure? Is that all even needed?