"How fast" is one of those questions where context helps. A 10 mph wind is mild for a person, lethal for a butterfly. Here's a table of speeds across nature and technology — useful for sanity-checking, building physics intuition, or settling debates.
Slow stuff
| Speed | Reference |
|---|---|
| 3 mm/s | Sloth (slowest mammal) |
| 13 mm/s | Garden snail |
| 30 mm/s | Earthworm |
| 0.04 mph (60 mm/s) | Tortoise (galápagos) |
| 0.5 mph | Star-nosed mole tunneling |
Walking and running
| Speed | Reference |
|---|---|
| 3 mph | Casual human walk |
| 4–5 mph | Brisk walk |
| 6 mph | Slow jog |
| 10 mph | Average recreational runner |
| 13 mph | Marathon world record pace |
| 23 mph | Usain Bolt at peak (100m world record) |
| 27 mph | Olympic 100m hurdle runner |
Animal top speeds
| Animal | Top speed |
|---|---|
| Zebra | 40 mph |
| Lion | 50 mph |
| Greyhound | 45 mph |
| Antelope | 60 mph |
| Cheetah | 70 mph |
| Sailfish (fastest fish) | 68 mph |
| Spur-winged goose (fastest bird in level flight) | 88 mph |
| Peregrine falcon (in dive) | 240+ mph |
Vehicles and machines
| Speed | Reference |
|---|---|
| 15 mph | Bicycle (casual) |
| 30 mph | Bicycle (racing) |
| 50 mph | Cruise ship |
| 65 mph | U.S. interstate speed limit |
| 110 mph | Maglev train |
| 186 mph | Bullet train (Shinkansen) |
| 231 mph | Bugatti Chiron production car |
| 250+ mph | Formula 1 race car |
| 580 mph | Boeing 737 commercial cruise |
| 670 mph | SR-71 Blackbird (retired) |
| 2,200 mph | Concorde (retired) |
| 17,500 mph | International Space Station orbital velocity |
| 25,000 mph | Earth escape velocity (lunar mission) |
Projectiles and bullets
| Speed | Reference |
|---|---|
| 50 mph | Tennis serve (slow) |
| 100 mph | Baseball fastball (pro) |
| 140 mph | Tennis serve (top pros) |
| 200 mph | Hockey puck (slap shot) |
| 700 mph | Pistol bullet (.22 LR) |
| 1,700 mph | Rifle bullet (.308 Win) |
| 3,300 mph | Tank gun shell |
| 10,000+ mph | Hypersonic projectiles |
Natural phenomena
| Speed | Reference |
|---|---|
| 10 mph | Light breeze |
| 40 mph | Strong wind |
| 74 mph | Hurricane (Category 1 minimum) |
| 157+ mph | Hurricane (Category 5) |
| 200–300 mph | Tornado (EF5) |
| 500 mph | Jet stream |
| 800 mph | Earth's rotational speed at equator |
| 30 km/s (67,000 mph) | Earth orbiting Sun |
| 240 km/s (537,000 mph) | Solar system orbiting galaxy center |
Sound
Speed of sound varies by medium:
- Air at 20°C: 343 m/s = 767 mph
- Helium: 972 m/s (why your voice sounds high)
- Water: 1,498 m/s = 3,350 mph
- Wood: 3,000–4,000 m/s
- Steel: 5,960 m/s = 13,300 mph
- Diamond: 12,000 m/s
Sound moves about 4× faster in water than air, 17× faster in steel.
Light and electromagnetic waves
Speed of light in vacuum: 299,792,458 m/s = 670,616,629 mph = 186,282 mi/s.
Light from the Sun takes 8 minutes 20 seconds to reach Earth.
Light from the next-nearest star (Proxima Centauri) takes 4.3 years.
Light from across the visible universe took 13.8 billion years.
Speed of fastest fundamental phenomena
- Speed of light in vacuum: 299,792,458 m/s (the universal cosmic speed limit)
- Speed of light in fiber optic cable: ~200,000,000 m/s (200,000 km/s)
- Wave propagation in water (longest tsunami): ~500–800 km/h
- Earthquake P-wave through Earth: ~6,000 m/s
The speed-of-light implication
Light is unique — its speed in vacuum is the same regardless of source motion. A flashlight aimed forward from a moving car emits light at exactly c, not c + car speed. This counterintuitive fact is the foundation of Einstein's relativity.
Anything with mass cannot reach c. Particle accelerators get electrons to 99.999...% of c but never quite. Reaching c would require infinite energy.
Calculate speeds yourself
Our velocity calculator handles distance ÷ time conversions across all common units. Useful for sanity-checking sports stats, vehicle specifications, or any "how fast" question.