Examples of Different Speeds
| Speed | m/s | ft/s | km/h | mph | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approximate rate of continental drift | 0.00000001 | 0.00000003 | 0.00000004 | 0.00000002 | 4 cm/year. Varies depending on location |
| Speed of a common snail | 0.001 | 0.003 | 0.004 | 0.002 | 1 millimeter per second. |
| A brisk walk | 1.7 | 5.5 | 6.1 | 3.8 | (5.5 feet per second) |
| A typical road cyclist | 4.4 | 14.4 | 16 | 10 | Varies wildly by person, terrain, bicycle, effort, weather. |
| Sprint runners | 10 | 32.8 | 36 | 22 | Average speed over 100 meters. |
| Approximate average speed of road cyclists | 12.5 | 41.0 | 45 | 28 | On flat terrain. Will vary. |
| Typical suburban speed limit in most of the world | 13.8 | 45.3 | 50 | 30 | |
| Taipei 101 observatory elevator | 16.7 | 54.8 | 60.6 | 37.6 | 1010 m/min. |
| Typical rural speed limit | 24.6 | 80.66 | 88.5 | 56 | |
| British National Speed Limit (single carriageway) | 26.8 | 88 | 96.56 | 60 | |
| Category 1 hurricane | 33 | 108 | 119 | 74 | Minimum sustained speed over 1 minute |
| Speed limit on a French autoroute | 36.1 | 118 | 130 | 81 | |
| Highest recorded human-powered speed | 37.02 | 121.5 | 133.2 | 82.8 | Sam Whittingham in a recumbent bicycle |
| Muzzle velocity of a paintball marker | 90 | 295 | 320 | 200 | |
| Cruising speed of a Boeing 747-8 passenger jet | 255 | 836 | 917 | 570 | Mach 0.85 at 35,000 ft altitude |
| The official land speed record | 341.1 | 1119.1 | 1227.98 | 763 | |
| The speed of sound in dry air at sea-level pressure and 20 °C | 343 | 1125 | 1235 | 768 | Mach 1 by definition. 20 °C = 293 kelvin. |
| Muzzle velocity of an AK47 assault rifle bullet | 710 | 2,330 | 2,600 | 1600 | |
| Official flight airspeed record | 980 | 3,215 | 3,530 | 2,194 | |
| Space shuttle on re-entry | 7,800 | 25,600 | 28,000 | 17,500 | |
| Escape velocity on Earth | 11,200 | 36,700 | 40,000 | 25,000 | 11.2 km∙s−1 |
| Average orbital speed of planet Earth | 29,783 | 97,713 | 107,218 | 66,623 | |
| Speed of light in vacuum (symbol c) | 299,792,458 | 983,571,056 | 1,079,252,848 | 670,616,629 | Exactly 299,792,458 m∙s−1, by definition of the meter. |
Vehicles often have a speedometer to measure the speed they are moving.
Read more about this topic: Speed
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