Land speed record

The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The record is standardized as the speed over a course of fixed length, averaged over two runs (commonly called "passes"). Two runs are required in opposite directions within one hour, and a new record mark must exceed the previous one by at least one percent to be validated. There are numerous other class records for cars; motorcycles fall into a separate class.

History

The first regulators were the Automobile Club de France, who proclaimed themselves arbiters of the record in about 1902.

Different clubs had different standards and did not always recognise the same world records until 1924, when the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) introduced new regulations: two passes in opposite directions (to negate the effects of wind) averaged with a maximum of 30 minutes (later more) between runs, average gradient of the racing surface not more than 1 percent, timing gear accurate within 0.01sec, and cars must be wheel-driven. National or regional auto clubs (such as AAA and SCTA) had to be AIACR members to ensure records would be recognized. The AIACR became the FIA in 1947. Controversy arose in 1963: Spirit of America failed on being a three-wheeler (leading the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme to certify the record when the FIA refused) and not wheel-driven so the FIA introduced a special wheel-driven class. No holder of the absolute record since has been wheel-driven.

Speed record

A speed record is a world record for speed by a person, animal, or vehicle.

Vehicle speed records

Natural speed records

See also

Land speed

An object's speed across land is measured by difference in movement between the object and the land beneath it. Atmospheric pressure and aerodynamics must be considered when attempting to calculate possible speeds from the force applied.

Units

Common units of land speed include:

See also

Extreme Machines

Extreme Machines is a television series aired on Discovery Channel.

Premise

The program feature some of the largest created man-made machines on earth. Like a container ship,Excavators, and Cranes.

As taken from the official Canadian webpage for Discovery Channel:

Seasons

See also

References

External links

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1998 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous U.S. editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a reference book published annually, listing world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. It is one of the most frequently stolen books from public libraries in the United States. As of the 2016 edition, it is now in its 62nd year of publication. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in Guinness World Records becoming the primary international authority on the cataloguing and verification of a huge number of world records; the organization employs official record adjudicators authorised to verify the authenticity of the setting and breaking of records.

History

On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the managing director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford, Ireland. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe, the golden plover or the red grouse (it is the plover). That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad, but there was no book in the world with which to settle arguments about records. He realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question may prove successful.