Project X - Speed

Speed

Dr. Brian Fleck takes a trip to the Black Rock Desert to take a look at the North American Eagle, a fighter jet that's been turned into a car. Outfitted with aluminum wheels and tiny wings called 'canards' which actually keep the car ON the ground - the crew hopes that this dream machine will break the current land speed record.

Meanwhile, Dr. Brian Alters places a bet at the Walthamstow Racetrack in east London. He finds out exactly how greyhounds, the second fastest land animals on earth, are built for speed.

And Dr. Jennifer Gardy takes a sprint on a 60km/hour treadmill to uncover the secrets of track runners. She finds out that speed isn't about how fast you move your feet.

Did You Know?

The current land speed record for a motor powered vehicle is 1221km an hour, set in October 1997 by the Thrust Super Sonic Car. It was the first car to break the sound barrier.
A snail moves at a whopping 1/20th of a kilometre an hour while the space shuttle in orbit travels at 28,000 km an hour.
Greyhounds are one of the fastest land animals. They can go from 0 to 60km/hour in just three strides.
Cheetahs and greyhounds both use a 'double suspension gallop' for running. Twice during their stride, all four legs are off the ground..
In 1912 the world record for the 100m sprint was 10.6 seconds. The current record, almost 100 years later, is 9.74 seconds. After a century of training, drugs and all, humans are not even one second faster.
Even the most intense training can only improve a runner's speed by 15%. You're either born to be a great sprinter - or not.

Speed

Did You Know?

Further Reading

Home of the North American Eagle

Thrust Super Sonic Car

World Greyhound Racing Federation

Dr. James Usherwood

Peter Weyand, Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering

run fast, run free