The fastest nerve impulse travels at 120 meters/second. A blast wave travels at the speed of sound in air (~343 meters/second) times the Mach number of the blast wave.
Well, an explosive detonation is far from "stealthy," but it is like being hit in the brain with an arrow: you are dead before you can know it. A nerve impulse takes maybe 20 milliseconds to go from origin to destination. A blast wave traveling at maybe 1000 meters/second can travel 20 meters in that time (or 800 inches). So, wherever it hits your body, it will destroy your brain before a nerve impulse can get to it. Kind of a comforting thought, if you are on the receiving end...
Incredible - thanks.
The fastest nerve impulse travels at 120 meters/second. A blast wave travels at the speed of sound in air (~343 meters/second) times the Mach number of the blast wave.
Crazy something so BIG could happen so stealthly.
Well, an explosive detonation is far from "stealthy," but it is like being hit in the brain with an arrow: you are dead before you can know it. A nerve impulse takes maybe 20 milliseconds to go from origin to destination. A blast wave traveling at maybe 1000 meters/second can travel 20 meters in that time (or 800 inches). So, wherever it hits your body, it will destroy your brain before a nerve impulse can get to it. Kind of a comforting thought, if you are on the receiving end...