I don't think we call it a wind, because it's not a wind if the air is hitting you, because the car is moving at a high speed. Is there a specific word for stagnant air (doesn't have to be stagnant since there can be a little wind in there too) that rushes into the car, because you are driving at a high speed?
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7on the highway, not in.– LambieCommented Mar 13, 2019 at 0:18
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4For boats and aircraft, where the distinction between 'air moving on its own' and 'vehicle moving relative to air' is important, this is called apparent (vs true) wind. For land vehicles the difference usually doesn't matter.– dave_thompson_085Commented Mar 13, 2019 at 5:25
3 Answers
In America, we call it wind. For example, there are song lyrics about riding in a car (or maybe on a motorcycle) with the "wind in my hair."
This is also part of why the front glass on an American car or motorcycle is called a "windshield".
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3And In many parts of the world, that windshield is called windscreen. Even outside America wind should do. Commented Mar 13, 2019 at 6:38
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1If it's low velocity, we might call it a breeze; indeed, in French, a windshield is called pare-brise, "brise" being "breeze". But that's mincing; breeze is wind.– CCTOCommented Dec 30, 2020 at 21:05
While most people would call that rushing breeze "wind", there is a technical term for it as well. The non-physics term is wind buffeting and the term physicists use is Helmholtz resonance.
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OP's query:
Is there a specific word for stagnant air (doesn't have to be stagnant since there can be a little wind in there too) that rushes into the car, because you are driving at a high speed?
There is a different word (not wind) for the opposite force that acts against a body moving in a fluid. It is called a "drag". Now scientists have designed special swimsuits are designed for reducing the drag for swimmers (banned in competitions)
Ref. Cambridge dictionary
drag noun (PULL).
[ S or U ] physics, engineering specialized.
the force that acts against the forward movement of something that is passing through a gas or a liquid:
Engineers are always looking for ways to minimize drag when they design new aircraft.