Usain Bolt: The Science of Running Really Fast

... by Martin

In Berlin on Sunday, Usain Bolt set a new world record time for the 100m sprint, the Jamaican completing the run in an astonishing 9.58 seconds - a full 0.11 seconds faster than the previous record. But how did Bolt achieve this run, and how much faster can a person go? To ease myself back into blogging after a conference break, here's a look at the...

Similar:

Sport

Football fandom--psychological diff between Scottish and English

Wed, 06/23/2010 - 20:31

Gooooaaal!

Cheering for your home team evidently solidifies your national identity if you're Scottish, while English tend to see their fan-dom as an individual preference, finds scientist Jackie Abell at Lancaster University.

This sounds like a study my 12 year old nephew would come up with. From the paper..

Support for the England football team is
not necessarily an expression of collective social identity and pride.

Brain implants show what attention looks like

Mon, 03/08/2010 - 03:20

Imagine you're playing a game of basketball--running down the length of the court, your shoes squeaking and you're fingers bouncing the ball about every 2 strides. You're darting left and right, about to sneak under the goal, leap over defenders, and slam it in for 2 points.

The fans cheer in a wave of pure elation. (Admittedly, a creative imagination.)

Buns of Steel or Buns of Suet? Laugh Yourself Slim with the Daily Mail

Wed, 07/14/2010 - 18:02

The Daily Mail has an article entitled ‘How to Laugh Yourself Slim’. Laughing burns calories apparently.

Well, I read the tips and they provided the laugh component. I’ll let you know about the weight loss in time.

They’re ‘medically proven’, so that’s OK then.

"Sprinkle cinnamon into a yoghurt each day to burn fat. The spice is a powerful metabolism-raiser. Half a teaspoon a day is enough to burn an extra kilo a month"

This seems a rather alchemic approach. But perhaps gurning and puking burn more calories than I had realised.