What say ye?
Let's talk in terms of % of earth's gravity.
My guess is not 0 because how could you get traction to push yourself quickly.
I have no idea tbh. But thought of it today randomly.
What say ye?
Let's talk in terms of % of earth's gravity.
My guess is not 0 because how could you get traction to push yourself quickly.
I have no idea tbh. But thought of it today randomly.
Is this question only in reference to the mechanical forces impacting the runner? (Like if you could change g without effecting the properties of air?)
Or are you going to consider the effect of the pressure of the fluid that the runner is in? If g is different, then P=rho*g*h is going to be different. The density (rho) is also going to be different as well, and that will greatly effect the drag force on the runner.
So reducing g (and P and rho) would all seem to make the runner faster, but then the amount of oxygen in the air that the runner needs to breathe is also reduced.
This is all the same thing as running at altitude. Go to a mile high and g is barely reduced but the negative effects of reduced oxygen dominate the runner's performance. So, reducing g doesn't help when you consider all of the effects.
Are we assuming a flat surface with nothing to propel off of? What material is this surface, tartan, grass, concrete...?
In 0 g as long as you have a wall to push off of, just jump parralel to the ground to achieve max speed. I don't think this could really qualify as running though since you wouldn't have to step on the ground.
I tried looking through some research papers on running vs gravity. As usual, none of them involve sufficient sample sizes or actual elite runners.
If you really wanted to get a gauge on the effects of gravity vs speed... Find yourself an anti-gravity treadmill. The top speed should hopefully be very high. Do 20 x 1 min up w/ 2 min rest. Start at 120% gravity and decrease by 3% each rep down to 60%. Try and keep the same effort throughout the workout pieces, similar to 20x400 on the track. Adjust the pace each rep to the end of the previous rep, if it feels too easy or hard adjust the pace. Record the pace at the end of each rep.
At lower g values, friction would be very important. If you cannot generate much friction then most of the force you generate will be directed upwards. Increasing friction via a rough surface and wearing spikes would be paramount. As g decreases, I posit running form would devolve into 2 legged bounds since that would generate the most force. As gravity decreases the cadence would likely decrease meaning 180 spm on earth g might turn into 15 spm @ 1/25 g
On the moon and you can add at least 100 yards to your distance off the tee.
In response to the first two responses.
1. More complicated that I expected ok just gravity. Assume it's magic. And only affects that
2. Monaco track
Renewed Marathoner wrote:
What say ye?
Let's talk in terms of % of earth's gravity.
My guess is not 0 because how could you get traction to push yourself quickly.
I have no idea tbh. But thought of it today randomly.
100% 9.8 meters per second per second.
You have already seen "running" in low g when the astronauts (supposedly) tried it on the moon. They couldn't. They had to hop around like ridiculous bunny rabbits.
Low g, low cadence. Human mechanics can only slow down to a certain point. The reflexes are too quick to cycle through the motion that slowly.
In zero g you get basically only one step, because you never touch the ground again. Nobody hits top speed in only one step, even with no drag forces. With air density lower with lower g, but cadence higher with higher g, max speed will occur wherever these two opposing factors cancel each other out least. For humans it's probably where g is at right now, as we've been adapting to it for millions of years.
The less gravity you have, you will be able to get to a higher top speed. However, that says nothing about the acceleration, which probably be way lower. It would take you more time to get to that top speed, and your running pattern would look nothing like running on earth. You would probably look like a cheetah or a dog running form- trying to claw the ground at each step in order to push the ground- similar like running on the bottom of a pool only without the high resistance of the water. Air resistance would become a major factor at certain speeds and the thicker the air- the slower you would be.
A more interesting question would be what gravity would humans accelerate best at- no idea