L í τ í ñ ≈ ú k ª ╩ L δ \" û# `% }& ( %* ╨* |+ R- ¬. ┴/ ≤0 V2 $4 ▌5 7 ╤8 α9 ╝; â= ²> ┌@ MB 2D [E »F °G √I XM YO εQ S T V ºY \ ] o_ O` ╠a ûb rc ⌠d g 5h φh ┬j Rm Oo ïq gr ╣s iu »w Φy δ{ ╟} ô ü pé jâ @à oç Åè î xì ╬Ä ⌐Å èÉ ô |ò ╟û +HELP -- PLAYBACK SCREEN
< SEE TEXT FILE
HELP -- PLAYBACK SCREEN FUNCTIONS
1. Play a PREVIEW of the movie
2. PLAY the movie
3. SKIP through the Key Frames of the movie
4. Click here, then move the cursor up into the screen and click on a bubble text to go on an INTERACTIVE Knowledge Adventure
5. STOP the movie
6. Experience a SIMULATION
7. Play a GAME
8. EXIT the program
9. Click on an arrow to go one Key Frame BACKWARD or FORWARD
10. Click here to view the KEY FRAMES of all the movie segments. Click again, then press PLAY to begin the movie with your selected frame.
HELP -- REFERENCE SCREEN
< SEE TEXT FILE
HELP -- REFERENCE SCREEN
1. Keep clicking within the PICTURE WINDOW to continue on your Knowledge Adventure.
2. Click on the arrows, which surround the GLOBE, to make it rotate. Move the SLIDER BAR to zoom in/out on the earth. Click on the SHORT BAR to make the globe go to FULL SCREEN. Click on a red dot to explore a 'hot spot'.
3. The buttons on the bottom of the TEXT screen make the page move up/down. Click on a WORD to see the other reference subjects which begin with that letter, then click on that word to continue exploring.
4. Click on an arrow or click and move the SLIDER to the right/left to advance/retreat the speed bar.
5. HELP
6. RE-TRACE to the previous screen
7. GAME menu
8. SIMULATION menu
9. REPEAT narration
10. PRINT text
11. RETURN TO MOVIE
₧PROJECT 1
< SEE TEXT FILE
(SEE MANUAL)
PROJECT 1: Wind Power!
Make a model sailboat to demonstrate how the wind moves boats and ships across the oceans.
1. Find Materials:
a. A piece of thick paper for the sail.
b. A thick wire or wooden rod for the mast.
c. A piece of foam or wood for the body of the boat.
d. A piece of thick tin foil.
e. 2 tacks or pins and a piece of tape to hold the boat together.
f. A bowl or tub of water to test the boat in.
2. Construct your boat:
a. Cut the tin foil into a keel (approx. 2" x 3" rectangle).
b. Cut a slit (0.5") down one end of the rectangle (toward the middle).
c. Bend the two flaps (0.5" x 0.5" each) in opposite directions.
d. Place the flaps on the bottom of the boat and tack them down.
e. Place the boat in the bowl of water and blow at it.
3. Add a sail to make the boat go faster:
a. Cut the thick paper into a sail (approx. 5" tall).
b. Attach the sail to the mast (thick wire or wooden rod) with tape.
c. Push the mast with the sail into the boat.
d. Place the boat back into the bowl of water and blow at it again.
The second boat should have moved faster because it has been powered by the speed of the wind.
`PROJECT 2
< SEE TEXT FILE
(SEE MANUAL)
PROJECT 2: Steam Power
CAUTION: DO NOT TRY THIS WITHOUT THE HELP OF A PARENT OR TEACHER
Make your own steam engine with a boiling tea kettle, a piece of tin and a long wire.
a. Cut the top off of a tin can or cut a 4"-5" circular piece of thick foil.
b. Find the center of the circle and punch a small hole in it.
c. Divide the circle into eight equal parts and cut along each line to within 1/4" of the center.
d. Twist each segment -- now you have a wheel with 8 blades.
e. Attach a piece of wire about 6 inches long (you can even use a straightened paper clip).
f. Put the wire through the pinwheel's center and glue the wire onto the wheel.
g. With the water in the tea kettle boiling, hold the wheel in front of the steam and watch the blades turn. The steam provides enough force to keep the wheel spinning at a rapid speed.
kPROJECT 3
< SEE TEXT FILE
(SEE MANUAL)
PROJECT 3: Clocking Airborne Objects
How fast is a fast ball? Well, with this experiment you can find out the average speed of an airborne object. With a friend to time you, throw a baseball up into the air. When you release the ball, your friend must start the clock, and when the ball hits the ground, your friend stops the clock.
To compute the speed of the ball, see the chart below:
[Seconds in air] [Miles Per Hour]
1 16
2 32
3 48
4 64
5 80
6 96
7PROJECT 4
< SEE TEXT FILE
(SEE MANUAL)
PROJECT 4: Feeling Speed!
CAUTION: MUST BE SUPERVISED BY A TEACHER OR PARENT!
Try an experiment with three volunteers. Have one of the volunteers run in place, another jog in place, and another turn around in a circle. Observe the volunteers carefully and write down ways in which they react to the speed at which they are moving and the kind of motion itself. Observations may include:
a. Changes in heartbeat, temperature, and muscle response.
b. Disorientation (dizziness) and lightheaded sensation.
c. Changes in vision or hearing.
ÅHURRICANES
210 MPH/338 KPH
These whirling, cyclonic storms develop most often in tropical waters. It is the warm water that fuels the storm, causing the updrafts which generate the circular swirling of the winds. In the Atlantic, the storms are called hurricanes. In the Pacific, they are typhoons -- from the Chinese word 'great wind'. The Pacific typhoons are often much more deadly than their Atlantic counterparts because they have so much more ocean over which to develop before striking land.
Once they roar ashore, they dissipate quickly. While the storms themselves may span as much as 1,200 miles, the calm, central eye of the spiral is usually 12 to 60 miles across.
¡TORNADOS
280 MPH/451 KPH
Tornados, like the one that carried Dorothy to Oz, are generated by atmospheric conditions which blend high humidity and the convergence of warm, moist air at low levels, with the cooler dry air up above. It is a frightening sight to see the long, snaking funnel drop from the belly of a cloud mass and wend its way downward. These storms are violent, dangerous and destructive. Tornados over water are called 'waterspouts'.
!SNAIL
.0313MPH/.0504KPH
The very fastest species of land snail, if one can call any snail fast, is the Garden Snail. Two feet is the snail racing equivalent of a four minute mile. A Garden Snail once blazed through this 24-inch course in three minutes, making the animal able to complete a mile in 5 1/2 days.
GIANT TORTOISE
1 MPH/1.6 KPH
Though tortoises may not really be faster than hares...they certainly live longer. The most famous of the giant tortoises live on the Galapagos Islands. They can grow to over four feet in length, weigh in at over 500 pounds, and live for more than 150 years.
eCOCKROACH
3.36 MPH/5.4 KPH
It has been rumored that the cockroaches are immune to radiation and will one day take over the earth! It has also been said that they have been around since the beginning of time. Parts of both rumors are, no doubt...partially true. In fact, the cockroach is one of the fastest moving insects, clocking in at 3.36 MPH -- or 50 body lengths per second.
åARACHNID
10 MPH/16 KPH
In the Middle East and Northern Africa, long legged sun 'spiders' are the fastest arachnids known to man. Resembling a mutant scorpion, they have massive jaws which they use to tear their prey to shreds. To quote a well known joke from the entomologist community, "If they were three feet long, humans would never leave their houses!" These arachnids have a burst capability of 10 MPH.
OBLACK MAMBA SNAKE
12 MPH/19 KPH
Over level ground, the Black Mamba has achieved speeds of up to 12 MPH. A full-grown Mamba can reach 13 feet in length, and there is no doubt that these olive-brown reptiles are deadly. The subject of many terrifying tales, the sight of an angry Mamba, neck reared up, mouth opened in a fanged hiss -- is truly a frightening sight.
#CATTLE
20 MPH/32 KPH
European cattle are thought to be descended from aurochs, a large, wild ox, first domesticated by primitive humans in the Stone Age. Not known for their great intelligence, cattle are bred worldwide for beef, dairy and for use as beasts of burden. The cow, in India, is a sacred animal.
▒ELEPHANT
26 MPH/42 KPH
Long, strong legs don't make an animal faster. Though an elephant may reach 12 feet in height -- it certainly isn't a racer. Weighing in at more than 6 tons, a full-grown elephant has legs like tree trunks. The legs use so much energy supporting the body, that the elephant moves in lumbering strides, averaging 2 1/2 to 8 MPH. It takes a tremendous amount of anger or fear to motivate one of these giants into a 26-MPH charge.
KANGAROO
30 MPH/48 KPH
Massive hind legs and a thickly muscled tail enable the kangaroo to bound across huge expanses of the Australian outback. 30 MPH is not uncommon. The longest recorded jump occurred when, while being pursued, a female red kangaroo made a whopping 42 footer.
âCOTTONTAIL DEER
30 MPH/48 KPH
When the wind carries the scent of danger to its keen nostrils, a quietly grazing deer leaps into action. Exploding into motion, it springs gracefully into the air and bounds forward, racing for safety at speeds of 30 MPH or more.
The deer family has adapted to many places -- from deserts, to swamps, to forests, to the tundra. Deer also live on the continents of Asia and Europe.
εRABBIT
35 MPH/56 KPH
Elmer Fudd, "Yoo hoo, Mr. Wabbit! Come here...I want to be your friend. Heh, heh, heh..."
The rabbit has one means of defense -- its speed! Taking to flight, the rabbit leaves the ground with a tremendous leap, then lays out in a straight line, tucking its hind legs up behind its head. As the rabbit descends, its forepaws strike the ground, one ahead of the other -- an instant later the hind legs touch down on either side of the front legs and rocket the rabbit up for another leap.
ê PRONGHORN ANTELOPE
61 MPH/98 KPH
Over a sustained distance of at least 1,000 yards, the pronghorn antelope is reported to be one of the very fastest land based animal.
Å NOLAN RYAN
100 MPH/161 KPH
The fastest recorded pitcher is Nolan Ryan who, in 1974, while pitching for the California Angels, hurled a 'fast ball' at just over 100 MPH.
║J'AI-ALAI
188 MPH/303 KPH
Of Spanish Basque origin, J'ai-alai is also called 'Pelota'. Teams of singles or doubles hurl a hard rubber ball from a wicker sling that's attached to the player's arm. The ball ricochets off of the walls, traveling at such great velocities that the players are required to wear headgear for their own safety.
The only comparable game ball speed is that of the golf ball, which only achieves a speed of 170 MPH when driven off of a tee.
>HOUSE CAT
30 MPH/48 KPH
We've all heard stories of cat superstitions, especially around the time of Halloween, but the cat wasn't always cast in such a dark role. Domesticated early by the people of Egypt, the cat became a sacred animal because of the cat goddess 'Bast'. In this time, the people of Egypt were forbidden to kill a feline.
COLLIE
30 MPH/48 KPH
A large, agile working dog, the collie was carefully bred in the 17th and 18th century in Scotland. These Scottish sheepdogs were put to work as sheep herders. Not only are they faster than the sheep they herd -- the collie is also quite a bit smarter.
POLAR BEAR
35 MPH/56 KPH
Perfectly adapted to life in the frozen ocean, the polar bear is insulated from the cold by its thick, greasy white fur. A solitary hunter, the polar bear patrols the ice in search of his favorite prey, the seal, an animal which can far outswim him, but can rarely outrun him.
MTIGER
40 MPH/64 KPH
The Southern thrust of the last Ice Age forced tigers, like many other animals, to seek warmer climates in which to live. Among the largest of the cats, the tiger's body is structured for strength and agility. Able to produce short bursts and pin down its prey, tigers cannot maintain their top speed for more than 100 meters.
┤GREYHOUND
45 MPH/72 KPH
The earliest record of dog racing dates back to the Greek writer Arrian, about 150 A.D. Though the sport is now international, most racing greyhounds are currently bred in Ireland. The dogs are fitted with a colored, numbered coat and then placed into a starting gate. As a mechanical rabbit passes the gate, the greyhounds are released automatically. The finish of the race is photographed to confirm the decision of the judges.
áCHEETAH
63 MPH/101 KPH
The fastest of all land animals, the cheetah, could be stopped for speeding on many of the world's highways. With the acceleration of a sports car, the cheetah streaks across the African plain in pursuit of its prey. If a cheetah has timed its run properly, it can knock down a fleeing antelope in seconds. For the short distance run (up to 600 yards) the cheetah can sustain a sprint speed in excess of 60 MPH.
GORILLA
20 MPH/32 KPH
The largest of the apes, full-grown male Gorillas can reach 6 feet in height and weigh upwards of 450 pounds. Females are about half the size. Though extremely muscular and powerful, and known to enjoy the occasional fresh kill of an animal, gorillas are chiefly vegetarian.
ε FASTEST WOMAN
24.6 MPH/39.4 KPH
During the 1988 Olympic trials, for the 100 meter dash, Florence Griffith Joyner, AKA 'Flo Jo', reached a peak speed of 24.58 MPH! At that rate, she would have been nearly 3 meters ahead of the men's world record pace of 100 years ago.
û FASTEST MAN
26.9 MPH/43.3 KPH
Carl Lewis, the fastest man alive, made his record-breaking sprint during the 1988 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. His peak speed was just shy of 27 MPH.
° SALMON
10 MPH/16 KPH
Salmon are the most famous of the marine fish which spawn in fresh water. Pacific salmon are known for the grueling journey they make, often hundreds of miles upstream through raging currents and rivers, in order to reach their spawning grounds.
┬ALLIGATOR
15 MPH/24 KPH
A direct descendant of its primeval ancestors, the alligator has inspired a wealth of fables and lore. Though the largest distribution of these reptiles are in N. and S. America, ancient Australian Aborigines and Chinese calligraphers have rendered images of the toothed animals from long ago. Capable of killing and eating a human, some alligators walk elegantly with legs extended, some slither in the mud, and others actually hop like rabbits.
¼BLUE WHALE
25 MPH/40 KPH
The blue whale is the largest animal in the history of the earth. They can reach 90 feet in length and weigh as much as 125 tons. Though once hunted by whalers, only the species of whale known as the 'right' whales are currently teetering on the brink of extinction. Despite its size, the blue whales migrate several thousand miles per year and cruise at an average of 3 - 10 MPH, with the occasional sprint of over 25 MPH.
aPORPOISE
30 MPH/48 KPH
With a long evolutionary history, the porpoise is descended from a dog-like animal that once walked on land. Differing from dolphins, principally in the shape of their heads (dolphins have a much more pronounced snout), the fastest porpoise is the 'Dall's' porpoise. These porpoises frequently surf on the bow wakes of boats, racing along at 30 MPH.
┴FLYING FISH
35 MPH/56 KPH
Living in tropical and temperate seas, the 50 species of flying fish don't actually fly -- they glide above the surface to avoid hungry predators!
They achieve this feat by beating their tails as they approach the surface, breaching, then spreading their oversized pectoral fins like the wings of a glider. They then continue beating their tail to enable them to skip across the surface. Topping out at 35 MPH, they can glide 150 feet or more.
XBLUE SHARK
43 MPH/69 KPH
With a long, powerful tail that thrusts from side to side and fins for steering, the shark is a near perfect aerodynamic design. Telemetry studies indicate that the blue shark cruises at twice its normal speed during the night, when the sharks become more active. With a burst speed of 43 MPH, the blue shark can outsprint most of its prey.
╦SAILFISH
63 MPH/101 KPH
Working in much the same way as the tapered nose of an airplane or missile, the long, thin extension on the upper jaw of the sailfish places it in the family known as 'billfish'. The bill decreases water resistance and increases speed. No one is sure about the purpose of the sailfish's sail, but it is suspected that the sail is raised while the animal circles its prey, forcing the school of smaller fish into a tighter group so that more can be caught.
MONARCH BUTTERFLY
20 MPH/32 KPH
These fragile insects exhibit exceptional endurance and navigational skill. Every winter, by the millions, they fly as far south as 2,000 miles. At speeds of more than 20 MPH, some pilots have reported seeing the lightweight fliers at altitudes of 6,000 feet.
8HUMMINGBIRD
60 MPH/97 KPH
The acrobatic hummingbird outclasses all other birds in terms of maneuverability. Able to hover like a helicopter, the tiny hummer can remain motionless in the air while beating its wings at a rate of 50 times per second. It can fly straight up and even backward -- achieving its 60 MPH top speed in reverse.
&SPINE TAIL SWIFT
106 MPH/171 KPH
About the size of the American robin, the spine tailed swift of Asia is the swiftest swift on record at 106 MPH. With small legs and feet, tucked in close to its body, the swifts are such accomplished aerialists that they hunt insects, eat, drink, bathe, court and even mate while in flight.
αPEREGRINE FALCON
175 MPH/282 KPH
Imagine the peregrine falcon, lofting in an updraft, then tucking in its long, pointed wings, tilting earthward and sliding into a spectacular dive. 100 MPH, 150 MPH... and gaining speed! Guided by its acute vision, the falcon strikes in midair, talons snatching its prey from the sky in an explosion of feathers. Filled with energy, and blessed with an astounding speed of 175 MPH, the peregrine falcon is too fast and elusive to be taken by its larger and slower predators.
6SPEED OF LIGHT
670Mil.MPH/1.1Bil.KPH
Light travels so fast that for centuries scientists believed there was no such thing as the speed of light -- that light was instant. In 1676, Olaus Roemer, a Danish astronomer, demonstrated that light took time to travel, but had no instrument with which to attempt a measurement. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity helps explain many of the properties and behaviors of light. The theory surmises that time and distance may change as an object approaches the speed of light; length of the object shrinks and the perception of time takes longer from the perspective of a stationary observer.
This theory is the origination of the concept, often used in science fiction films, that surpassing the speed of light might actually make a person younger. Until some of us travel at 670,000,000 MPH...we'll never know.
σTHE WHEEL
000 MPH/000 KPH
The first wheels were developed for making pottery around 3,500 B.C., near Mesopotamia. It took about 250 years for someone to get the bright idea to turn these discs on their sides and build a cart. Made of solid wood, planks were cut into a round shape, fastened together with wooden or copper brackets and attached to an axle. Lighter spoke wheels arrived around 2,000 B.C. The spokes radiated from the center and were held together by the piece of wood which served as a rim.
{HORSEBACK
39 MPH/63 KPH
Climbing on the back of a horse and training it to run with you was a definite method of achieving greater speed. By 800 B.C., the horse had been bred to a larger size, large enough to carry mounted cavalry. In Medieval times they carried knights in armor. Ancient breeds from the Middle East and N. Africa are swift, smart and spirited -- hot blooded in horse vernacular. The most important breeding took place in the 1600's and 1700's when English mares were partnered with Arabian stallions. The offspring were the finest race horses of all time...the Thoroughbreds. On a 1/4 to 1/2 mile run, these horses can average 39 MPH.
BICYCLE
10 MPH/16 KPH
The first design for a human-powered machine, propelled by cranks, levers, connecting rods and pedals, has been attributed to none other than Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1493. The earliest such design to be produced was built by Kirkpatrick MacMillan in Scotland, circa 1840.
▄ SPEED CYCLE
65 MPH/105 KPH
Fred Markham pedaled his way into the record books on the flats of Mono Lake, California in 1986. He holds the current world speed record for a human-powered vehicle (HPV), with a 200 meter flying start, at 65.48 MPH.
▄HUMAN-POWERED FLIGHT
18 MPH/28.96 KPH
The 'Daedalus Project' is named after the mythological Greek carpenter and his boy, who built wings of wax and feathers and escaped King Minos' imprisonment. Unfortunately, Daedalus' boy, Icarus, flew too close to the sun -- and plunged to earth when his wings melted. Kanellos Kanellopoulos achieved the goal of the 'Daedalus Project' when he pedaled a flying machine with 112 foot wingspan from the island of Crete to Santorini. Over the 74 miles, he averaged 18.5 MPH.
tSTEAM POWER
3 MPH/4.8 KPH
The steam engine works by heating water beyond the boiling point and channeling the steam into a cylinder, in which a piston is driven down by the force of the steam. The first vehicles to move under steam power were built by a Swiss engineer, working for the French Army, named Nicholas Joseph Cugnot. In 1765, he began building a machine to pull artillery, but the major drawback of the day was the inability to bore a truly round cylinder and matching piston. The problem was mostly resolved, by 1769, when Cugnot's tractor trudged off with four passengers at a whopping 3 MPH. Though he had licked the cylinder problem, he seems to have had a more difficult time with the steering mechanism. There are many stories of him roaring around the streets of Paris, terrifying the fleeing populace with his fire breathing monster, ultimately knocking down a wall in order to stop!
?SOLAR POWER
48 MPH/77 KPH
Solar power, for a car, is generated by the cells which convert the energy of the sun into a flow of electrical current. This current drives the electric motor which powers the car. 'Sunraycer', driven by Molly Brennan and built by GM, set the record, in 1988, for the fastest, sustained speed by a solar-powered vehicle. The speed was attained during the World Solar Challenge race across a 2,000 mile stretch of Australia, intended to encourage development of solar-powered cars. Not only did the 'Sunraycer' win, but it left the 2nd place competitor 20 hours behind.
ΣTRAINS
320 MPH/512 KPH
In 1829, departing from Liverpool, England, Stephenson's 'Rocket' chugged down the rails at the incredible speed of 29 MPH. In 1965, the Japanese "bullet" trains averaged speeds in excess of 100 MPH. Nowadays, trains can achieve peak speeds of 180 MPH and beyond. Le 'Train a Grande Vitesse', the very fastest passenger train in service, runs from Paris to Le Mans and, if the length of straight track was long enough, could sustain its maximum, record breaking speed of 320 MPH.
RMOTORCYCLES
186 MPH/299 KPH
The earliest motorized bicycle was built in 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler in Germany. It putted along, with its single cylinder, 1/2 horsepower motor at 12 MPH. Today, the fastest track machines are manufactured by Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha. They have all been geared to achieve speeds, under proper racing conditions, in excess of 186 MPH.
┐ PRODUCTION CAR
212 MPH/339 KPH
The Jaguar XJ 220 built by Jaguar Sports in England is currently the fastest production car in the world. During road tests in the U.S. in 1991 the XJ 220 attained a top speed of 212 MPH.
`RACING CAR
234 MPH/374 KPH
In 1993, driver Mario Andretti set a new IndyCar speed record at the Michigan International Speedway. The car was K-Mart/Texaco/Havoline L93 Ford/Cosworth. Andretti's one lap of speed of 234 MPH breaks the existing 230 MPH record set by Andretti in 1992. Andretti also set the inaugural IndyCar record in 1968, driving a qualifying lap at 183 MPH.
ú FERRARI = ACCELERATION
60 MPH/97 KPH
The very fastest, road-tested, acceleration of a production car is 0 MPH to 60 MPH in 3.98 seconds. The car is the Ferrari F40 and the run was recorded in 1989.
╡ MOTORCYCLE DRAGSTERS
178 MPH/284 KPH
Crossing the 1/4 mile finish line in 7.6 seconds set the drag motorcycle record at 178 MPH. The driver, John Meyers, set that record in 1991 during the Chief Auto Parts National.
bJET DRAGSTERS
304 MPH/486 KPH
The first jet-powered dragster, the 'Green Monster', was built in 1959. The first driver to be licensed by the National Hot Rod Association, and a pioneer in the jet dragster arena, was Roger Gustin. Currently, the nation's fastest powered car is 'Flashback'. In 1993, at the Atco Raceway in New Jersey, Fill Smith blazed down the asphalt at 304 MPH.
⌡JET CAR
633 MPH/1,012 KPH
"Wanted....650 MPH car designer!" Richard Noble, a young businessman with a burning desire to gain the world speed record, placed this advertisement in a newspaper, in 1977. John Ackroyd, an engineer who thought he could do the job, responded. Six years later they achieved their dream. The car was basically a Rolls-Royce Avon 302 jet engine on wheels, capable of generating 17,000 pounds of thrust! In 1983, over the Black Rock Desert in New Mexico -- 'Thrust 2' blazed to a speed of 633 MPH!
ROCKET CAR (WOMAN)
524 MPH/838 KPH
Unlike a jet car, a rocket car needs no air intake -- it could actually work in the vacuum of space. In 1976, driving a 48,000 horse power, 3 wheeled rocket car called 'Motivator', Kitty Hambelton reached a top speed of 524 MPH, becoming the fastest woman on land.
ö ROCKET CAR (MAN)
739 MPH/1,182KPH
At Edwards Air Force Base, in 1979, Stan Barrett maxed out the 'Budweiser Rocket' a rocket-powered, three wheeled car -- at an astounding 739 MPH.
╜GLIDERS
35 MPH/56 KPH
In the late 1800's, Otto Lilienthal believed that the first step necessary for humans to fly was for them to learn to glide -- and then to worry about attaching a motor to the wings. His daring experiments benefitted all those who followed in his footsteps. Unfortunately, in 1896, as a result of those experiments -- he crashed...and died. Modern day gliders are far safer and more manageable than Lilienthal's early experimental vehicles.
jPRE-WRIGHT BROTHERS
000 MPH/000 KPH
Though the Wright Brothers were the first to actually fly an airplane, Sir George Cayley designed an airplane, of sorts, nearly a century before. In 1799, he scratched his design onto a small silver disc. On one side of the disc, his diagram showed the forces which affect a flying wing -- thrust, lift and drag. On the other side, he drew a fixed wing aircraft with vertical and horizontal tail surfaces and paddles for propulsion. Cayley successfully flew a five foot model of his design. Prior to Cayley, Leonardo da Vinci also sketched a device with wings, though its aerodynamics were probably never tested.
█WRIGHT BROTHERS
31 MPH/49.8 KPH
In 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright became the first humans to accomplish heavier-than-air flight. Honing their craftsmanship as bicycle repairmen, the brothers learned about aerodynamics from their experiments with gliders. After building their own 4-cylinder engine, which drove the twin propellers by chains, they took the contraption to the sands of Kitty Hawk. Only five people turned out to witness the first flight -- a brief, but historic, 12 seconds in duration.
HELICOPTER
249 MPH/398 KPH
As in the case of the fixed wing aircraft, Leonardo da Vinci did some rough designs for the helicopter, although the French were building helicopter-like toys prior to da Vinci's drawings. The first practical helicopter was built and flown, in Russia, by Igor Sikorsky -- circa 1936. The speed record for the 'whirly-bird' was set in 1986. The British Ministry of Defense partnered with Westland Helicopters and built the Westland G-Lynx, a lighter and more powerful version of the Army Lynx. It twirled into the record books at 249 MPH.
└ JUMBO JET
602 MPH/963 KPH
The highest capacity jet airliner, fondly referred to as the 'Jumbo Jet', can hold more than 650 passengers. First lumbering into the air in 1969, the Boeing 747 has a top speed of 602 MPH.
5CONCORDE
1,450MPH/2,320KPH
The first SST (Supersonic Transport) was flown in 1969. Designed to carry up to 144 passengers, the French/British co-venture, called the Concorde, went into commercial passenger service in 1976. The New York-London record is 2 hours, 55 minutes and 15 seconds -- with in-flight speeds reaching 1,450 MPH.
òSR-71A
2,193MPH/3,508KPH
The Lockheed SR-71 'Blackbird' was first put into service in the U.S. Air Force in the early 1960's and, at the time, was the fastest plane in the world. The frame was built mostly of titanium and the body was painted with radar absorbing black paint. Used principally as a 'spy plane', the SR-71's cameras could find a golf ball from a height of 14 miles. Once classified, the top speed is 2,193 MPH.
*X-15A-2
4,534MPH/7,254KPH
In the late 1950's, the X-15A-2, a dart shaped experimental aircraft, powered by a rocket propulsion system, was developed by the United States Air Force. Following its first flight in 1964, physiological aspects of high speed, high altitude flying were studied as well as aerodynamics, structures and flight controls. The aircraft went on to be used for scientific experiments beyond the earth's atmosphere and, in 1967, it captured the air-launched record with a speed of 4,534 MPH. The aircraft was retired in 1968 when the program was suspended.
LUNAR ROVER
10 MPH/16 KPH
Three vehicles have been parked since the early 1970's with no fear of ever receiving a parking ticket...on the moon! Although each of the vehicles cost millions of dollars to make, they will, in all probability, never be driven again. Delivered aboard the final 3 Apollo missions, the Lunar Rovers are an eternal reminder of the inability of Americans to travel anywhere without a car. Boeing aircraft took on the design task of building the 1/4 hp electric vehicles which had an operational life of 78 hours and a top speed of 10 MPH.
▀SPACE SHUTTLE
16,000MPH/25,600KPH
NASA's reusable spacecraft first blazed into orbit in 1981. Once in orbit, the Shuttle is controlled by small thrusters. In the atmosphere, the Shuttle is a 200-ton glider which, in theory, can be piloted in to land on any runway long enough to accommodate it. Because it has no engines, the pilot only gets one chance. Its little wings produce almost no lift, so the Shuttle lands at a very fast 200 MPH. In space, the astronauts aboard cruise along at a cool 16,000 MPH.
┴APOLLO X
24,791M/39,665K
The astronauts aboard Apollo X got to execute almost all phases of the lunar landing; almost, because they never got to actually land on the lunar surface. Their mission called for them to board the lunar excursion module, descend to within 50,000 feet of the surface...and then to return to the earth. Since there is no gravity in space, the astronauts had no physical sense of the fact that they were cruising through the heavens at 24,791 MPH.
½ORBITAL SPEED
67,027M/107,244K
All of humankind are, in fact, space travelers. We live on this tiny blue planet which we call Earth, circling the sun once each year, while the moon orbits around us like an immense, artificial satellite. The fastest planetary orbit is the closest to the sun - Mercury, at 107,752 MPH. The slowest orbit is the farthest - Pluto, at a mere 10,655 MPH. As occupants of the planet Earth, we travel at a constant 67,027 MPH.
SHUMAN THOUGHT
270 MPH/432 KPH
The slowest synaptic velocities are associated with the least urgent of human functions, like regulating the flow of blood to different parts of the body. The nerves that conduct signals most swiftly are involved in rapid reflexes -- reactions for balance, posture...pain. These reactions are estimated to zip along at a brisk 270 MPH.
PSOUND
741 MPH/1,185 KPH
The speed of sound is unrelated to the volume of the source. Temperature, however, does affect the transmission of sound waves. The hotter -- the faster. The speed of sound is 741 MPH. At that rate, you can time the speed of sound by counting the seconds between a flash of lightning and the instant you first hear the thunder clap!
█ CENTRIFUGE
4,500MPH/7,200KPH
And yet another speed record for the Queen...the fastest speed of any earthbound object was achieved by a swirling, tapered, 6-inch carbon fiber rod in a centrifuge which functions in a vacuum -- a dizzying 4,500 MPH.
▒FIBER OPTICS
466Mil.MPH/746Mil.KPH
Optical fibers use light, as opposed to radio waves, as a transmitting medium. Tiny, semiconductor lasers shoot pulses of light in response to incoming signals. These pulses then bounce down the inside of extremely thin fibers. Photo-decoders, at the other end, then convert the signal to electricity for local transmission. In theory, a single fiber optic cable could carry a hundred million phone conversations simultaneously!
CM-5 SUPER COMPUTER
61 BIL. CALC/SEC
In the time it takes you to read this sentence -- a modern super computer could have solved a billion mathematical problems. Once thought of as the computer for the 'lunatic fringe', the Thinking Machine Corporation's 'Connection Machines' have changed the fundamental way that problems are solved. Within these machines, thousands of independent, interconnected processors can each pounce on a portion of a complicated problem. The technology behind the Thinking Machines is called 'massively parallel' processing.
ⁿELECTRICITY
670Mil.MPH/1.1Bil.KPH
Though individual electrons move slowly, like a line of golf balls bumping up against one another, the speed of electricity itself is equal to the speed of light. The first accomplishment in the field of electricity was with the Chinese when they developed the magnetic compass for navigation, circa 1,000 A.D.
The first known electrical shock, outside of lightning strikes, was in 1745, when Pieter van Musschenbroek invented the 'Leyden Jar' which stores static electricity.
This 'shocking' discovery prompted Ben Franklin to try his famous kite experiment, in which he showed that lightning is electricity. NEVER FLY A KITE IN A THUNDER STORM! Mr. Franklin was extremely lucky; several of his successors were killed while trying to duplicate his results.
eBACTERIA
200 MPH/320 KPH
Bdellovibrio Vacteriovoras Bacteria...phew...a rod-shaped bacillus, by means of a rotating polar flagellum (a little whip on its top), can move 50 times it's own length of 2 micrometers per second -- or 200 MPH, if it were scaled to human size. That would be comparable to a swimmer crossing the English Channel (between England and France) in 6 minutes!
LBOBSLEDDING
90 MPH/145 KPH
The oldest sled was found -- and raced -- in Heinola, Finland; it dates back to 6,500 B.C. The first known bobsled race took place in Switzerland in 1889 and became an Olympic speed sport in 1924. Accommodating teams of two or four people, modern bobsleds hurtle down icy, steeply banked, twisting courses at speeds near 90 MPH.
=SKIING
142 MPH/229 KPH
The most ancient ski was found in a frozen peat bog near Hoting, Sweden. It was well preserved...and dated back to 2,500 B.C. In modern times, French speed skier Patrick Knaff set the one-legged record at 115 MPH. The world record is held by another French skier, Michael Prufer, who slashed downhill at 142 MPH.
╜ SKATEBOARDING
55 MPH/88 KPH
A dude named Roger Hickey set two different records in 1990. Prone, he zipped downhill at 78 MPH, but the true record belongs to his most radical standing run which clocked in at 55 MPH.
─ WIND SURFING
28 MPH/45 KPH
Peter Chivers, a 12 year old English boy, devised the first prototype windsurfer in 1958. World championships were first held in 1973 and the sport was added to the Olympics in 1984 -- radical!
█CATAMARAN
48 MPH/77 KPH
Used for thousands of years in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the name 'catamaran' is derived from the southern Indian word 'kattumaran' -- which means 'trees tied together'. Built from two long, thin hulls, catamarans are the fastest sailing vessels on the water. In 1990, the 'Hoverspeed Great Britain', the world's biggest catamaran, took away the U.S. record which had been standing for 38 years. 'Hoverspeed' crossed the Atlantic in 3 days, 7 hours and 54 minutes, reaching speeds of 48 MPH. The U.S. Merchant Marine Museum at first refused to give up the Hales Trophy (awarded to the record holder), almost sending the conflict into court. Ultimately, they accepted the win and delivered the trophy across the Atlantic.
αHYDROPLANE
345 MPH/552 KPH
The scene was Lake Coniston, England -- 1967. The racing hydroplane was named 'K7'. The voice transmission from Donald Campbell's intercom "...297 MPH...!" He then hit a swell and the boat began to somersault, the hull disintegrating in a rush of water. When the spray subsided, and the rescue crew reached the floating debris...Campbell's body was nowhere to be found.
The record stood until 1977, when Kenneth Peter Warby set the current speed record on water -- 345 MPH.
/SKYDIVING
185 MPH/296 KPH
The fastest airspeed that humans have reached, by non-mechanical means, is while skydiving. If sky divers point their heads down and tuck in their arms, they are able to get the ground to approach them at the rate of 185 MPH.
Warning: Secure parachute firmly before attempting to break above record!
ROLLER COASTER
80 MPH/129 KPH
The fastest roller coaster with the most severe vertical drop -- 'The Steel Phantom'-- opened in 1991 at the Kennywood Amusement Park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. The rails follow the contour of a 225-foot natural ravine -- achieving a reported peak speed of 80 MPH.
