Fastest Man Alive … Underwater

Authors

  • Siobhan Parish The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Leicester
  • George Harwood The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Leicester
  • Patrick Conboy The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Leicester

Keywords:

Sports, Physics, Fluid dynamics, Drag, Usain Bolt

Abstract

If based purely on modern records, Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt is the fastest man to have ever lived. In Berlins 2009 World Championships, he recorded a time of 9.58 s over 100 m with a negligible tail wind of 0.9 ms-1, giving him an average velocity of 10.44 ms-1. However while this feat was performed on land, he would require more power to accomplish such a speed under water. This paper models the amount of extra power required to run at this same velocity, at a depth of 500 m in the Atlantic Ocean. The additional power required to overcome drag forces from the water was calculated as 728 horsepower.

References

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How to Cite

Parish, S., Harwood, G., & Conboy, P. (2017). Fastest Man Alive … Underwater. Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, 4. Retrieved from https://journals.le.ac.uk/index.php/jist/article/view/784

Issue

Vol. 4 (2015)

Section

Articles

License

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.  All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0).