If superpowers were real: Super speed - Joy Lin
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0:14 - 0:18Some superheros can move faster than the wind.
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0:18 - 0:20The men in Apollo 10 reached
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0:20 - 0:21a record-breaking speed
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0:21 - 0:24of around 25,000 miles per hour
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0:24 - 0:25when the shuttle re-entered
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0:25 - 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 - 0:34But what's the catch?
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0:34 - 0:36Air is not empty.
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0:36 - 0:38Elements like oxygen and nitrogen,
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0:38 - 0:40even countless dust particles,
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0:40 - 0:42make up the air around us.
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0:44 - 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 - 0:49and creating a lot of friction,
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0:49 - 0:51which results in heat.
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0:51 - 0:53Just like rubbing your hands together warms them up
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0:53 - 0:55or rubbing two sticks together makes fire,
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0:55 - 0:57the faster objects rub together,
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0:57 - 0:59the more heat is generated.
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1:01 - 1:04So, if we're running at 25,000 miles per hour,
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1:04 - 1:08the heat from friction would burn our faces off.
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1:09 - 1:11Even if we somehow withstood the heat,
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1:11 - 1:12the sand and dirt in the air
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1:12 - 1:14would still scrape us up
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1:14 - 1:15with millions of tiny cuts
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1:15 - 1:17all happening at the same time.
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1:19 - 1:22Ever seen the front bumper or grill of a truck?
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1:22 - 1:23What do you think all the birds and bugs would do
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1:23 - 1:27to your open eyes or exposed skin?
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1:31 - 1:33Okay, so you'll wear a mask
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1:33 - 1:35to avoid destroying your face.
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1:35 - 1:36But what about people in buildings
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1:36 - 1:39between you and your destination?
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1:39 - 1:41It takes us approximately one-fifth of a second
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1:41 - 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 - 1:47time times velocity equals distance
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1:47 - 1:48equals one-fifth of a second
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1:48 - 1:50times 25,000 miles per hour
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1:50 - 1:51equals 1.4 miles
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1:51 - 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 - 1:57We're either going to kill ourselves
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1:57 - 2:00by crashing into the nearest wall at super speed
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2:00 - 2:02or, worse, if we're indestructible,
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2:02 - 2:04we've essentially turned our bodies into missiles
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2:04 - 2:08that destroy everything in our path.
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2:08 - 2:11So, long distance travel at 25,000 miles per hour
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2:11 - 2:12would leave us burning up,
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2:12 - 2:13covered in bugs,
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2:13 - 2:16and leaves no time to react.
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2:16 - 2:17What about short bursts
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2:17 - 2:18to a location we can see
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2:18 - 2:20with no obstacles in between?
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2:20 - 2:22Okay, let's say a bullet
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2:22 - 2:26is about to hit a beautiful damsel in distress.
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2:26 - 2:28So, our hero swoops in at super speed,
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2:28 - 2:29grabs her,
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2:29 - 2:32and carries her to safety.
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2:32 - 2:34That sounds very romantic,
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2:34 - 2:36but, in reality, that girl will probably suffer
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2:36 - 2:38more damage from the hero than the bullet
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2:38 - 2:40if he moved her at super speed.
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2:40 - 2:44Newton's First Law of Motion deals with inertia,
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2:44 - 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 - 2:49So, an object will continue moving
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2:49 - 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.
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2:57 - 2:58When the girl at rest,
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2:58 - 3:00velocity equals zero miles per hour,
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3:00 - 3:02begins accelerating to reach the speed within seconds,
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3:02 - 3:04velocity increases rapidly
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3:04 - 3:06to 25,000 miles per hour,
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3:06 - 3:09her brain would crash into the side of her skull.
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3:09 - 3:12And, when she stops suddenly,
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3:12 - 3:14velocity decreases rapidly back to zero miles per hour,
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3:14 - 3:17her brain would crash into the other side of her skull,
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3:17 - 3:22turning her brain into mush.
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3:22 - 3:25The brain is too fragile to handle the sudden movement.
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3:25 - 3:27So is every part of her body, for that matter.
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3:27 - 3:30Remember, it's not the speed that causes the damage
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3:30 - 3:32because the astronauts survived Apollo 10,
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3:32 - 3:34it's the acceleration
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3:34 - 3:35or sudden stop
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3:35 - 3:37that causes our internal organs
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3:37 - 3:38to crash into the front of our bodies
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3:38 - 3:40the way we move forward in a bus
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3:40 - 3:42when 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
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3:47 - 3:50with a space shuttle at maximum speed.
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3:50 - 3:53She probably died instantly at the point of impact.
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3:53 - 3:56He's going to owe this poor girl's family an apology
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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 - 4:06just in case they make a mistake and hurt their patients.
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4:06 - 4:10I wonder how much superhero insurance policy would cost.
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4:11 - 4:14Now, which superpower physics lesson
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4:14 - 4:16will you explore next?
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4:16 - 4:21Shifting body size and content,
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4:21 - 4:22super speed,
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4:22 - 4:24flight,
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4:24 - 4:27super strength,
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4:27 - 4:29immortality,
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4:29 - 4:31and
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4:31 - 4:34invisibility.
- Title:
- If superpowers were real: Super speed - Joy Lin
- Speaker:
- Joy Lin
- Description:
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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 |