Super-Speed

[BigSoph]

I always wondered about super-speedsters running up the side of a building

How do they "stick"?

If it is momentum, how do they go from horizontal to vertical and lose no energy. And not simply plow through the building

(Kinetic Energy of a 180 lb man running at Mach 5 (roughly 1 mile per second) is 1.17x10^8 joules, or 6300 times that of a 0.50 calibre bullet or equal to 24 ounces of plastic explosives)

If it is friction, then whenever a speedster climbs a building, there must be a deep furrow from his legs belt sanding the side of the building

[ahole_derby]

They can do this because they are characters in a comic-book, and not actually real.

[de4dp00l]

It's a little known secret that anyone can climb walls, at any speed, by simply placing a little used bubble gum on the bottom of your shoes. The super speedsters do it fast because, well, they're really fast. Duh.

[aya99]

id say its not realistic... :)

[urlmaker]

I can even deal with that in comic book physics. What bugs me is when the Super Speedster picks up and moves like a city, person by person in very little time. Wouldn't you shatter spinal columns as you grabbed them on the fly. And how does the passenger keep from being torn limb from limb and burnt to a crisp by friction even if the speedster himself is immune to the effects...

[DareDevil_13]

Because he's special;)

I really don't think half of the things in comics could even be simulated in reality. That's why comics are often thught of as 'escaping reality.'

[SumYungGai]

This was addressed in the Wally West Flash comic. At the time, Wally was limited to a few times the speed of sound, and was trying to jumpstart his powers back to his Kid Flash levels. Dr. Tina McGee theorized that everything Wally did as Kid Flash was completely unrealistic and impossible by normal physics. She theorized that Barry was actually a being of pure energy that took the shape of a man, and that the things Wally used to do would only be possible with the support of this energy being.

Wally would later discover the speed force and how it granted it's wielder the ability to play with the laws of physics so that the effects of velocity would only help the speedster--so friction can be used to run up the side of the building, while the forward momentum that should smash him into the building is just channeled back into the speed force. Likewise, the speed force can be used to protect whatever or whomever the speedster is carrying from the laws of physics.

In other words, a wizard did it.

[Q99]

Post #5 of 7

I can even deal with that in comic book physics. What bugs me is when the Super Speedster picks up and moves like a city, person by person in very little time. Wouldn't you shatter spinal columns as you grabbed them on the fly. And how does the passenger keep from being torn limb from limb and burnt to a crisp by friction even if the speedster himself is immune to the effects...


With Flash, he can extend his speedforce to others, protect them from friction, etc..

The Speed Force really is the ability to ignore select laws of physics.

[The Qwardian]

Originally posted by SumYungGai


In other words, a wizard did it.


LOL

The speed force was the only thing that Flash had over Quicksilver. In the JLA/Avengers, Flash was running backwards and was passing Quicksilver.

I thought this post was an idea for a new power that would allow its user to run the complete lenght of his speed and make an attack. kinda in the middle of charge and HSS.

[Supes]

Ha.

in DC Speed Force in the catch all.

In effect the amount of force they are pushing downwards with is greater than the acceleration due to gravity. They are immune to the extra friction they create of course this seems to be a stored use of the friction as they can also seemingly stop on a dime.

I also wondered about people being snapped from stand still and not getting snapped in two. Again we can assume the same force that keeps Wally's legs from ripping off of his body due to the amount of speed they are moving also protects anybody Flash touches.

And of course the speed force is the only thing (speed wise) the Flash has over Quicksilver. Because QS is a mutant and Flash is just a normal guy.

The real question is how can Quicksilver do the things he does and not kill anybody he picks up. "the answer will probably be something to the effect of .. he's a mutant and that's a part of his powers"

[Q99]

Well, he's related to Magneto, isn't he?

Magnetisum! Everything can be explained with Magnetisum! Don't ask me how, because Magnets!

[malreux]

These questions were all answered in the comic DP7 in marvels old New Universe. Blur ran at superspeed and took a pistol out of a sheriffs hand...the thumb came with it...