View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/if-superpowers-were-real-flight-joy-lin What if human flight wasn't just the stuff of epic comic book stories? Is it scientifically possible to...
========== If humans could fly, without tools and machines, how fast do you think we would go? As of 2012, the world record for fastest short-distance sprint speed is roughly 27 miles per hour. Running speed depends on how much force is exerted by the runner's legs, and according to Newton's Second
Law of Motion, force is the product of mass
times acceleration. And Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, that means running requires having a ground to push off from, and the ground pushes back
against the runner's foot. So, flying would actually be more similar to swimming. Michael Phelps is currently
the fastest human in water and the most decorated
Olympian of all time. Guess how fast he swi...