What's the velocity of a Lightning Bolt in a vacuum?
Doh! Trick question eh? Lightning can't travel through a vacuum!
Boffins calculate true speed of 'Lightning' Bolt
Physicists at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics at the University of Oslo have applied themselves to that most pressing of matters - how fast might Usain Bolt have run the 100m at the Beijing Olympics if he hadn't already been celebrating as he crossed the finishing line? As history records, "Lightning" Bolt broke the …
-
Thursday 11th September 2008 14:44 GMT Brian Miller
Lightning in vacuum
Even if we regard lightning simply as an electrical arc, which CAN exist in a vacuum, as opposed to the classic lightning generated by moving AIR AND WATER VAPOUR (required). Asking what the velocity is truly stumps the answerer. Velocity is a vector measurement which can only confuse things. To cap it all off you haven't been specific as to whether you are looking for the maximum, minimum or average speed.
So in all honesty I CAN give you an accurate velocity. 0 m/s @ 0-2pi rads in x,y and z.
Where this is the minimum value @ t=0.
Someone else can fill in the blanks. I win.
-
-
This post has been deleted by its author
-
Thursday 11th September 2008 19:56 GMT DrewHew
@ Damn Yank
I'm really tired of you American Asses!!!
I'm a Jamaican and I had really grown tired of your Tim Mongomery's, Gatlins and Carl Lewises (all of whom HAVE failed drug tests at some time or another) beating their chests and making their proclamations - knowing full well they were pumped up on enough steroids to kill a cow! (Carl Lewis, for the record, was caught by USADA on many occasions, but this information was never passed on to WADA). Then comes a breath of fresh air - a naturally talented Jamaican, who celebrates his win with the 'nuh linga' - ever heard of it?? That's right you ass, you don't know what he was doing because you don't know our culture!!!
'Nuh linga' is the name of one of MANY dances that have evolved from the dancehall genre in Jamaica, and as opposed to disrespecting anyone, Bolt was actually celebrating his victories in our truly unique Jamaican way.
Americans on the other hand constantly disrespected other athletes with their bluster and arrogance, yet noticeably, now that there is SIGNIFICANTLY MORE drug testing (as well as a test for HGH, which previously went unchecked), the very same Americans are no longer dominant in track and field. Years of cheating denied Merlene Ottey and Raymond Stewart (if you don't know them it's because they always had to settle for 2nd or 3rd behind the likes of FloJo and Carl Lewis), and now - finally- with a level playing field, we can be denied NO MORE.
Your hypocrisy is irritating beyond measure - "oh it's OK if our boys celebrate, even if they go over the top, but how dare this Jamaican enjoy his world record breaking, and history making (had to put those in there) victories???".
Yow, tek wey yuself yankee bwoy!!!
Jamaica to di worlllll!!!!!!
-
Thursday 11th September 2008 23:44 GMT eryn
relax
hey, i don't read any disrespect here, from what i make of it, they just expressing their dissapointment that bolt had the opportunity to smash the record, and he missed it because he wasn't focused for the race properly. do you think he'll be just as fast in 4years time?
this was a missed opportunity....
-
Friday 12th September 2008 08:52 GMT DrewHew
@ Eryn
Eryn, that comment was aimed at another commenter, "Damn Yank" (quite apropos). Also, Bolt didn't lose focus - he made a statement!
The fact that we are talking about that particular race now, and probably will be in London 2012, speaks to the dramatic statement made by his actions. Can you tell me (without checking 'the Google') who won the male 100m race at the 2005 World Championships, or the Sydney Olympics, for that matter? Thought not :)
Further, he already HAD the record, and stated that breaking it again was not his objective - some spectators are disappointed by not seeing a lower mark, but I think that's just them wanting to satisfy their own desires, Bolt was out to win Olympic Gold, which still means a great deal to some athletes, and certainly to our nation.
This was NO missed opportunity.
-
Friday 12th September 2008 10:06 GMT Anonymous Coward
Maybe the fastest... maybe not
It's amusing to notice how little real progress there has been in sprint times since the 1950s. Of course, you have to factor in the appearance of synthetic tracks - the one in Beijing looked almost like carpet - which are much faster than the cinder tracks of the 1950s and 1960s. The new surfaces, and the special spikes that get the best out of them, may well give a 100 metre sprinter up to 0.5 second advantage over the men of old like Jesse Owens (who, let's also remember, started from actual pits that he himself dug in the track, not from nice solid blocks).
Nevertheless, Owens ran the 100 yards in 9.4 in 1935 - equivalent to 10.3 for 100 metres. Applying that 0.5 second correction, his time would be worth something like 9.8 today. In other words, he would be about as good as anyone except Bolt.
Now let's consider someone even faster than Owens, who ran under similarly poor conditions. I refer to Bob Hayes, Olympic 100 metre gold medallist at Tokyo in 1964. He ran 10.0, in borrowed shoes, in the inside lane of a cinder track that had been heavily rained on, and also chewed up by the previous day's 10,000 metre race. His winning margin was nearly as big as Bolt's in Beijing, and his 10.0 on cinders should be worth around 9.5 on a modern synthetic track.
In the relay at Tokyo Hayes ran the anchor leg in a hand-timed 8.5, compared to Asafa Powell's 8.7 for the corresponding leg in Beijing. He was also said to have run a 100-yard relay leg in 7.8, equivalent to 8.7 for 100 metres. For my money, Hayes was definitely in the same class as Bolt and Michael Johnson.
This topic is closed for new posts.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
