To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various speed levels between approximately 2.2 m/s and 3.0 m/s (the speed of light). Values in bold are exact.
| 10−18 | 2.2 | 7.8 | 4.9 | 7.3 | Expansion rate between 2 points in free space 1 m apart under Hubble's law. [1] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10−14 | 1.4 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 4.7 | Cave of the Crystals gypsum crystals' growth rate, the slowest directly measured normal growth rate for any crystal growth process.[2] | |
| 3.169 | 1.141 | 7.089 | 1.057 | 1 Bubnoff unit (1 μm/yr) | ||
| 10−13 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Rate of erosion of bedrock.[3] | |
| 10−12 | 4.12 | 1.48 | 9.21 | 1.37 | Average growth rate of a limestone stalactite. | |
| 10−11 | 9.8 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 3.2 | Rate of global sea level rise in 1993–2003 (3.1 mm/yr).[4] | |
| 10−10 | 3 to 3 | 1 to 1 | 7 to 7 | 1 to 1 | Typical relative speed of continental drift. | |
| 10−9 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 2.9 | 4.3 | Average rate of the Moon receding from the Earth (approx. 38 mm/yr). | |
| 4.8 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.6 | Human hair growth (average rate—note that there is a great range of variation). | ||
| 10−7 | 3 to 1.11 | 1.08 to 4 | 6.7 to 2.5 | 1 to 3.7 | Calculated speed of an amoeba.[5] | |
| 10−6 | 1.52 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 5.1 | Speed of a cellular vesicle propelled by a motor protein.[6] | |
| 10−5 | 1.02 | 3.67 | 2.28 | 3.40 | Speed of the tip of a 7cm (03inches)-long hour hand on a clock.[7] | |
| 1.4 | 5.0 | 3.1 | 4.6 | Growth rate of bamboo, the fastest-growing woody plant, over 24 hours.[8] | ||
| 10−4 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 8.9 | 1.3 | Speed of Jakobshavn Isbræ, one of the fastest glaciers, in 2003.[9] | |
| 6 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 2 | Typical speed of Thiovulum majus, the fastest-swimming bacterium.[10] | ||
| 10−3 | 0.00178 | 0.00641 | 0.00398 | 5.94 | The speed of a particle orbiting a ball of lead of radius 1 m near its surface under its gravity (that is, the first cosmic speed for this ball). | |
| 0.00275 | 0.00990 | 0.00615 | 9.17 | World record speed of the fastest snail in the Congham, UK.[11] | ||
| 10−2< | -- Dubious as 5 times faster than world record! | 0.013 | 0.0468 | 0.029 | 4.3 | Speed of a Garden snail.[12] |
| 0.0476 | 0.171 | 0.106 | 1.58 | Compact cassette tape speed.[13] | ||
| 0.080 | 0.29 | 0.18 | 2.6 | The top speed of a sloth. | ||
| 10−1 | 0.2778 | 1 | 0.6214 | 9.2657 | 1 km/h. | |
| 0.44704 | 1.609344 | 1 | 1.4912 | 1 mph. | ||
| 0.5144 | 1.852 | 1.151 | 1.716 | 1 knot (nautical mile per hour) | ||
| 100 | 1.2 | 4.32 | 2.68 | 4 | Typical scanning speed of an audio compact disc; the speed of signals (action potentials) traveling along axons in the human cortex. | |
| 1–1.5 | 3.6–5.4 | 2.2–3.4 | 3.3–5.0 | Average walking speed—below a speed of about 2 m/s, it is more efficient to walk than to run, but above that speed, it is more efficient to run. | ||
| 2.39 | 8.53 | 5.35 | 7.97 | World record time 50m freestyle swim | ||
| 5.78 | 20.81 | 12.93 | 1.928 | World record time marathon[14] | ||
| 6–7 | 20–25 | 12–15 | 1.8–2.3 | Comfortable bicycling speed. | ||
| 101 | 10.438 | 37.578 | 23.35 | 3.48 | Average speed of Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt while setting the 100m world record in Berlin on 16 August 2009. | |
| 12.42 | 44.72 | 27.78 | 4.14 | Top speed reached by Bolt during the same race. | ||
| 8–14 | 30–50 | 18–31 | 2.7–4.7 | Typical residential speed limit; top speed of a running cat or dog. | ||
| 14 | 50 | 31 | 4.7 | Typical speed of road-race cyclist. | ||
| 17 | 60 | 37 | 5 | Typical speed of thoroughbred racehorse or racing greyhound. | ||
| 5–25 | 18–90 | 11–56 | 1.7–8.3 | Speed of propagation for unmyelinated sensory neurons. | ||
| 30 | 110 | 70 | 1 | Typical speed of car (freeway); cheetah—fastest of all terrestrial animals; sailfish—fastest fish; speed of go-fast boat. | ||
| 40 | 140 | 90 | 1.3 | Typical peak speed of a local service train (or intercity on lower standard tracks). | ||
| 40.05 | 144.17 | 89.59 | 1.335 | Land speed record for a human powered vehicle.[15] | ||
| 54 | 195 | 122 | 1.8 | Maximum speed a human can attain during a face-down free-fall. | ||
| 67 | 240 | 149 | 2.2 | The top speed of the world's fastest roller coaster, Formula Rossa. | ||
| 90 | 320 | 200 | 3 | Typical speed of a modern high-speed train (e.g. latest generation of production TGV); a diving peregrine falcon—fastest bird; 320 km/h or 200 mph is a parameter sometimes used in defining a supercar.[16] | ||
| 91 | 328 | 204 | 3.04 | Fastest recorded ball (a golf ball) in sports.[17] | ||
| 102 | 100.67 | 362.4 | 225.18 | 3.3 | Maximum speed recorded by a MotoGP motorcycle. Set by Johann Zarco during the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix at Losail International Circuit in a Ducati Desmosedici GP21 and Brad Binder during the 2021 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello Circuit in a KTM RC16.[18] | |
| 103 | 370 | 230 | 3.44 | Speed of super torpedo VA-111 Shkval. | ||
| 103.5 | 372.6 | 231.5 | 3.452 | Maximum speed recorded by a Formula One car. Set by Juan Pablo Montoya during the 2005 Italian Grand Prix at Monza in a McLaren MP4-20. | ||
| 105.5 | 379.8 | 236 | 3.52 | Maximum speed of a Ferrari F50 GT1. | ||
| 113 | 408 | 254 | 3.77 | Fastest non-tornadic wind gust recorded on Earth - at Barrow Island, Australia on April 10, 1996, during Severe Tropical Cyclone Olivia.[19] | ||
| 120 | 432 | 270 | 4.0 | Speed of propagation for mammalian motor neurons. | ||
| 124.219 | 447.19 | 277.87 | 4.1 | Maximum speed of the Koenigsegg Agera RS (currently the fastest production car in the world).[20] | ||
| 126–143 | 452–517 | 281–321 | 4.2–4.8 | The fastest wind speed ever recorded on Earth, caused by the 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado. | ||
| 150.6 | 539 | 337 | 5 | Top speed of an internal-combustion-powered NHRA Top Fuel Dragster. | ||
| 154 | 554.4 | 344.5 | 5.1 | Speed of the fastest crossbow arrow. | ||
| 157 | 575 | 351 | 5.2 | Top speed of experimental test TGV train in 2007. | ||
| 161 | 580 | 360 | 5.4 | Top speed of JR-Maglev in 2003. | ||
| 250 | 900 | 560 | 8.3 | Typical cruising speed of a modern jet airliner, e.g. an Airbus A380. | ||
| 314 | 1,130 | 702 | 1 | Top speed of any World War II-era aircraft, the Me 163B V18 set on July 6, 1944. | ||
| 320 | 1,200 | 720 | 1.07 | The speed of a typical .22 LR bullet. | ||
| 340.3 | 1,225 | 761 | 1.135 | Speed of sound in standard atmosphere (15 °C and 1 atm). | ||
| 344.66 | 1,240.77 | 770.98 | 1.15 | Max speed reached by the jet-propelled car ThrustSSC in 1997—Land speed record.[21] | ||
| 373 | 1,342.8 | 833.9 | 1.2 | Highest speed recorded during a free fall set by Felix Baumgartner. | ||
| 428 | 1,540.8 | 957 | 1.4 | Max speed of Bell X-1. | ||
| 464 | 1,670 | 1,040 | 1.55 | Speed of Earth's rotation at the equator. | ||
| 603 | 2,170.8 | 1,350 | 2 | Speed of the Concorde airliner. | ||
| 975 | 3,510 | 2,180 | 3.25 | Muzzle velocity of M16 rifle. | ||
| 981 | 3,532 | 2,194 | 3.27 | SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest aircraft driven by a mechanical jet engine. | ||
| 103 | 1,022 | 3,679 | 2,286 | 3.41 | Mean orbital velocity of the Moon around Earth. | |
| 1,400 | 5,040 | 3,100 | 4.6 | Speed of the Space Shuttle when the solid rocket boosters separate. | ||
| 1,422 | 5,119.2 | 3,181.2 | 4.7 | The speed of fastest commercial cartridge. (.220 Swift, 1.9 grams (29 gr) bullet and 2.7 grams (42 gr) of 3031 powder.) | ||
| 1,500 | 5,400 | 3,400 | 5 | Speed of sound in water or in soft tissue.[22] | ||
| 1,789 | 6,443 | 4,002 | 6 | Speed of BrahMos II hypersonic cruise missile | ||
| 2,000 | 7,200 | 4,500 | 6.7 | Estimated speed of a thermal neutron. | ||
| 2,019 | 7,268.4 | 4,516 | 6.7 | Speed of the North American X-15 rocket plane. | ||
| 2,375 | 8,550 | 5,345 | 7.9 | Escape velocity from Moon. | ||
| 2,700 | 9,600 | 6,000 | 9 | Speed of wind on exoplanet HD 189733 b.[23] | ||
| 2,885 | 10,385 | 6,453 | 9.6 | Top speed of the fastest rocket sled.[24] | ||
| 3,373 | 12,144 | 7,546 | 1.125 | Speed of the unmanned X-43 rocket/scramjet plane. | ||
| 4,500 | 16,000 | 10,000 | 1.5 | A typical value for the specific impulse of current rockets. | ||
| 7,700 | 27,700 | 17,200 | 2.57 | Speed of International Space Station and typical speed of other satellites such as the Space Shuttle in low Earth orbit. | ||
| 7,777 | 28,000 | 17,400 | 2.594 | Speed of propagation of the explosion in a detonating cord. | ||
| 104 | 10,600 | 38,160 | 23,713.65 | 0.00004 | Speed of propagation of the explosion of Octanitrocubane (ONC). | |
| 11,107 | 39,985.2 | 24,846 | 0.00004 | Speed of Apollo 10 – high speed record for human-crewed vehicle. | ||
| 11,200 | 40,320 | 25,100 | 0.00004 | Escape velocity from Earth. | ||
| 16,100 | 57,900 | 36,000 | 0.00005 | Fastest projectile velocity (1994).[25] | ||
| 16,210 | 58,356 | 36,261 | 0.00005 | Escape speed from Earth by NASA New Horizons spacecraft—Fastest escape velocity. | ||
| 17,000 | 61,000 | 38,000 | 0.00006 | The approximate speed of the Voyager 1 probe relative to the Sun, when it exited the Solar System.[26] | ||
| 29,800 | 107,280 | 66,700 | 0.00010 | Speed of the Earth in orbit around the Sun. | ||
| 47,800 | 172,100 | 106,900 | 0.00016 | Atmospheric entry speed of the Galileo atmospheric probe—Fastest controlled atmospheric entry for a human-made object. | ||
| 66,000 | 240,000 | 150,000 | 0.00022 | Lower speed bound of the steel plate cap from the Pascal-B nuclear test of Operation Plumbbob.[27] | ||
| 70,220 | 252,800 | 157,100 | 0.00023 | Speed of the Helios 2 solar probe. | ||
| 73,800 | 265,000 | 165,000 | 0.00023 | Estimated top speed of the Juno spacecraft (mass ~3600 kg) relative to Earth before insertion into Jupiter's orbit — second fastest human-made technical object.[28] | ||
| 105 | 100,000 | 360,000 | 224,000 | 0.0003 | Dust particles in dust accelerators can exceed this speed.[29] | |
| 140,000 | 540,000 | 313,170 | 0.00047 | Approaching velocity of Messier 98 to our galaxy. | ||
| 192,000 | 690,000 | 430,000 | 0.00064 | Predicted top speed of the Parker Solar Probe at its closest perihelion in 2024.[30] [31] | ||
| 200,000 | 700,000 | 450,000 | 0.00070 | Orbital speed of the Solar System in the Milky Way galaxy. | ||
| 308,571 | 1,080,000 | 694,288 | 0.001 | Approaching velocity of Andromeda Galaxy to our galaxy. | ||
| 440,000 | 1,600,000 | 980,000 | 0.0015 | Typical speed of the stepped leader of lightning (cf. return stroke below).[32] | ||
| 445,000 | 1,600,000 | 995,000 | 0.0015 | Max velocity of the remaining shell (mass about 0.1 mg) of an inertial confinement fusion capsule driven by the National Ignition Facility for the 'Bigfoot' capsule campaign.[33] Current fastest macroscopic human-made system. | ||
| 450,000 | 1,600,000 | 1,000,000 | 0.0015 | Typical speed of a particle of the solar wind, relative to the Sun. | ||
| 552,000 | 1,990,000 | 1,230,000 | 0.0018 | Speed of the Milky Way, relative to the cosmic microwave background. | ||
| 617,700 | 2,224,000 | 1,382,000 | 0.0021 | Escape velocity from the surface of the Sun. | ||
| 106 | 1,000,000 | 3,600,000 | 2,200,000 | 0.0030 | Typical speed of a Moreton wave across the surface of the Sun. | |
| 1,610,000 | 5,800,000 | 3,600,000 | 0.0054 | Speed of hypervelocity star PSR B2224+65, which currently seems to be leaving the Milky Way. | ||
| 5,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 11,000,000 | 0.017 | Estimated minimum speed of star S2 at its closest approach to Sagittarius A*.[34] | ||
| 107 | 14,000,000 | 50,000,000 | 31,000,000 | 0.047 | Typical speed of a fast neutron. | |
| 30,000,000 | 100,000,000 | 70,000,000 | 0.1 | Typical speed of an electron in a cathode ray tube. | ||
| 108 | 100,000,000 | 360,000,000 | 220,000,000 | 0.3 | Typical speed of the return stroke of lightning (cf. stepped leader above).[35] | |
| 124,000,000 | 447,000,000 | 277,000,000 | 0.4 | Speed of light in a diamond (Refractive index 2.417). | ||
| 150,000,000 | 540,000,000 | 330,000,000 | 0.5 | The escape velocity of a neutron star. | ||
| 200,000,000 | 720,000,000 | 440,000,000 | 0.7 | Speed of a signal in an optical fiber. | ||
| 299,792,456 | 1,079,252,840 | 670,615,282 | 1 − 9 | Speed of the 7 TeV protons in the Large Hadron Collider at full power.[36] | ||
| 299,792,457.996 | 1,079,252,848.786 | 670,616,629.38 | 1 − 1 | Maximal speed of an electron in LEP (104.5 GeV). | ||
| 299,792,458 − 1.5×10−15 | 1,079,252,848.8 − 5.4×10−15 | 670,616,629.4 | 1 − 4.9×10−24 | Speed of the Oh-My-God particle ultra-high-energy cosmic ray.[37] | ||
| 299,792,458 | 1,079,252,848.8 | 670,616,629.4 | 1 | Speed of light or other electromagnetic radiation in a vacuum or massless particles. | ||
| >299,792,458 | >1,079,252,848.8 | >670,616,629.4 | >1 | Expansion rate of the universe between objects farther apart than the Hubble radius |