SortStack #3172 — 2035-02-14

By speed · Order from slowest to fastest.

1. The drift of a tectonic plate 21.9 mm/year

   Plates move about as fast as your fingernails grow, yet over millions of years they have rearranged whole continents.

2. A charging black rhinoceros 54 km/h

   A rhino's horn is made of keratin, the same material as your hair and nails, not bone.

3. A common swift in flight 113 km/h

   Swifts can stay airborne for nearly a year without landing, even sleeping on the wing high above the ground.

4. A golf ball off the driver 340 km/h

   A driven golf ball can briefly spin thousands of times a minute, which is what makes it climb and hold the air.

5. A maglev train at record speed 460 km/h

   Maglev trains float on magnets with no wheels, so the only friction left to overcome is the air itself.

6. Concorde at cruising speed 2.2K km/h

   Concorde flew so fast that the friction heated its frame, stretching the whole plane several inches in flight.

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