In science fiction, people often find a way to move at the speed of light. But you might find yourself asking, could your body survive going so fast? What would happen to it?
First, let’s assume that it is possible — though it is not — for a human to move at the speed of light, which is 299,792,458 meters per second (983,571,056 feet per second), or about 186,000 miles per second. There’s no issue, per se, with a person moving at a very fast constant speed. Humans can’t feel constant velocity, so you wouldn’t even necessarily notice you were moving that fast.
Your biggest issue would be acceleration — actually reaching that speed. Too much acceleration force can hurt, and even kill, us. At high accelerations, “your blood will have a hard time pumping to your extremities,” said Michael Pravica, a professor of physics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
