This is something I have been thinking about since the Olympics... at what point will it not be possible for human beings to swim or run any faster. There has to be a point where the human body just can't go any faster, no matter how much you train, what kind of things you put into your body (legal or not), etc.
I mean it isn't possible to swim a 400 IM, for example, in 2 seconds (at least I don't think it ever will be) so where does it end? And when will that happen?
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Former Member
Well you can always argue anything you want I suppose....unfortunately the actual reality is that you are very wrong though....Even if we use the average rate of a 22 second 50 meter swim (which is faster than most of us can swim any distance at)......one can travel approximately one fifth of a centimeter in 0.001 seconds (basically one tenth of the distance knelson calculated that you would travel at the same rate in 0.01 seconds). You don't think slow motion video can detect a distance of one fifth of a centimeter??....and/or that slow motion video can't take more than one still shot picture per 0.001 seconds?.....I guess you don't watch professional tennis much...b/c they have super high speed video cameras that take something like "ten to a hundred" (or maybe more?) still shots per 0.001 seconds.....it's how they can tell "almost" exactly when a ball hits the ground on a serve to see if it is actually in or out. There is absolutely NO doubt that there exists video technology that can determine who touched the wall first between two swimmers in the same heat whose times are no less than 0.001 seconds apart. And as knelson said....in 1984, the timing system in place at the Olympics COULD also discern between two swimmers who touch the wall at two different times that are at least 0.001 seconds apart. So I guess I'm not following your argument at all....sorry...I mean no offense though!
newmastersswimmer
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Former Member
Well you can always argue anything you want I suppose....unfortunately the actual reality is that you are very wrong though....Even if we use the average rate of a 22 second 50 meter swim (which is faster than most of us can swim any distance at)......one can travel approximately one fifth of a centimeter in 0.001 seconds (basically one tenth of the distance knelson calculated that you would travel at the same rate in 0.01 seconds). You don't think slow motion video can detect a distance of one fifth of a centimeter??....and/or that slow motion video can't take more than one still shot picture per 0.001 seconds?.....I guess you don't watch professional tennis much...b/c they have super high speed video cameras that take something like "ten to a hundred" (or maybe more?) still shots per 0.001 seconds.....it's how they can tell "almost" exactly when a ball hits the ground on a serve to see if it is actually in or out. There is absolutely NO doubt that there exists video technology that can determine who touched the wall first between two swimmers in the same heat whose times are no less than 0.001 seconds apart. And as knelson said....in 1984, the timing system in place at the Olympics COULD also discern between two swimmers who touch the wall at two different times that are at least 0.001 seconds apart. So I guess I'm not following your argument at all....sorry...I mean no offense though!
newmastersswimmer
