Orders of magnitude (speed)

The orders of magnitude of speed is a comparative list of various speed levels spanning many scales of measurement, ranging from the near-imperceptible expansion of space under Hubble's law to the ultimate physical limit of the speed of light. Speeds across this range are encountered in natural phenomena, human-made objects, biological processes, and fundamental physics. To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various speed levels between approximately 2.2 m/s and 3.0 m/s (the speed of light). The list is organized by orders of magnitude, grouping entries by successive powers of ten. Values in bold are exact.

List of orders of magnitude for speed

+Factor (m/s)Value (m/s)Value (km/h)Value (mph)Value (c)Item10−182.27.84.97.3Expansion rate between 2 points in free space 1 m apart under Hubble's law.10−141.45.03.14.7Cave of the Crystals gypsum crystals' growth rate, the slowest directly measured normal growth rate for any crystal growth process.3.1691.1417.0891.0571 Bubnoff unit (1 μm/yr)10−131323Rate of erosion of bedrock.10−124.121.489.211.37Average growth rate of a limestone stalactite.10−119.83.52.23.2Rate of global sea level rise in 1993–2003 (3.1 mm/yr).10−103 to 31 to 17 to 71 to 1Typical relative speed of continental drift.10−91.34.72.94.3Average rate of the Moon receding from the Earth (approx. 38 mm/yr).4.81.71.11.6Human hair growth (average rate—note that there is a great range of variation).10−73 to 1.111.08 to 46.7 to 2.51 to 3.7Calculated speed of an amoeba.10−61.525.43.45.1Speed of a cellular vesicle propelled by a motor protein.10−51.023.672.283.40Speed of the tip of a -long hour hand on a clock.v = r ω = 0.07 m · 1.45.03.14.6Growth rate of bamboo, the fastest-growing woody plant, over 24 hours.10−44.01.48.91.3Speed of Jakobshavn Isbræ, one of the fastest glaciers, in 2003.62.21.32Typical speed of Thiovulum majus, the fastest-swimming bacterium.10−30.001780.006410.003985.94The speed of a particle orbiting a ball of lead of radius 1 meter near its surface under its gravity (that is, the first cosmic speed for this ball).0.002750.009900.006159.17World record speed of the fastest snail in the Congham, UK. 10−20.04760.1710.1061.58Compact cassette tape speed.TDK cassette spec sheet Retrieved on 27 March 20070.0800.290.182.6The top speed of a sloth.10−10.277810.62149.26571 km/h.0.447041.60934411.49121 mph.0.51441.8521.1511.7161 knot (nautical mile per hour)1001.24.322.684Typical scanning speed of an audio compact disc; the speed of signals (action potentials) traveling along axons in the human cortex.1–1.53.6–5.42.2–3.43.3–5.0Average walking speed—below a speed of about 2 m/s, it is more efficient to walk than to run, but above that speed, it is more efficient to run.2.398.535.357.97Average speed implied by the world record time for the 50-metre freestyle swim.5.7820.8112.931.928World record time marathon6–720–2512–151.8–2.3Comfortable bicycling speed.10110.43837.57823.353.48Average speed of Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt while setting the 100-meter world record in Berlin on 16 August 2009.12.4244.7227.784.14Top speed reached by Bolt during the same race.8–1430–5018–312.7–4.7Typical residential speed limit; top speed of a running cat or dog.1450314.7Typical speed of road-race cyclist.1760375Typical speed of thoroughbred racehorse or racing greyhound.5–2518–9011–561.7–8.3Speed of propagation for unmyelinated sensory neurons.30110701Typical speed of car (freeway); cheetah; sailfish; speed of go-fast boat.40140901.3Typical peak speed of a local service train (or intercity on lower standard tracks).40.05144.1789.591.335Land speed record for a human powered vehicle.541951221.8Maximum speed a human can attain during a face-down free-fall.672401492.2The top speed of the world's fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa.903202003Typical speed of a modern high-speed train (e.g. latest generation of production TGV); a diving peregrine falcon—fastest bird; 320 km/h or 200 mph is a parameter sometimes used in defining a supercar.913282043.04Fastest recorded ball (a golf ball) in sports.102100.67362.4225.183.3Maximum speed recorded by a MotoGP motorcycle. Set by Johann Zarco during the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit in a Ducati Desmosedici GP21 and Brad Binder during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello Circuit in a KTM RC16.1033702303.44Speed of super torpedo VA-111 Shkval.103.5372.6231.53.452Maximum speed recorded by a Formula One car. Set by Juan Pablo Montoya during the 2005 Italian Grand Prix at Monza in a McLaren MP4-20.105.5379.82363.52Maximum speed of a Ferrari F50 GT1.1134082543.77Fastest non-tornadic wind gust recorded on Earth - at Barrow Island, Australia on April 10, 1996, during Severe Tropical Cyclone Olivia.1204322704.0Speed of propagation for mammalian motor neurons.124.219447.19277.874.1Maximum speed of the Koenigsegg Agera RS (currently the fastest production car in the world).126–143452–517281–3214.2–4.8The fastest wind speed ever recorded on Earth, caused by the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado.150.65393375Top speed of an internal-combustion-powered NHRA Top Fuel Dragster.154554.4344.55.1Speed of the fastest crossbow arrow.156.9565351.15.2Speed of the fastest badminton shuttlecock.159.7574.8357.25.3Top speed of experimental test TGV train in 2007.1615803605.4Top speed of JR-Maglev in 2003.2509005608.3Typical cruising speed of a modern jet airliner, e.g. an Airbus A380.3141,1307021Top speed of any World War II-era aircraft, the Me 163B V18 set on July 6, 1944.3201,2007201.07The speed of a typical .22 LR bullet.340.31,2257611.135Speed of sound in standard atmosphere (15 °C and 1 atm).344.661,240.77770.981.15Max speed reached by the jet-propelled car ThrustSSC in 1997—Land speed record.3731,342.8833.91.2Highest speed recorded during a free fall set by Felix Baumgartner.4281,540.89571.4Max speed of Bell X-1.4641,6701,0401.55Speed of Earth's rotation at the equator.6032,170.81,3502Speed of the Concorde airliner.9753,5102,1803.25Muzzle velocity of M16 rifle.9813,5322,1943.27SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft driven by a mechanical jet engine.1031,0223,6792,2863.41Mean orbital velocity of the Moon around Earth.1,4005,0403,1004.6Speed of the Space Shuttle when the solid rocket boosters separate.1,4225,119.23,181.24.7The speed of fastest commercial cartridge. (.220 Swift, 1.9 grams (29 gr) bullet and 2.7 grams (42 gr) of 3031 powder.)1,5005,4003,4005Speed of sound in water or in soft tissue.1,7896,4434,0026Speed of BrahMos II hypersonic cruise missile2,0007,2004,5006.7Estimated speed of a thermal neutron.2,0197,268.44,5166.7Speed of the North American X-15 rocket plane.2,3758,5505,3457.9Escape velocity from Moon.2,7009,6006,0009Speed of wind on exoplanet HD 189733 b.Discovery Space: Top 10 Extrasolar Planets 2,88510,3856,4539.6Top speed of the fastest rocket sled.846 TS Hypersonic Upgrade Program 3,37312,1447,5461.125Speed of the unmanned X-43 rocket/scramjet plane.4,50016,00010,0001.5A typical value for the specific impulse of current rockets.7,70027,70017,2002.57Speed of International Space Station and typical speed of other satellites such as the Space Shuttle in low Earth orbit.7,77728,00017,4002.594Speed of propagation of the explosion in a detonating cord.10410,60038,16023,713.650.00004Speed of propagation of the explosion of Octanitrocubane (ONC).11,10739,985.224,8460.00004Speed of Apollo 10 – high speed record for human-crewed vehicle.11,20040,32025,1000.00004Escape velocity from Earth.16,10057,90036,0000.00005Fastest projectile velocity (1994).16,21058,35636,2610.00005Escape speed from Earth by NASA New Horizons spacecraft—Fastest escape velocity.17,00061,00038,0000.00006The approximate speed of the Voyager 1 probe relative to the Sun, when it exited the Solar System.29,800107,28066,7000.00010Speed of the Earth in orbit around the Sun.47,800172,100106,9000.00016Atmospheric entry speed of the Galileo atmospheric probe—Fastest controlled atmospheric entry for a human-made object.66,000240,000150,0000.00022Lower speed bound of the steel plate cap from the Pascal-B nuclear test of Operation Plumbbob.Operation Plumbbob70,220252,800157,1000.00023Speed of the Helios 2 solar probe.73,800265,000165,0000.00023Estimated top speed of the Juno spacecraft (mass ~3600 kg) relative to Earth before insertion into Jupiter's orbit — second fastest human-made technical object.105100,000360,000224,0000.0003Dust particles in dust accelerators can exceed this speed.M. Horányi et al.: The SSERVI - Impact Dust Accelerator Facility at the University of Colorado , 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2016), accessed May 30, 2017140,000540,000313,1700.00047Approaching velocity of Messier 98 to our galaxy.192,000690,000430,0000.00064Predicted top speed of the Parker Solar Probe at its closest perihelion in 2024.200,000700,000450,0000.00070Orbital speed of the Solar System in the Milky Way galaxy.308,5711,080,000694,2880.001Approaching velocity of Andromeda Galaxy to our galaxy.369,8201,331,400827,2600.0012Current speed of the Sun, relative to the cosmic microwave background.440,0001,600,000980,0000.0015Typical speed of the stepped leader of lightning (cf. return stroke below).445,0001,600,000995,0000.0015Max velocity of the remaining shell (mass about 0.1 mg) of an inertial confinement fusion capsule driven by the National Ignition Facility for the 'Bigfoot' capsule campaign. Current fastest macroscopic human-made system.450,0001,600,0001,000,0000.0015Typical speed of a particle of the solar wind, relative to the Sun.552,0001,990,0001,230,0000.0018Speed of the Milky Way, relative to the cosmic microwave background.617,7002,224,0001,382,0000.0021Escape velocity from the surface of the Sun.1061,000,0003,600,0002,200,0000.0030Typical speed of a Moreton wave across the surface of the Sun.1,610,0005,800,0003,600,0000.0054Speed of hypervelocity star PSR B2224+65, which currently seems to be leaving the Milky Way.5,000,00018,000,00011,000,0000.017Estimated minimum speed of star S2 at its closest approach to Sagittarius A*.10714,000,00050,000,00031,000,0000.047Typical speed of a fast neutron.30,000,000100,000,00070,000,0000.1Typical speed of an electron in a cathode-ray tube.108100,000,000360,000,000220,000,0000.3Typical speed of the return stroke of lightning (cf. stepped leader above).124,000,000447,000,000277,000,0000.4Speed of light in a diamond (Refractive index 2.417).150,000,000540,000,000330,000,0000.5The escape velocity of a neutron star.200,000,000720,000,000440,000,0000.7Speed of a signal in an optical fiber.299,792,4561,079,252,840670,615,2821 − 9Speed of the 7 TeV protons in the Large Hadron Collider at full power.299,792,457.9961,079,252,848.786670,616,629.381 − 1Maximal speed of an electron in LEP (104.5 GeV).299,792,458 − 1.5×10−151,079,252,848.8 − 5.4×10−15670,616,629.41 − 4.9×10−24Speed of the Oh-My-God particle ultra-high-energy cosmic ray.299,792,4581,079,252,848.8670,616,629.41Speed of light or other electromagnetic radiation in a vacuum or massless particles.>299,792,458>1,079,252,848.8>670,616,629.4>1Galaxy recession velocity outside the Hubble sphere

See also Typical projectile speeds - also showing the corresponding kinetic energy per unit mass Neutron temperature

References