Getting the Run-Around
Here's a bit of fun. The Flash is one of my favorite DC superheroes, mainly because I like the whole speedster thing, and nobody does that better than the Flash. I'm also a big fan of the Justice League animated series. If you've seen most of that show, you may remember this scene, from Justice League Unlimited (YouTube clip; spoiler warning). It's possibly one of the best examples of super speed ever put on the screen, and shows why the Flash isn't just some goofy nut who can just run really fast.
Now, take a look at the first third of the video. Here we see Flash running around the world 8 times in 40 seconds. Now, some of that time is given over to expository images showing what the heck is going on, so it's not all that accurate of a time frame. But right around 0:57, we see him circle the globe three times in three seconds. That seems utterly ridiculous, but take a look at the math:
Average circumference of the Earth: 40,041,470 meters.
Flash's average speed from 0:57 to the one-minute mark: 40,041,470 m/s.
Speed of light: 299,792,458 m/s.
So in this clip, Flash only really gets up to about 13% of the speed of light. While hugely impressive, it's nowhere near what they have him doing in the comic book. Heck, Barry Allen routinely went faster than light speed in order to travel through time. And in this clip, even 13% of light speed is presented as near Flash's upper limit, dangerously close to the edge. It's a testament to how good the Justice League cartoon really was; the only way to make DC superheroes compelling is to tone down the power level a bit. Flash doesn't break too many laws of physics before breakfast, and Superman doesn't toss planets around. It keeps them from becoming hugely dull, and lets them share screen time with Batman without feeling embarrassed. Most of the time, anyway; Batman's awesome.
-Sam
Now, take a look at the first third of the video. Here we see Flash running around the world 8 times in 40 seconds. Now, some of that time is given over to expository images showing what the heck is going on, so it's not all that accurate of a time frame. But right around 0:57, we see him circle the globe three times in three seconds. That seems utterly ridiculous, but take a look at the math:
Average circumference of the Earth: 40,041,470 meters.
Flash's average speed from 0:57 to the one-minute mark: 40,041,470 m/s.
Speed of light: 299,792,458 m/s.
So in this clip, Flash only really gets up to about 13% of the speed of light. While hugely impressive, it's nowhere near what they have him doing in the comic book. Heck, Barry Allen routinely went faster than light speed in order to travel through time. And in this clip, even 13% of light speed is presented as near Flash's upper limit, dangerously close to the edge. It's a testament to how good the Justice League cartoon really was; the only way to make DC superheroes compelling is to tone down the power level a bit. Flash doesn't break too many laws of physics before breakfast, and Superman doesn't toss planets around. It keeps them from becoming hugely dull, and lets them share screen time with Batman without feeling embarrassed. Most of the time, anyway; Batman's awesome.
-Sam