Thoughts on implied super-speed due to super-strength alone

[Captain Kal]

Super-strength should provide the physical capability and energy resources to at least move at super-speed.  On the surface, this would seem to limit actual reaction times to peak human ones.

However, assuming these enhanced energy resources also are augmenting the entire physiology -- as they must! -- then the energy and speed of one's neural impulses would also be stepped up.  The limit for the fastest nerve impulses without a specific super-speed power is the speed of light.

The fastest normal human nerve impulses travel at 120 metres/sec.  The fastest human running is about 10 metres/sec.  Ergo, the ratio between physical speed to neural reaction is 1:12.

If the fastest nerve impulses in a super-strong being max out at lightspeed, regardless of how infinite that strength is, then that implies that someone with super-strength can be capable of 1/12th lightspeed even without a special super-speed power.  It also means he cannot exceed that 1/12th c speed without a special super-speed power as his nerve impulses would have to violate relativity to do so.

That's how Timber Wolf of the Legion is able to move superfast without pushing the c limit like other true speedsters.  His speed is a side-effect of his super-strength which is limited to at best 1/12th lightspeed.

[RedSunOfKrypton]

Yeah but the speed of light isn't a barrier anymore, at least as far as quantum physics is concerned. I mean what if the nervous system was somehow based on entaglement, which allows information to travel instantly as opposed to the limiting speed of light? I'm not saying it would be easy, or even probable, but it's not impossible.

[Captain Kal]

I hear you, RedSunofKrypton.

That's why I qualified my post above by not including a specific super-speed power which the quantum entanglement would involve.

If all we're doing is boosting the energy resources available for his bodily functions, then the the ratio of nerve conduction to physical speed is 12:1 as noted above.

Barring special physical processes -- which are not included in a simple boosting of energy such as the nerve impulse energies -- 1/12th lightspeed should be the limit super-strength or other energy amplification processes would grant them.

If we include special processes like wormholes, quantum entanglment, quantum tunnelling, negative energy FTL regions, grav/anti-grav space-warp, etc. then we don't have that speed limitation.  But I consider those aspects of a true super-speed power not a side-effect of sheer super-strength.

[ManSinha]

This is an interesting topic. Unless I miss my guess the Byrned Superman was able to move at about 4 times the speed of sound. This is well below light speed which be about 260 times the speed of sound. However, in the team up with Wally West, where he chases the Flash across the world as Wally is looking for his wife, he almost keeps up with the latter. Is there a canon explanation for this such as the breathing modified courtesy Mongul's son during OWAW or is DC moving to "re-power" him to the Silver Age days?

[RedSunOfKrypton]

@ Captain Kal

I wasn't thinking of the entanglement nervous system from the point of it being another power (speed based or otherwise), just an organic evolutionary enhancement to allow muscles powerful enough to go beyond 1/12 lightspeed to attain their potential. But yes, barring special enhancements like that, I agree with your calculations Captain, pretty cool . Oh yeah, I've just been thinking on a possible organic reason for heat vision and all I can come up with off the top of my head is bio luminescence in his irises (due to the whole color thing, infrared is a "color" afterall ) or retinas, any thoughts?

@ManSinha

The speed of light is about 877,606 times the speed of sound. No cannon explanation I can think of for Superman's speed increase like that, I'd just go with the Mongul's son explanation of Superman removing his mental blocks, and yes I do believe DC is putting him back to his silver age power levels. I read a quote from a writer stating the same thing a few months ago, I think it was in a Wizard magazine, not sure though.

[ManSinha]

Thank you RedSonofKrypton
Like someone else said on here, we would probably move to the "The Source" being the repository of Superman's powers. But then does he go powerless in the Marvel Universe aka the Flash?

I brought that up because there ia an interesting debate on the Tv Tome Justice League message board about JLA versus X men.

[ManSinha]

I've just been thinking on a possible organic reason for heat vision and all I can come up with off the top of my head is bio luminescence in his irises (due to the whole color thing, infrared is a "color" afterall  ) or retinas, any thoughts?

I thought the given reason was the stored energy in his body which is unleashed as heat spectra..now were you referring to the actual physics of its production?

[RedSunOfKrypton]

Yup. Saying that it's stored energy that comes out of his eyes is one thing, I'm just trying to figure a workable organic mechanism for that. A type of bioluminescent chemical reaction that produces light along the infrared range and is possibly focused through nictitating lenses on the surface of his cornea is all I can think of so far.