If superpowers were real: Super speed - Joy Lin
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0:15 - 0:18Some superheros can move
faster than the wind. -
0:19 - 0:20The men in Apollo 10 reached
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0:20 - 0:22a record-breaking speed
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0:22 - 0:24of around 25,000 miles per hour
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0:24 - 0:26when the shuttle re-entered
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0:26 - 0:28the Earth's atmosphere in 1969.
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0:28 - 0:30Wouldn't we save a lot of time
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0:30 - 0:32to be able to move that fast?
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0:32 - 0:35But what's the catch?
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0:35 - 0:37Air is not empty.
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0:37 - 0:39Elements like oxygen and nitrogen,
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0:39 - 0:40even countless dust particles,
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0:40 - 0:42make up the air around us.
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0:45 - 0:47When we move past these things in the air,
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0:47 - 0:48we're rubbing against them
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0:48 - 0:50and creating a lot of friction,
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0:50 - 0:51which results in heat.
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0:51 - 0:54Just like rubbing your hands
together warms them up -
0:54 - 0:56or rubbing two sticks together makes fire,
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0:56 - 0:57the faster objects rub together,
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0:58 - 1:00the more heat is generated.
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1:01 - 1:04So, if we're running
at 25,000 miles per hour, -
1:04 - 1:08the heat from friction
would burn our faces off. -
1:10 - 1:11Even if we somehow withstood the heat,
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1:11 - 1:13the sand and dirt in the air
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1:13 - 1:14would still scrape us up
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1:14 - 1:16with millions of tiny cuts
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1:16 - 1:18all happening at the same time.
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1:19 - 1:22Ever seen the front bumper
or grill of a truck? -
1:22 - 1:24What do you think all the birds
and bugs would do -
1:24 - 1:28to your open eyes or exposed skin?
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1:32 - 1:34Okay, so you'll wear a mask
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1:34 - 1:35to avoid destroying your face.
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1:35 - 1:37But what about people in buildings
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1:37 - 1:39between you and your destination?
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1:39 - 1:42It takes us approximately
one-fifth of a second -
1:42 - 1:43to react to what we see.
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1:43 - 1:45By the time we see what is ahead of us
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1:45 - 1:46and react to it -
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1:46 - 1:48time times velocity equals distance
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1:48 - 1:49equals one-fifth of a second
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1:49 - 1:50times 25,000 miles per hour
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1:50 - 1:52equals 1.4 miles
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1:52 - 1:53- we would have gone past it
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1:53 - 1:56or through it by over a mile.
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1:56 - 1:58We're either going to kill ourselves
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1:58 - 2:00by crashing into the nearest
wall at super speed -
2:00 - 2:03or, worse, if we're indestructible,
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2:03 - 2:05we've essentially turned
our bodies into missiles -
2:05 - 2:08that destroy everything in our path.
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2:08 - 2:11So, long distance travel
at 25,000 miles per hour -
2:11 - 2:13would leave us burning up,
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2:13 - 2:14covered in bugs,
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2:14 - 2:17and leaves no time to react.
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2:17 - 2:18What about short bursts
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2:18 - 2:19to a location we can see
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2:19 - 2:21with no obstacles in between?
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2:21 - 2:22Okay, let's say a bullet
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2:22 - 2:27is about to hit a beautiful
damsel in distress. -
2:27 - 2:29So, our hero swoops in at super speed,
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2:29 - 2:30grabs her,
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2:30 - 2:32and carries her to safety.
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2:32 - 2:34That sounds very romantic,
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2:34 - 2:37but, in reality, that girl
will probably suffer -
2:37 - 2:39more damage from the hero than the bullet
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2:39 - 2:40if he moved her at super speed.
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2:40 - 2:45Newton's First Law of Motion
deals with inertia, -
2:45 - 2:46which is the resistance to a change
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2:46 - 2:48in its state of motion.
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2:48 - 2:50So, an object will continue moving
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2:50 - 2:51or staying at the same place
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2:51 - 2:53unless something changes it.
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2:53 - 2:57Acceleration is the rate
the velocity changes over time. -
2:57 - 2:58When the girl at rest,
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2:59 - 3:00velocity equals zero miles per hour,
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3:00 - 3:03begins accelerating to reach
the speed within seconds, -
3:03 - 3:04velocity increases rapidly
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3:04 - 3:07to 25,000 miles per hour,
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3:07 - 3:10her brain would crash
into the side of her skull. -
3:10 - 3:12And, when she stops suddenly,
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3:12 - 3:15velocity decreases rapidly
back to zero miles per hour, -
3:15 - 3:18her brain would crash
into the other side of her skull, -
3:18 - 3:22turning her brain into mush.
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3:22 - 3:26The brain is too fragile
to handle the sudden movement. -
3:26 - 3:28So is every part of her
body, for that matter. -
3:28 - 3:30Remember, it's not the speed
that causes the damage -
3:30 - 3:33because the astronauts survived Apollo 10,
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3:33 - 3:34it's the acceleration
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3:34 - 3:36or sudden stop
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3:36 - 3:37that causes our internal organs
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3:37 - 3:39to crash into the front of our bodies
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3:39 - 3:41the way we move forward in a bus
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3:41 - 3:43when the driver slams on the brakes.
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3:43 - 3:45What the hero did to the girl
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3:45 - 3:47is mathematically the same
as running her over -
3:48 - 3:51with a space shuttle at maximum speed.
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3:51 - 3:54She probably died instantly
at the point of impact. -
3:54 - 3:56He's going to owe this poor
girl's family an apology -
3:56 - 3:59and a big fat compensation check.
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3:59 - 4:02Oh, and possibly face jail time.
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4:02 - 4:04Doctors have to carry liability insurance
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4:04 - 4:07just in case they make a mistake
and hurt their patients. -
4:07 - 4:11I wonder how much superhero
insurance policy would cost. -
4:12 - 4:14Now, which superpower physics lesson
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4:14 - 4:17will you explore next?
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4:17 - 4:21Shifting body size and content,
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4:21 - 4:23super speed,
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4:23 - 4:24flight,
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4:24 - 4:27super strength,
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4:27 - 4:30immortality,
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4:30 - 4:32and
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4:32 - 4:34invisibility.
- Title:
- If superpowers were real: Super speed - Joy Lin
- Speaker:
- Joy Lin
- Description:
-
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/if-superpowers-were-real-super-speed-joy-lin
What if super speed wasn't just the stuff of epic comic book stories? Is it scientifically possible to be super speedy? In this series, Joy Lin tackles six superpowers and reveals just how scientifically realistic they can be to us mere mortals.
Lesson by Joy Lin, animation by Cognitive Media.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:51
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Dimitra Papageorgiou edited English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Elisabeth Buffard approved English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Leonardo Silva accepted English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Jessica Ruby approved English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed | ||
Jessica Ruby accepted English subtitles for If superpowers were real: Super speed |