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From the beginning of time we have dedicated
countless hours to making everything from our food to our spaceships go
just a little bit faster. We are obsessed with speed, and even the rate
at which we break our own records is astounding. So get reading. Fast!
By the time you reach the bottom of this page our list of the fastest
things known to man will probably be outdated.
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World's Fastest Car: 431 km/h (268 mph)
Currently the world's fastest street-legal production car (as opposed to
concept cars or modified cars) is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport which
can reach a speed of 431 km/h (268 mph).
While only 5 of the World Record model were made out of a total of 30
Super Sports, the other 25 Super Sports will all also achieve this speed
with the limiter turned off. After a review by a panel of experts,
Guinness considers this not to be a modification, and thus it is
eligible for the record. |
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World's Fastest Man: 41.38 km/h (25.71 mph)
On May 17th, 2009, Usain Bolt ran the last 100m of a 150m race in just
8.70 seconds, the fastest ever recorded time for a human being over a
100m distance. This equals an average speed of 41.38 km/h (25.71 mph).
This is not an official world record as the IAAF – the International
Athletics governing body – does not recognize the distance. However,
later that August, Bolt achieved the official world record for 100m when
he clocked in at 9.58 seconds. |
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World's Fastest Computer: 33.86 quadrillions of
calculations per second
In November 2014, the "Tianhe-2," a supercomputer developed by China's
National University of Defense Technology, retained its position as the
world's fastest supercomputer for the fourth consecutive time with a
performance of 33.86 petaflop/s (quadrillions of calculations per
second) on the Linpack benchmark.
The supercomputer is currently located at the Sun Yat-sen University,
Guangzhou, China, and it was developed by a team of 1,300 scientists and
engineers. |
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World's Fastest Land Animal: 120 km/h (75 mph)
Inhabiting most of Africa and parts of Iran, the cheetah can run faster
than any other land animal: as fast as 120 km/h (75 mph) in short bursts
covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft), and has the ability to
accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds.
Cheetahs can accelerate four times as fast as a human, thanks to greater
muscle power, and can slow down by 14 kilometers per hour in one stride. |
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World's Fastest Ambulance: 300 km/h (185mph)
Dubbed the "fastest ambulance on earth," Dubai's newest ambulance is a
refitted Lotus Evora that takes paramedics to their intended
destinations at speeds of up to 300km/h (185mph).
A defibrillator and first aid kit squeeze in behind the driver's seat,
with an oxygen supply in the boot. Inside the two-seater, just above a
small control box for the siren and flashing light, a hard-cased
widescreen notebook transmits information that the paramedics will
gather about the patient back to the hospital, or to an incoming crew.
Dubai's 50 paramedics will have to take driving lessons before using the
$160,000 (US) cars, to help them navigate the country's terrible
traffic.
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World's Fastest Temperature Change: a 49 °F (27
°C) rise in two minutes
On January 22, 1943 at about 7:30 a.m., the city of Spearfish, South
Dakota had a temperature of -4°F (-20°C). However, the wind picked up
speed rapidly and two minutes later, at 7:32 a.m., the temperature was
+45 °F (+7 °C) above zero, making it the world's fastest temperature
change ever recorded on earth: a 49 °F (27 °C) rise in just two minutes!
By 9:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to up to 54 °F (12 °C), then
suddenly, the wind died and the temperature tumbled back to -4 °F (-20
°C). This 58 °F (32 °C) drop took only 27 minutes.
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World's Fastest Water Slide: 105 km/h (65mph)
Located in Fortaleza, Brazil, the "Insano" is the highest water slide in
the world at 41 meters high, as listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Equivalent in height to a 14-story building, the ride plunges swimmers
from sky to pool in just four or five seconds, while traveling at
approximately 65 miles an hour.
The Brazilian water park website describes the Insano as the most
extreme equipment of this type of the planet. At the end of the descent
the slide levels off and deposits riders safely in a swimming pool to
relax.
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Fastest Roller Coaster
At a top speed of 150mph the recently constructed Formula Rossa is the
world’s fastest roller coaster. It is located at Ferrari World in Abu
Dubai, United Arab Emirates and reaches its top speed in less than 5
seconds using a hydraulic launch system.
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