Speed. That five letter word that endlessly fascinates the human spirit. That word that inspires awe and lurks somewhere behind every technological innovation. It’s not just how well but also how fast. Ability is often judged on that even in the boardroom. Why! the very basis of computing evolution is premised on speed. So also are advances in transportation.
Speed connotes breath-taking abilities. No wonder it is the stuff of movie buffs as well. Remember Keanu Reeves et al some years back in the movie “Speed”? Okay granted your memories have been dimmed by the effluxion of time, but this trailer should remind you.
The best transport policies are those that create the enabling environment to move people and things from one point to another in the most convenient manner and in the fastest or most efficient way. Thus at the very heart of transportation lies speed and convenience.
The Olympics fever is on right now and the fastest race on the planet, the 100 m men’s finals was on with a vengeance last night. The plot and sub plots leading to the finals were entertaining in their own right. So also where the participants. Suffice it to say that the actual race was quite a spectacle. I aim to please. So here you go. Enjoy this full video recap of the 100 m race.
For readers of this blog who have been wondering where they can stay in touch with all the action of the Olympics, just go here. It’s the YouTube live channel dedicated to live broadcasts of the Olympic. You can actually watch the Olympics live from your device anywhere in the world by going there.
Since he started his career in 2001, Usain Bolt has won a record 28 Gold medals across major competitions and still counting. If yesterday was anything to go by, he could well add to that haul before the end of the 2012 London Olympics.
The current 100 metres world record held by Bolt is 9:58s. That is simply mind blowing. But three years ago on the 17th of May 2009, in the 150 m race at Manchester, United Kingdom, Bolt ran a 14.35s world best time. But that is not what I am getting at. The man who just yesterday in London smashed the Olympic record in his 9:63s run, in that 2009 (150 m) race, ran the last 100 m in 8.70s, the fastest ever recorded time over a 100 m distance. This would equal an average speed of 41.38 km/h. Waoh!
It got me thinking (as usual 
In other words just for fun where is he (and of course little we!) on the totem pole in terms of speed?
Let’s find out.
| Selected Speeds (Slowest to Fastest) | |||
| m/s | km/h | device, event, phenomena, process | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10−9 ~ 10−8 | continental plates, fingernail growth, hair growth | ||
| 10−4 | human sperm cells | ||
| 10−3 | snails | ||
| 0.013 | 0.045 | ketchup pouring from a bottle | |
| 10−1 | sloths, tortoises, turtles | ||
| 0.5–1.3 | 1.9–4.6 | cockroaches | |
| 1 | 3.6 | nerve impulses, unmyelinated cells | |
| 1 | 3.6 | ocean currents | |
| 1.14 | 4.10 | manatees | |
| 1.3 | 4.8 | human, typical walking pace | |
| 2.391 | 8.608 | fastest human: swimming (César Cielo) | |
| 8 | 30 | maximum comfortable elevator speed | |
| 10 | 40 | dolphins, porpoises, whales | |
| 10 | 40 | falling raindrops | |
| 10.438 | 37.578 | fastest human: running (Usain Bolt) | |
| 12 | 43 | stadium wave | |
| 14.693 | 52.894 | fastest human: ice skating (Jeremy Wotherspoon) | |
| 18 | 64 | champagne cork | |
| 20 | 70 | rabbits, hares, horses, greyhounds, tuna, sharks | |
| 30 | 100 | typical freeway speed limit | |
| 33 | 118 | cheetahs | |
| 36.805 | 132.50 | fastest human: cycling (Sam Whittingham) | |
| 40 | 140 | falling hailstones | |
| 33–83 | 120–300 | hurricane, maximum sustained wind speed | |
| 30–90 | 105–330 | tornado, maximum sustained wind speed | |
| 46.03 | 165.7 | fastest human: baseball pitch (Joel Zumaya) | |
| 55 | 200 | typical terminal velocity of a skydiver | |
| 69.31 | 249.5 | fastest human: tennis serve (Andy Roddick) | |
| 69.833 | 251.400 | fastest human: skiing (Simone Origone) | |
| 80 | 290 | peregrine falcon in a dive | |
| 83 | 295 | very fast golf ball | |
| 100 | 360 | nerve impulses, myelinated cells | |
| 114 | 412/431 |
| |
| 142.89 | 511.11 | fastest ship (Spirit of Australia) | |
| 148.463 | 534.467 | fastest motorcycle (Fueling Advanced Technologies) | |
| 159.7 | 574.8 | fastest train (Train à Grande Vitesse) | |
| 180–1200 | 650–4,400 | bullets | |
| 200 | 700 | tsunami | |
| 250 | 900 | commercial jet airplane | |
| 274 | 988 | fastest human: skydiving (Joseph Kittinger) | |
| 331 | 1,190 | speed of sound, STP | |
| 340 | 1,225 | speed of sound, sea level | |
| 341.112 | 1,228.02 | fastest experimental car (Thrust SSC. first car to officially break the sound barrier!) | |
| 343 | 1,235 | speed of sound at room temperature | |
| 980.433 | 3,529.56 | fastest airplane (SR-71 Blackbird) | |
| 1,500 | 5,400 | speed of sound in water | |
| 2,000 | 6,000 | seismic waves | |
| 6,900 | 25,000 | detonation velocity of TNT | |
| 8,000 | 29,000 | space shuttle in orbit | |
| 11,180 | 40,250 | escape velocity | |
| 15,543 | 56,000 | Voyager 2 space probe | |
| 17,100 | 61,600 | Voyager 1 space probe | |
| 29,790 | 107,200 | earth in orbit | |
| 220,000 | 790,000 | sun moving through the milky way | |
| 250,000 | 900,000 | solar wind near earth | |
| 600,000 | 2,200,000 | milky way through the local super group | |
| 124,000,000 | 446,000,000 | speed of light in diamond | |
| 299 792 369 | 1,079,252,530 | protons and antiprotons in the Tevatron, Fermilab | |
| 299,792,458 | 1,079,252,850 | speed of light in a vacuum | |
Since I am utterly obsessed with all things pertaining to the sea, air, land and poetry (isn’t that basically everything?
So there you are, today’s post is a wrap!
Oh common you didn’t think I would let you go without a music vid, did you? I ain’t that mean.
Bolt is Jamaican. I am eclectic. You all wish you could move with the speed of light. This blog is currently based in Asia. So what better video encompasses all four? What better band than one whose music themes run through electronica, rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments and acknowledging a punk influence?
The decidedly ragga jive of this one by Asia Dub Foundation is my tribute to Bolt. While humanity is still light years away from running at the speed of light, many people already live at the speed of light which is not necessarily a good thing!
“There's a devil on my shoulder making me dance
There's a spring in my step up to heavy hearts
Appointments and deadlines sprout up like weeds
Can't tell what I want from what I need
Find a place in my head that's less wrong than right
No more living, living at the speed of light”
Check out the full lyrics here, but not before you tap your legs to the video!
Au revoir!
