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Photo: FungiFriendlyGarden snail
1.3 cm/scrosses in 12m 49s
A snail would need almost 13 minutes to cross your screen.
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HomeSpeed of
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Photo: FungiFriendly
Photo: Michelle Reback
Photo: Bernard Gagnon
Photo: Ben Aveling
Photo: Library of Congress
Photo: Eadweard Muybridge.jpg?width=560)
Photo: Eric Kilby.jpg?width=560)
Photo: Caleb Putnam
21 things - slowest to fastest
Speed of
Everything
Every little racer moves at its real speed. Scroll to watch the universe get faster.
0.047 km/h
120 km/h
900 km/h
1.08B km/h
Short range lanes
The Crawlers
Things that make you want to push themThis screen = 10m
Photo: FungiFriendly
Photo: Michelle RebackThree-toed sloth
5.6 cm/scrosses in 2m 59s
Sloths move so slowly that algae grows on their fur.
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Photo: Bernard GagnonGiant tortoise
8.9 cm/scrosses in 1m 52s
Tortoises have outlived dinosaurs at this exact pace.
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Short range lanes
On Foot
Now we're getting somewhereThis screen = 10m
Human walking
5.0 km/hcrosses in 7.14s
About 2,000 steps per mile at this pace.
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Human jogging
10.8 km/hcrosses in 3.33s
A casual jog is 230x faster than a snail.
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Photo: Ben AvelingDomestic cat
48.2 km/hcrosses in 0.75s
Your housecat can briefly outrun every Olympic sprinter.
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Short range lanes
The Sprint
Legs, paws, and pure willThis screen = 100m
Usain Bolt
37.6 km/hcrosses in 9.58s
Bolt's 9.58s 100m record has stood since 2009.
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Photo: Library of CongressGreyhound
64.8 km/hcrosses in 5.56s
Greyhounds accelerate faster than most sports cars.
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Photo: Eadweard MuybridgeHorse gallop
68.4 km/hcrosses in 5.26s
Thoroughbreds hold top speed for only 400 meters.
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Photo: Eric KilbyCheetah
119.9 km/hcrosses in 3.00s
0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds.
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Long range lanes
Machines
Engineering takes overThis screen = 1 km
Football field91mCity block274m1 kmscreen end
Highway car
119.9 km/hcrosses in 30.0s
You cross a football field every 3 seconds.
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Bullet train
349.9 km/hcrosses in 10.3s
Zero fatal derailments in 60 years.
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Formula 1 car
349.9 km/hcrosses in 10.3s
Enough downforce to drive upside down on a ceiling.
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Long range lanes
Breaking Sound
Faster than what you can hearThis screen = 10 km
1 km5 km10 km
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Photo: Caleb PutnamPeregrine falcon
388.8 km/hcrosses in 1m 33s
Fastest animal on Earth, diving at 390 km/h.
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Commercial jet
900.0 km/hcrosses in 40.0s
A 747 burns 4 liters of fuel per second.
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Speed of sound
1,235 km/hcrosses in 29.2s
Thunder is just sound arriving late to the party.
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Rifle bullet
4,320 km/hcrosses in 8.33s
You see the hit before you hear the shot.
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Long range lanes
Cosmic
We're leaving EarthThis screen = 1,000 km
Karman linespace startsISS orbit408 km up1,000 kmscreen end
SR-71 Blackbird
3,535 km/hcrosses in 16m 58s
It flew so fast the airframe expanded inches from heat.
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Space Station
27,576 km/hcrosses in 2m 11s
16 sunrises every single day.
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Earth around the Sun
107,280 km/hcrosses in 33.6s
Right now you're moving at 107,000 km/h.
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And then there is
Light
299,792,458 m/s
Crosses 1 km in 0.0000033 seconds
Light-distance ruler1 km to Andromeda
Earth width12,742 kmMoon384,400 kmSun149.6M kmProxima4.25 light-yearsAndromeda2.54M light-years
Earth width12,742 kmMoon384,400 kmSun149.6M kmProxima4.25 light-yearsAndromeda2.54M light-years
The ruler is logarithmic, because a normal ruler would put Earth, the Moon, and even the Sun in one invisible dot compared with Andromeda.
In the time you blinked (0.3 seconds), light traveled 89,938 km - enough to circle Earth 2.2 times.
Since you opened this page, light has traveled
0 kmNothing is faster. That is a law.
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