Could Sha’Carri Richardson Run on Water? A Hilarious Physics Thought Experiment Says Yes—on Titan!
In an amusing and nerdy physics thought experiment, scientists have (kind of) claimed that Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest woman in the world, could theoretically run on water—under the right conditions. Fluid dynamics specialist Nicole Sharp explored this fascinating idea in a piece published in Physics World, just in time for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
The Inspiration: The Basilisk Lizard
The thought experiment draws inspiration from animals known to traverse water surfaces, particularly the basilisk lizard, often called the “Jesus Christ lizard” due to its ability to run on water. Scientists have studied these creatures extensively, discovering that they achieve this feat by smacking the water with their feet to generate enough lift to counteract their weight.
The Science Behind It
Sharp’s exploration builds on decades of research into the mechanics of animals walking on water. The Western grebe, another water-walking animal, can take up to 20 steps per second. In contrast, an Olympic sprinter like Richardson takes about five steps per second. To understand whether a human could replicate this, scientists calculated the necessary speed and force needed to support a person’s weight on water.
Theoretical Feasibility on Earth
A 176-pound human with average foot size and a sprinter’s stride rate would need to slap the water at 30 metres per second to stay afloat—a speed that is physically impossible on Earth. This conclusion was reached by Harvard researchers in the 1990s, making water-running a theoretical impossibility for humans under Earth’s gravity.
The Titan Experiment
However, Sharp and a team of academics from the University of Milan proposed that lower-gravity environments might make water-running feasible for humans. Their 2012 study, which won the 2013 Iron Nobel, humorously explored this concept. They concluded that, in Titan’s lower gravity, Sha’Carri Richardson could indeed run on the surface of its ethane lakes. According to Sharp’s calculations, Richardson would need to slap the surface at 8.7 metres per second—well within her world-championship time of 9.3 metres per second.
Conclusion
While the idea of Sha’Carri Richardson running on Titan may be far-fetched, it serves as a fascinating and entertaining intersection of physics and athletics. The thought experiment not only highlights Richardson’s incredible speed but also showcases the whimsical side of scientific inquiry. If there’s a billionaire out there willing to fund this outlandish experiment, we might just see Richardson make history as the first woman to run on the surface of a liquid—albeit on Saturn’s largest moon.
A ridiculous thought experiment suggests that the lightning-fast sprinter might succeed in the appropriate circumstances.
In a hilariously nerdy physics thought experiment, scientists (kind of) claim that Sha’Carri Richardson, the fastest woman in the world, could run on water.
Fluid dynamics specialist Nicole Sharp wrote extensively about the topic of whether it would be technically feasible for a human athlete to run on water in a piece that was published in Physics World in honour of the upcoming Paris Olympics. In short, the answer is sort of yes. Many creatures can walk on water, according to Physics World. The most well-known of these is perhaps the basilisk lizard, sometimes referred to as the “Jesus Christ lizard,” named after the other individual who was rumoured to be able to do so.
As Sharp notes in her piece, scientists have spent decades studying the basilisk lizard and other animals that live in water, such as the Western grebe. Basically, those scientists concluded that these animals need to smack the shit out of the water with their feet in order to counteract their own weight and be able to sprint on the water (yeah, they use that word). Grebes can walk up to 20 steps per second, according to one scientist, while the typical Olympic sprinter moves five steps per second.
A 176-pound person “with an average foot size and a world-class sprinter’s stride rate” would theoretically need to slap the water at a speed of 30 metres per second in order to support their own weight, which is physically impossible—at least on Earth, according to a 1990s study by Harvard researchers. Thus, in 2012, a team of academics from the University of Milan set out to investigate whether the possibility of lower gravity allowing humans to run on water existed in theory. The study took home the 2013 Iron Nobel, a tongue-in-cheek award given to nerds who are so obsessed with their field that they search for answers to problems that have very little real-world significance. (And Physics World describes the video of the experiment as “amazing.”)
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All of this to say, though, is that years of study have led to a response to a query that no one had dared to pose before: Could Sha’Carri Richardson run on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon? Yes, considering Richardson’s speed and Titan’s lower gravity. The runner would need to “slap the surface” of Titan’s ethane lakes at 8.7 metres per second, according to Sharp’s theory, but with her world-championship time of 9.3 metres per second, she has already far surpassed that.
And listen, someone has to have the money to make Richardson the first woman to walk—er, slap— on the surface of a liquid if we have the means to send the military-industrial complex into space. Please pay attention to our request if there is a good, crazy Elon Musk out there.
