what is the peak of human speed

[Abreu]

i have noticed that in movies and anime people are always able to dash at incredible speed and they doge to amazing distances then i got curious how fast can human go without machines ?

Edited July 1, 2011 by Abreu

[rktpro]

Usain Bolt has reached the maximum speed a human can achieve i.e 27.3 miles/hour.

[Uncomplicated Scientist]

Technically a human can reach up to something like 200 miles/hr reaching terminal velocity, but actually running, not as fast. Maybe if we could master the use of those anime speed lines, then we'd be set.

[Stefan-CoA]

I think about 15m/s if you go by how fast nerves conduct signals.

[TonyMcC]

An interesting thing to me is how you might respond to increased speed of brain and muscle activity under critical conditions. Can you become a sort of superman for a short period if your brain decides that is necessary to conserve your life. It happened to me when I had to land a glider in a narrow field and collided with power cables (which are just about invisible from the air). The whole world seemed to go into slow motion for me. I had plenty of time to realise what was happening in the next, what must have been a very few, seconds. I changed my mind at least twice as immediately after realising what I had hit I let go of the controls and lifted my feet clear of the rudder bar. As the glider started to dip and slew I worked out that being in the air was my best bet and that electrocution was unlikely, so I got back on the controls, the glider responded. I levelled the glider about 3 feet above the ground, looked left and right to see if a snapped cable was coming with me and it wasn't so I made a normal landing. As I say everything described seemed to take ages. Obviously the world did not go into slow motion so my brain activity and physical movements must have working overtime!

[Maximus Semprus Veridius]

The point above reminded me of something I read (possibly in New Scientist) about how the adrenaline decreases reaction time so much so that people think things are going in slow motion. So i suppose it is possible to conduct a cruel and devious experiment, luring Usain Bolt with some chicken nuggets onto a race track, then unleashing a tiger to chase him. I think we'd have another world record!!

 

But seriously they found fossils of "ancient people" in africa i think they were either H.sapiens or H. somethingelsethatican'tquiterecall. These fossils weren't of organic material, but instead they were footprints. The clever physics people could measure the force of downward pressure and the distance between each footprint and measure the speed that these runners were moving at. I think it was around 25 mph if i remember correctly. Now we have to concede defeat to the great Usain Bolt because he actually ran faster, BUT these ancient people haven't the same amount of training as USain Bolt, I highly doubt that their diet and life style was in any way complementary to being able to run faster and also the footprints were meansured in many different locations through-out africa, implying that many different individuals had this ability to run really fast, as opposed to just Usain Bolt outcalssing the world. Put one of these ancient africans in Usain Bolt's nice spiked running shoes and give him Usain Bolt's diet I think they would easily out-run him. But are these "humans"? I don't know!

Edited July 8, 2011 by Maximus Semprus Veridius

[Ophiolite]

The clever physics people could measure the force of downward pressure and the distance between each footprint and measure the speed that these runners were moving at. I think it was around 25 mph if i remember correctly.

Could you provide a citation for this please.

[Maximus Semprus Veridius]

Could you provide a citation for this please.

 

Unfortunately, no.

I remember the article well, just not the magazine name... sounds fishy i know!