THE MAXIMUM SPEED HUMANS CAN SURVIVE

The fastest individual on Earth effortlessly makes rapid movement appear effortless. The current speed record for humans is just over 27 miles per hour, achieved briefly by Sprinter Hussein Bolt during the halfway point of his world record 100-meter dash. Humans have the potential to reach even higher speeds, limited only by the quickness of our muscle movements. In theory, our muscles could reach speeds up to 40 miles per hour. However, the reason we cannot achieve this is due to the amount of time we spend in the air, which restricts the force our limbs can exert upon impact with the ground. This is why someone on skates can outpace a runner, as gliding allows for increased traction and therefore greater speed. If humans had longer legs, wider hips, or additional limbs like insects, we could potentially achieve even faster speeds, especially if we were able to run on all fours. In 2016, speed records were not only broken on the running track, but also on the ski slopes in France. The world record for downhill skiing belongs to an Italian ski instructor and mountain guide who, assisted solely by gravity, achieved a speed of approximately 158 miles per hour while skiing across the Zone near the bottom of a course in just over two seconds. Personally, I struggle to maintain balance on skis, let alone move at half that speed. To put it into perspective, the fastest a tiger beetle can sprint is up to five miles per hour, which may not initially seem impressive. However, when considering that it covers 120 of its body lengths in a single second, it becomes quite remarkable. In comparison, Bolt covers about six body lengths per second. To match the speed of the beetle, Bolt would have to run at approximately 480 miles per hour, which is twice as fast as a peregrine falcon. Tiger beetles have incredibly sharp eyesight for insects, but while running, their surroundings become a blurry smudge. This means that the beetle must periodically stop to assess its path and determine where it is going. Despite this, they remain remarkably fast. The speed of a mite is equivalent to a human running at approximately 1300 miles per hour at its fastest. This tiny mite, comparable in size to a sesame seed, can cover 322 body lengths per second. Have you ever contemplated how quickly a light bulb illuminates? Well, you couldn't possibly catch it in time—it appears instantaneous. Consider, for a moment, attempting to click a stopwatch at the exact moment a finger snap occurs. It happens within the blink of an eye. Oops, I misspoke—can you provide the sound of a finger snap? Light travels at an astonishing speed. For example, during a storm, you will see lightning before hearing the crack of thunder. The light from the bolt races towards your eyes and swiftly reaches your brain for you to process, all while the sound wave from the thunder is still making its way to your ears. It will eventually arrive, but it requires time. By the way, thunder is not the result of storm clouds colliding; it stems from the same lightning bolt as it hurtles towards the ground, creating a rip in its path. The Earth's rotation is increasing. Scientists are unsure why. If the Earth sped up by one mile per hour, the day would only shorten by about a minute and a half. We wouldn't really notice the change. the human bodies are adjusted to a 24-hour timing hence a struggle to adapt to the faster spin. The Earth's rotation keeps the weather consistent.