With the release of the movie the light, In June 2023, directed by Andrés Muschietti, featuring a character of the same name published by DC Comics. Science et Vie Junior asked a simple question: “Can we run at flash speed?” »
And to get the series off to a good start, today I’m pitting myself against superheroes by imagining what would happen if we could run at flash speed!
The superhero of the DC Comics universe finds himself with supersonic speed after being struck by lightning. But if we can also run so fast, what are the consequences for our bodies?
>> Also read: The first satellite images of the lightning detector: How is this a revolution?
The energy input that this requires will not be accessible to run quickly the light
We would need to expend about 240 trillion calories to reach half the speed of light. And to get such a contribution of energy, it would be necessary to swallow 800 billion burgers! A simple Maxi Best Of list wouldn’t be enough…
We were instantly charred
At this speed, the friction of the air against our body produces heat intense enough to instantly catch fire. It’s another way to burn calories than before, but it’s definitely not the best.
We won’t see anything.
We’ve all experienced it already, the faster we go, the lower our field of vision. Just try to see clearly through the window of a car launched at 130 km/h on the highway to realize this. And at supersonic speed… In other words, you’d be blind.
And even if we see, our brain will not have time to understand what it sees. Passing at that speed in front of your favorite fast food restaurant, you will have already passed it by 30,000 km before you tell yourself that you have to stop there to recharge your batteries.
Your organs will not survive braking and acceleration
Because of the principle of inertia. Let’s take some time to explain it.
According to this law, a body remains at rest – and a body in motion remains in motion – so long as no external force acts on that body.
At rest, our internal organs “float” inside the skeleton, like the brain in the skull.
When we accelerate, our muscles move our skeleton, but that acceleration isn’t immediately transmitted to our organs. For a short period of time, they remain motionless, thus “pulling out” from the rest of the body: in case of sudden acceleration, the cranial box hits the brain that has lagged behind.
And if the body suddenly brakes, there are the organs that continue to progress while the body stops: the brain “crushes” against the cranial box. The more sudden the acceleration/braking, the more violent the impact and the more serious the damage. Tetouan Corlett
In short, it would be physically impossible for him to run at Flash’s speed, and his superpowers would unfortunately remain imaginary.
>> Also read: Superheroes: Are we far from their records?
