🚀 go-pugleaf

vschmid@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca () writes:

>drizzt (drizzt@cml.com) wrote:
>: My original question as to how fast superman could run seems to have been 
>: misunderstood because a few people wrote me suggesting that on the moon 
>: or in outer space, he could run at the speed of light.  That would be 
>: flying and not RUNNING.  I'm more concerned with Superman being able to 
>: push off of the ground with a pair of Nike airs without falling down due 
>: to inertia and how long he has to wait before taking each step because 
>: gravity takes time to pull him back down from each step.  

>Assuming Superman would control his upward movement, then the speed that 
>Superman could run at and keep contact with the Earth would be escape 
>velocity (which, if memory serves, is approximately 25,000 miles per 
>hour).  My reasoning:  if Superman would run like Michael Jackson 
>moonwalks, then each running "leap" (or forward movement) that occurs 
>just under escape velocity would keep Superman in contact with Earth; any 
>amount faster than that, and Superman would begin to leave Earth.

I don't think this is correct.  He would "lift off" before hitting  
escape velocity.  I think it is (0.707)*(escape velocity), or the orbital 
velocity.  I am doing this from memory, recalling that the kinetic energy 
of an orbiting object is half that of an object at escape velocity...

...John
  _____    
 |     |    _____    "Come on!  Jesus needs a new pair of shoes!!!"
 |  O  |   |O   O|                  -- God (playing dice with the Universe)
 |     |   |O   O|   
  ~~~~~    |O   O|   John P. Kondis        UC Irvine        jkondis@uci.edu
            ~~~~~