How fast is 28 meters per second?
It's about as fast as a Gazelle
The speed of a Gazelle is about 20 meters per second.
(for Thomson's Gazelle, a.k.a. Eudorcas thomsoni, a.k.a. "Tommie", a.k.a. "Tommy")
A Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of up to 20 meters per second. The gazelle's speed doesn't match that of its chief predator, the cheetah, but a gazelle's endurance usually ensures an escape in distances greater than 500 m (0.3 mi).
It's about as fast as a Hare
The speed of a Hare is about 20 meters per second.
(for European Brown Hare, a.k.a. Brown Hare, a.k.a. Lepus europaeus, a.k.a. Brown Hare)
The European Hare can run at speeds of up to 20 meters per second. While speed is a factor in their escapes, hares evade their chief predators — wolves, foxes, and golden eagles — by fleeing in a zigzag pattern.
It's about nine-tenths as fast as a Knuckleball (baseball)
The speed of a Knuckleball (baseball) is about 30 meters per second.
(a.k.a. knuckler, a.k.a. floater, a.k.a. dancer, a.k.a. butterfly ball) (major league average)
The average speed of major league knuckleball pitch is 31 meters per second. Eddie Cicotte, who was later implicated in the 1919 Black Sox scandal, is credited with developing the pitch ca. 1906.
It's about nine-tenths as fast as a Cheetah
The speed of a Cheetah is about 30.690 meters per second.
(Acinonyx jubatus)
The cheetah can reach speeds of up to 30.690 meters per second in short bursts. From a crouching position, the cheetah can attain these speeds in just 2.25 seconds.
It's about four-fifths as fast as a Hurricane
The speed of a Hurricane is about 33.10 meters per second.
(formally: Topical cyclone; a.k.a. typhoon)
A hurricane is defined by the US National Hurricane Center as a Northern Hemisphere tropical storm having one-minute average wind-speeds of at least 33.10 meters per second. Typhoons Tip (October, 1979) and Keith (October, 1997) and Hurricanes Camille (August, 1969) and Allen (August, 1980) jointly hold the record for highest tropical storm wind speeds at 86.10 meters per second.
It's about four-fifths as fast as a Curveball (baseball)
The speed of a Curveball (baseball) is about 34 meters per second.
(a.k.a. hook, a.k.a. hammer, a.k.a. yakker) (major league average)
The average speed of major league curveball pitch is 33 meters per second. In the 1940's, debate over whether there really was a curve in the curveball pitch was settled with the conclusion that the ball does curve; however, an optical illusion caused by the spin of the ball and the batter's perception of motion exaggerates the extent of the curve.
It's about one-and-two-fifths times as fast as a Greyhound
The speed of a Greyhound is about 20.10 meters per second.
(a.k.a. English greyhound) (approximate maximum speed)
Greyhounds reach average race speeds of 20.10 meters per second. Despite their racing prowess, greyhounds are not considered energetic dogs — the typical greyhound race requires the dogs to run for less than 35 seconds.
It's about two-thirds as fast as a Fastball (baseball)
The speed of a Fastball (baseball) is about 41 meters per second.
(a.k.a. rising fastball, a.k.a. cross-seam fastball, a.k.a. heater, a.k.a. hummer, a.k.a. smoker; for four-seam grip) (major league average)
The average speed of major league fastball pitch is 42 meters per second. When up against the quickest professional fastball pitchers, a batter may have less than 0.4 seconds to react to a pitched ball.
It's about one-and-two-thirds times as fast as Secretariat
The speed of Secretariat is about 16.80 meters per second.
(at Belmont Stakes, 1973)
Setting a record finish, Secretariat ran the Belmont Stakes — a 12 furlong race length — in 2:24, for an average speed of 16.80 meters per second in 1973. His margin of victory in the race, also a record-setter, was 31 lengths.
It's about half as fast as a Skydiver (belly-to-earth)
The speed of a Skydiver (belly-to-earth) is about 53 meters per second.
(Belly-to-Earth orientation, average conditions, terminal velocity)
A belly-to-Earth oriented skydiver's terminal velocity is about 53 meters per second. In a typical jump from 3,900 m (13,000 ft), a diver in this orientation will be in freefall for 60 seconds.
It's about half as fast as a Tornado
The speed of a Tornado is about 55.209440 meters per second.
(EF2) (wind speed range average)
According to the Enhanced Fujita scale implemented by the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, a "significant" tornado has an Enhanced Funjita scale classification of EF2 and is characterized by wind gust speeds between 49.17440 meters per second and 61.244480 meters per second. The largest recorded tornado — an F4 event occurring in Nebraska in May, 2004 — was almost 4.02 km (2.5 mi) across.
It's about two-fifths as fast as a Skydiver (headfirst)
The speed of a Skydiver (headfirst) is about 72 meters per second.
(Head-to-Earth orientation or standing, average conditions, terminal velocity)
A head-to-Earth or standing-oriented skydiver's terminal velocity assuming average conditions is about 72 meters per second. In a typical jump from 3,900 m (13,000 ft), a diver in this orientation will be in freefall for 46 seconds.
It's about two-and-a-half times as fast as Michael Johnson
The speed of Michael Johnson is about 10.350 meters per second.
(a.k.a. Michael Duane Johnson) (sprinter; 1967-) (at the Atlanta Olympics, 1996)
Setting a record that stood for 12 years, Michael Johnson ran a 200 m in 0:19.32 for an average speed of 10.350 meters per second at the 1996 Olympics. Johnson was nicknamed "the Man with the Golden shoes" in recognition of the custom footwear worn during these races — a pair of Nikes with a left size of 10.5 and a right size of 11.
It's about two-and-a-half times as fast as Usain Bolt
The speed of Usain Bolt is about 10.30 meters per second.
(at the Beijing Olympics, 2008) (a.k.a. Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D.) (sprinter; 1986-)
Setting a world record, Usain Bolt ran a 100 m in 0:09.69 for an average speed of 10.30 meters per second at the 2008 Olympics. Furthermore, Bolt's margin of record breaking — 0.03 s — is the largest margin of victory in the history of digital measurements.
It's about one-third as fast as a Helicopter
The speed of a Helicopter is about 78.90 meters per second.
(for AH-64A Apache, a.k.a. Hughes Model 77) (maximum cruise speed)
The AH-64 helicopter, one of the primary helicopters used by the United States Army, flies at a top cruise speed of 78.90 meters per second. The AH-64 is the primary military helicopter of several nations including the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Japan, and the Netherlands.