The resistance should be linear with velocity (neglecting a dozen confounding factors).
I have a toy that’s simliar to this. I have a copper tube just big enough to pass a steel ball. I also have a rare earth magnet the same size as the steel ball. I let people take turns putting the two balls through the tube. The steel ball just drops through. The magnet takes several seconds. People usually think there’s some trick to it, so I hand them the parts and let them play with it. It’s not magic, it’s science.
