Records. The fastest and the slowest
Do you know how fast the cork comes out of a champagne bottle? What about the fastest animal on Earth? Is there speed faster than the speed of light? Today we will tell you about the most incredible speed records.
The speed of movement of nerve impulses in the human body is approximately 90 m/s.
The most high speed toy train can reach 10 km/h.
The peregrine falcon develops the highest speed among animals when it dives at its prey. His record is 322 km/h.
In boiling water, molecules develop speeds of up to 650 m/s.
The slowest speed in the sport is only 1.35 km/h. This speed was recorded during a tug of war. 
A flying golf ball instantly reaches speeds of up to 270 km/h after being hit with a club.
The length of an airplane flying at a speed of 1000 km/h can increase by 1 cm relative to its length at rest.
The windiest place on Earth is Commonwealth Bay, located in Antarctica. It is officially recognized in the eighth edition of the National Geographic atlas and in the Guinness Book of Records as the windiest place on Earth. You can forget about fleeting gusts of wind, because severe whirlwinds blow here at a speed of 240 km/h.
The slowest mammal is the three-toed sloth, its movement speed is about 2 m/m.
Does superluminal speed exist? Probably everyone, even people far from physics, knows about the speed of light in a vacuum. This is the maximum possible speed of movement of any material objects or propagation of signals. The speed of light in a vacuum is designated by the letter “C” and is approximately 300 thousand km/s (its exact value is 299,792,458 m/s). In 2000, the following experiment took place at the Princeton Research Institute (USA). Lijun Wong and his assistants passed a laser pulse through a small chamber 6 cm long filled with cesium vapor. The result of the experiment showed that when a light beam hits a chamber filled with cesium vapor, its speed increases by more than 300 times. This means that the highest speed recorded on Earth is a light beam in a vacuum. It is 310 times the speed of light.
The highest speed of a person was recorded by astronauts of the Apollo 10 module at a distance of 122 km from the surface of the Earth. It is 39,897 km/h and is the highest speed ever achieved by man.
The record of blind driver Hein Wagner was recognized by representatives of the Guinness Book of Records. He managed to accelerate to 322.5 km/h and maintain this speed for a kilometer. Wagner's main goal, he said, was to attract public attention to the problems of blind people.
16-year-old Kiev resident Ira Ivanchenko developed a reading speed of up to 163,333 words per minute, completely mastering the material she read. This result was officially registered in the presence of journalists. Another reading record was recorded on September 9, 1989. This unofficial reading speed record - 416,250 words per minute - was set during testing under the leadership of the Kyiv Center. At this center, the brain of record holder Evgenia Alekseenko was examined and a special test was developed. During a test in the presence of several scientists, Evgenia read 1,390 words in 1/5 of a second. This is the time it takes a person to blink. The record holder recounted the material she read with all the details for hours. Another reading record - 60,000 characters per minute - was set by Russian schoolgirl Svetlana Arkhipova. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
The highest rate of procreation in humans is 58 children per year. This record was set in Morocco by Sultan Moulay Ismail (reigned from 1672 to 1727). At the age of 31, he had 342 daughters and 525 sons. Sultan Moulay Ismail maintained 500 concubines.
Highest print speed: The record is 2600 A4 pages per minute. It was installed by a Hewlett-Packard Inkjet Web Press printer. Moreover, the cost of 1 printed page was very low - no more than a cent per page.
It was calculated by the German physicist of the Technical University Friedrich Balck using acoustic and photoelectric devices. He found that the speed of the cork leaving the bottle was 40 km/h, and the flight altitude reached approximately 12 meters. Theoretically, the cork can reach speeds of 100 km/h if the bottle is shaken well before opening or exposed to direct sunlight.
The record was set by 58-year-old musician from England Rori Blackwell. On October 24, 1991, at Finlake Holiday Park in Devonshire (UK), he performed 3,720 beats per minute on a drum (that is, 62 beats per second).
Everyone probably once asks the question: what is the fastest bird in the world? What speed is it capable of? What does she look like and what does she eat? We decided to answer all these questions in our new article, which will talk in detail about the lifestyle, habitats and habits of the fastest creature in the world, and also, as a bonus, we will provide here a list of nine other birds that have also amazed people the speed of their flights.
Peregrine falcon: the fastest predator in the world
Probably, few people know that the speed of the fastest bird in the world in a diving flight reaches three hundred twenty-two kilometers per hour. For comparison, this is equal to 90 meters per second! No other animal in the world can reach such speed.
By the way, the peregrine falcon has always remained a bird that not everyone could keep. In the famous English work “Boke of St. Albans,” dating back to 1486, states that only a high-ranking person, such as a duke or prince, can own a peregrine falcon.
Unfortunately, it was precisely because of human negligence that the fastest creatures in the world almost disappeared from the face of the Earth as a species. In the forties of the last century, when pesticides began to be used most widely, and among them DDT, the already few peregrine falcons were literally on the verge of extinction. These chemicals, which were sprayed on the fields, had an extremely detrimental effect on this type birds, which is why their numbers began to decline rapidly. And only in 1970, when the use of these pesticides in agriculture was prohibited, the population of the world's fastest flyers began to grow again.
The size of an adult bird can vary from thirty-five to fifty centimeters, with females always larger than males. The color of the upper body is gray, the abdomen is light. The beak is short, curved (like all falcons), and its blow is so strong that when it encounters it, the victim’s head often flies off. It feeds on birds such as pigeons and ducks, and small mammals such as mice, gophers, hares and squirrels.
The peregrine falcon is mentioned in the annex to the CITES convention, which strictly prohibits its use for sale in any part of the planet. Also, the fastest bird in the world is listed in the Red Book Russian Federation, as an extremely rare species.
Winged lightning: top 10 fastest birds in the world
Here are a few more representatives of the world of birds that will captivate you with their speed. We already know who deservedly takes first place - without a doubt, this is the peregrine falcon - the fastest creature in the world. Here's who follows him in terms of speed:
Golden eagle
The Golden Eagle deservedly takes an honorable second place in our list of the fastest in the world, because its flight speed can reach 240-320 km/h, which is not much lower than the speed of its predecessor. The golden eagle is one of the very large birds of the genus of eagles, because its wingspan can reach two hundred and forty centimeters, and its height varies from seventy-six to ninety-three centimeters.
The golden eagle is a predator; it hunts both small birds and rodents, and small mammals, for example, it can take a sheep. Due to its dark color with golden feathers on the neck and nape, this bird received the name Golden Eagle, which translates from in English means "golden eagle".
Spine-tailed Swift
The needle-tailed swift, also called the key-tail, is in third place on our list of the fastest in the world. Its speed can reach 160 km/h, and its lifestyle is not well studied. The weight of this bird does not exceed one hundred seventy-five grams, and the body length is twenty-two centimeters. The needle-tailed swift has chosen Siberia and the Far East as its habitat on the territory of the Russian Federation, and for the winter, representatives of this family fly to Australia. This small bird got its name because of the shape of its tail - not forked, like most swifts, but gathered into one sharp end or needle.
Hobby
This relatively small bird (size about twenty-eight to thirty-six centimeters) is also a predator and belongs to the falcon family, like our record holder - the peregrine falcon, which the hobby, by the way, is very similar in appearance to. But, unlike it, the Hobby's flight speed is approximately 150 km/h. Also, this feathered predator is famous for the fact that it never builds its own nests, and to hatch chicks it prefers to occupy the old homes of other birds, for example, a sparrowhawk, a crow or a magpie.
Frigate
The frigate is a bright and unusual bird that prefers to live in hot climates, for example, in the Seychelles or Australia. The speed of its movements is also impressive - it can reach 150 km/h, while the frigate can spend quite a lot of time in the air. The appearance of the males is very impressive - on the chest of each of them there is a bright red throat pouch, by the size of which females determine the most promising male. Frigates got their name in honor of the warships of the same name, as they have the habit of taking food from other birds by attacking them.
Grey-headed albatross
If the peregrine falcon can be considered the fastest in the world in terms of diving flight speed, then the grey-headed albatross confidently holds the lead in the speed of horizontal flight, for which it was included in the Guinness Book of Records. He can travel 127 km/h without slowing down for eight whole hours, which he proved in 2004. As its name implies, this albatross is ash-gray in color, and its length often reaches eighty centimeters.
Medium merganser
But the average merganser, despite the funny name, is one of the most typical representatives of the duck family. It also has the appropriate coloring - white and red breast, white belly and neck, black back with a green tint. The average merganser differs from all its other relatives in only one thing - it can truly develop record speed- 129 km/h.
White-breasted American Swift
In fact, there are a lot of American swifts - as many as eight varieties. But it is the white-breasted American swift that holds the record for fastest flight among them - it can fly within 124 km/h. The swift feeds on various insects, thanks to hunting which it spends most of its life in the air.
Dive
It is customary to call a whole genus of the duck family “ducks,” which differ from ducks proper in that its representatives prefer to get their food by diving into the water, which is where this funny name comes from. These birds are also famous because they are among the ten fastest, because their flight speed can reach 116 km/h.
Especially for those who want to know, there is an article on our website that will answer this question in detail.
We will finish the article with this bird, which is in tenth place in our review among birds. Visit our website often - we have a lot more interesting things!
Birds are warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrates, which are distinguished by the fact that their body is covered with feathers and their forelimbs are wings, with some exceptions. There are a lot of birds in the world - large and small, beautiful and not so beautiful, predators and herbivores, but today we will talk about the fastest of them. So, let's begin.
Sapsan (322 km/h)
We immediately invite you to get acquainted with the fastest bird in the world, which is the Peregrine falcon, widespread on almost all continents of the planet, with the exception of Antarctica.
The peregrine falcon is not large in size - in this parameter it is similar to the most common crow. The head is black, the plumage is gray, and the abdomen is lightish gray. But this species of falcon is the fastest creature in the world. According to scientists' measurements, a bird in a diving flight can reach 322 kilometers per hour or 90 meters per second! And now the question is - how many cars do you know that can accelerate so quickly? We don’t think that every Ferrari or Porsche can drive at such a speed... However, in horizontal flight, a swift is faster than a falcon.
The peregrine falcon hunts very interestingly. Usually he plans in the sky, looking for a new victim. As soon as it finds a suitable “candidate”, it rises above it and then dives down at a right angle, developing incredibly fast speed and hits the victim with its paws pressed to the body. This blow is so strong that even a large game's head can fly off.
Black swift (160 km/h)
The second place is occupied by the swift. This is a small, ubiquitous bird whose weight varies on average from 50 to 150 grams. It is capable of reaching speeds above 160 km/h in the horizontal plane and, in this parameter, leaves behind even the Sapsa, which were discussed above.
True, now we are talking about the black swift. The plumage of this bird has a dark brown tint with a metallic tint, and if you look at it from above or below, it may seem that this is a real swallow. Females and males are colored the same, but the chicks are a little lighter.
Today, the black swift can be found in central and northern Asia, as well as in central Europe. Interestingly, the black swift goes to India and Africa for the winter. In ordinary life, the bird is most often found in cities, less often it can be found in forests.
Several centuries ago, our descendants ate black swifts. They explained it very simply - bird meat is very tasty.
Grey-headed albatross (150 km/h)
Albatrosses have a very interesting feature - their stomachs produce fat, which is stored in the upper compartment of the stomach. With its help, a bird can feed its chicks, spit at opponents, and in addition, fat helps satisfy hunger during long flights. By the way, they feed mainly on squid, but they are not averse to eating fish, cephalopods, crustaceans, and even eat carrion. According to experts, grey-headed albatrosses are capable of diving to depths of up to seven meters for prey. And of course, the bird is known for its high speed characteristics. Her maximum speed can reach 150 km/h.
The species is now considered particularly vulnerable as its numbers continue to decline. However, according to data for 2004, there were more than 250 thousand individuals in the world, and they slowly reproduced on islands in the ocean. A lot of albatrosses die because of people, but we're talking about not about hunting - birds often get entangled in fishing nets and die.
Eider (100 km/h)
Outwardly, the eider is very similar to a duck and a goose at the same time, but it has little relation to them, since it is a seabird. You can meet her on cold sea coasts North America, Europe and Eastern Siberia. Flies little, prefers everything free time located in the water near the shore.
The eider is a large duck, its weight can reach 3 kg. Females and males differ in appearance. The latter have a predominantly white body, but the plumage of the female is dominated by brown, black and brown shades.
This bird is famous for its extremely funny gait - very clumsy and funny. This is not surprising, since eiders try to come ashore only during the breeding season. But despite his appearance, has excellent flight speed - up to 100 km/h! Although it's hard to believe, it's true. However, eiders are also excellent divers - they can dive to depths of up to 50 meters.
As for nutrition, the bird prefers to eat shellfish, much less often eating fish or crustaceans. It obtains mollusks at the bottom of a reservoir by freely diving. Can survive without air for about one minute. Interestingly, it swallows food whole, which is subsequently digested in the muscular stomach.
Field Thrush (70 km/h)
Also on our list is the fieldfare, a very common species of starling in Europe. It is found, however, not only in European countries, but also in North Africa, Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Fieldfare are interesting because they create entire colonies, which usually include up to 50 pairs. They can be seen on the edges of forests, in meadows, and in parklands. Moreover, one part of the birds can lead a sedentary lifestyle, while the other is nomadic.
As for nutrition, fieldfare can eat both plant and animal foods. This type of bird causes considerable damage to farmers, “stealing” berries and fruits, so some of them shoot starlings, especially since this is not prohibited by law. By the way, their meat can be eaten.
Ostrich (70 km/h)
Last on our list is a flightless bird. Do such things exist, you ask? Of course, and you all are well aware of it - this is an ostrich! The bird’s “maximum speed” is about 70 km/h, but the mammal develops such a speed only in times of danger. Usually, the speed of movement rarely exceeds 50 kilometers. It is this creature that we will talk about in more detail.
The ostrich is the largest of all modern birds - its weight reaches 150 kg and its height is 2.5 meters. The body is dense, the neck is long, the head is small, the eyes are very large, they have thick eyelashes on upper eyelid. The beak is large and wide. The wings are underdeveloped, but hind limbs powerful and long, allowing you to accelerate to high speeds. The plumage is curly and grows evenly over the body. At the same time, there is a bare area of the body on the chest, on which the creature rests when it lies on the ground. Females and males differ not only in size (the former are smaller), but also in color - males always look brighter than females.
This bird can be found in countries such as Africa, Iran, Arabia and Iraq. Previously, they could be seen in other states, but in the last few decades their population has declined significantly due to intensive hunting. Habitat: semi-deserts and open savannas. Ostriches usually live in families, which consists of one adult male, several females and their chicks. They often graze with other animals, such as antelope. By the way, they are the first to signal about impending danger, since they have not only tall stature, but also excellent eyesight. If danger overtakes them, they escape by running, the maximum speed of which is about 70 km per hour. The step width is up to 4-5 meters.
As for food, ostriches usually prefer to eat plants, although they can eat insects and even small animals (rodents, reptiles). But young chicks eat only animal food. The bird has no teeth at all, so to grind it, it swallows stones (and sometimes everything that gets in its way, even rusty nails and pieces of iron). Ostriches love water, although they can go without it for a long time - they get all their life-giving moisture from plants.
The male forms a pair in his harem only with a dominant female. It is interesting that all females lay eggs in a common nesting hole, which is raked out by the male himself. After all the eggs have been laid, the dominant female demands that the remaining females leave and buries the eggs with sand, and moves her own to the middle (she distinguishes them by their texture). This is where her role ends - now “dad” must hatch the chicks. During the day, the eggs are often left unattended and heated by the sun. However, the majority of chicks still die from insufficient hatching. By the way, to break an egg, the chick spends at least one hour of time - the shell is too thick. Already on the second day, the chicks begin to travel with their father around the surrounding area in search of food. The average lifespan of an ostrich is about 65-75 years. You can see the photo of the bird just above.
At what speed does the cork fly out of a champagne bottle? What animal is the fastest on Earth? Are speeds faster than the speed of light possible? Today we'll talk about some amazing speed records.
Nerve impulses in the human body
They move at a speed of approximately 90 meters per second.
Fastest speed toy train
It is 10 km/h.
The fastest speed in animals
The biggest speed in the animal world – 322 km/h. This speed is developed by the peregrine falcon when diving for prey:
water molecules
When water boils, its molecules move with speed 650 meters per second.
Slowest speed in sports
It was registered on August 12, 1889 - only 1.35 km/h. This sport was tug of war.
Golf Ball Speed
The next moment after hitting the golf ball, he the speed instantly reaches 270 km/h.
Aircraft
When an airplane reaches a speed of 1,000 km/h, then its length increases by one centimeter relative to its resting length.
The windiest place on Earth
Commonwealth Bay is officially recognized in the Guinness Book of Records and the eighth edition of the National Geographic atlas as the windiest place on Earth. Moreover, it is located in, so forget about short-term gusts of wind, the wind constantly blows here at a speed of 240 km/h.
The slowest mammal
About children
The fastest rate of reproduction of offspring in humans is 58 children per year. The record was set by the Sultan of Morocco Moulay Ismail (reigned from 1672 to 1727), who by age 31 had 525 sons and 342 daughters. Moulay Ismail kept 500 concubines.
Fastest print speed
Highest print speed - 2600 A4 pages per minute. The record belongs to the Inkjet Web Press printer from Hewlett-Packard. It is worth noting that the cost of one print is no more than 1 cent.
Fastest Drum Speed
The record for the highest speed in drumming was set on October 24, 1991 by the famous English musician Rori Blackwell. He demonstrated his skills at the Finlake holiday park in Devonshire (Great Britain). In one minute on one drum he made 3,720 beats chopsticks in 60 seconds. That is 62 beats per second! At that time, Rory Blackwell was already 58 years old.
Champagne cork speed
German physicist Friedrich Balck from the Technical University of Clausthal in Lower Saxony calculated the speed of a champagne bottle cork. Using photoelectric and acoustic devices, the scientist found that traffic jam speed reaches 40 km/h, flight altitude - up to 12 meters. Theoretically, the cork speed can reach 100 km/h, but this is only possible in bottles that have been exposed to direct sunlight for a certain time and have been shaken well before opening.
We invite you to learn about some incredible speed records.
The fastest speed in animals
1. The peregrine falcon develops the highest speed among animals when diving for prey - 322 km/h.
water molecules
2. In boiling water, molecules move at a speed of 650 meters per second.
Nerve impulses in the human body
3. A nerve impulse travels at a speed of approximately 90 meters per second.
Fastest speed toy train
4. The toy reaches 10 km/h.
Slowest speed in sports
5. On August 12, 1889, the tug-of-war was set at a speed of only 1.35 km/h.
Golf Ball Speed
6. After hitting a golf ball, its speed immediately increases to 270 km/h.
Aircraft
7. When an airplane moves at a speed of 1000 kilometers per hour, its length increases by one centimeter compared to its length at rest.
The windiest place on Earth
8. In the Guinness Book of Records, Commonwealth Bay is considered the windiest place on Earth. The wind constantly blows here at a speed of 240 km/h.
The slowest mammal
9. This title belongs to the three-toed sloth - it moves at a speed of 2 meters per minute.
Highest speed recorded on Earth
10. Is it possible to travel faster than the speed of light? The speed of light is 299,792,458 m/s.
In 2000, Lijun Wong at the Princeton Research Institute (USA) passed a laser pulse through a 6-centimeter chamber filled with cesium vapor. A light pulse entering a chamber filled with cesium vapor increases its speed by more than 300 times. Based on this, the fastest speed ever recorded on our planet is 310 times the speed of light.
Fastest human speed
11. Highest speed, developed by man, is 39,897 km/h. It was reached by the astronauts of the Apollo 10 main module at an altitude of 122 km from the Earth's surface.
The highest speed achieved by a blind driver
12. Driver Hein Wagner in a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG accelerated to 322.5 kilometers per hour and maintained this speed for a kilometer. His record is listed in the Guinness Book.
Reading speed records
13. The official reading speed record belongs to 16-year-old Kiev resident Irina Ivachenko - 163,333 words per minute with full understanding of what was read. Unofficial record reading speed - 416,250 words per minute. It was recorded on September 9, 1989 and belongs to Evgenia Alekseenko.
About children
14. The highest rate of reproduction of offspring in humans is 58 children per year. The record belongs to the Sultan of Morocco, Moulay Ismail, who at the age of 31 already had 525 sons and 342 daughters. He kept 500 concubines.
Fastest print speed
15. The Inkjet Web Press printer from Hewlett-Packard prints 2600 A4 pages per minute.
Fastest Drum Speed
16. The record was set on October 24, 1991 by the famous English musician Rori Blackwell. In one minute he made 3,720 blows with the chopsticks, that is, 62 blows per second.
Champagne cork speed
17. German physicist Friedrich Balck found that a champagne cork in flight reaches 40 km/h, and the flight altitude is up to 12 meters.
