Re: Sonic's Speed

From: James Firmiss <firmiss_at_cae.wisc.edu>
Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 15:20:16 -0500 (CDT)

On Sun, 7 Apr 1996, Shawn Wolski wrote:

> OK, guys. This is in response to previous posts asking
> for Sonic's velocity (with and without power rings). I
> saw the figures in a previous post last year regarding
> this. My numbers might be off (read: currently unable
> to verify), but here's what I remember seeing:
>
> Without power ring: 300 mph (approx. 482.8 kph)
> With power ring: 1000 mph (approx. 1.6 Mph, that's
> megameters per hour, or if you
> prefer, 1600 kph)

The only 2 references to speed in 'real' numbers I've ever seen in either
the shows or the comic books. Both were in the Saturday AM series.

In the 'Sonic Racer' episode, Robotnik sets up a race in order to
draw out Sonic. Sonic's main rival is a Cheeta-bot which Robotnik earlier
tested at 500 mph going 'half speed' (i.e. 1000 mph full speed).

In a different episode, Robotnik was able to get a Power Ring in order to
power his 'Sonic Radar'. The Radar was designed to pick up only those
objects going faster than sound (i.e. Sonic). There were also a number of
times, in the first season especially, when we heard Sonic breaking the
sound barrier without using a power ring.

These shows imply that Sonic's 'normal cruzing speed' is somewhere between
800 mph (faster than sound) and 1000 mph ('slow' enough so that the
Cheeta-bot would provide tough competition) [speed rounded to nearest 100
mph]

As far as power rings go we've NEVER seen any references to real speeds
when he uses one of them... I can only guess that the biggest upper limit
would be orbital velocity (about mach 25 on Earth). I've always assumed
it was about mach 3 or 4 for no particular reason.

Also... something to note about power vs speed... From what I remember in
physics class:
* to double your speed you need to double the power
      only works in laminar flow situations... when air (or other medium
      such as water) flows smoothly around an object passing through it.
      In air this is probably less than walking speed (3 mph)

* to double your speed you need to Octuple (8x) the power
      is more accurate for turbulent flow situations... when air swirls
      around an object passing through in complex eddies and waves
      (e.g. an oar through water).
  
I'm not sure if this holds for super-sonic speeds but if it does, then
comparing Sonic's speed with power ring vs the deep power stones would
give you this:
          power ring = 1 deep power stones = 10000
     speed with ring = x speed with stones = 21.5 x


Anyway... I just thought I'd add more confusion to this argument.

--
   James Firmiss firmiss_at_cae.wisc.edu
 
_at_[=g3,8d]\&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"




Received on Mon Apr 08 1996 - 17:12:11 PDT