He becomes flash paper.
Think about re-entry vehicle heat shielding. That is the limitation and not necessarily the “viscosity” of air at extreme speeds. Think about the surface of the SR71 and how hot that got. Think about the temperature at which proteins denature. I am sure you can come up with a formula for terminal speed with those parameters.
Probably some quantum mechanical trickery, i.e. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave–particle_duality
The Speed Force. The Speed Force not only gives the Flash his abilities, but it voids normal physics (eg takes care of friction). Thus, the Speed Force is the deux ex machina that is used by the comic writers to explain how the Flash can run at such high speeds without burning up / causing tremendous sonic booms / creating maelstroms of wind behind him etc. It’s also what’s used in comics to explain how he can carry other people at light speed without instantly killing them. The Speed Force.
This is going to keep me up at night, oh, wait, it’s a comic ook.
Everyone knows nothing can go faster than 55 MPH!
Eliminating the effects of air resistance, a free fall skydiver would continue to accelerate indefinitely at the rate dictated by gravity (prior to hitting the earth or opening his parachute). When you factor in the air resistance on the human body, terminal velocity becomes about 120 mph for a person in the belly-to-earth position. Going head down, it’s about 180 mph, but some parachutists deliberately go for, “speed” skydiving and do everything they can to minimize air resistance and maximize their free-fall rate, and hit about 300 mph.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_skydiving#Terminal_Velocity
Obviously that is simply where wind resistance caps off acceleration on the human body due to gravity, and does not account for any type of thrust or other force propelling the body.
Would holding your hand out of your car window at highway speeds provide a useful test case?
Someone else mentioned the speed force business. When talking about the Flash, you have to divvy him up into three eras (at least):
Golden Age (Jay Garrick)
Silver/Bronze (Barry Allen)
‘80s and on (Barry Allen/Wally West/etc.)
I stopped reading during the Bronze Age, so I have only heard about the speed force business.
In the comics, all of them can run faster than the speed of light, so all physics goes out he door. However, there is a fun book called “The Physics of Superheroes” that looks at some of the Flash’s issues (how much would he have to eat for the energy he expends? LOTS. Can he run on water? Definititely, and at only 100MPH and up. Can he redirect or stop a bullet in mid air? Yes.).
The Silver/Bronze Age Flash was granted an invisible aura that keeps him from burning up. Besides that, he has control over every molecule in his body, and is able to vibrate his body to pass through most solid objects. He can also time travel by running faster than the speed of light (clockwise for the future, counter clockwise for the past, I don’t know if it is different in the southern hemisphere. He also made a treadmill to accommodate such travel.) Besides that, he has the ability to literally punch criminals into next week. I don’t know how he does that without killing them, or how he practiced that technique, but pretty cool, nonetheless.
Flash has an endless supplies of problems if you try to keep him in the realm of physics. Ultimately, almost all of these heroes turn from being 1938 Superman (very limited powers) into Fawcett’s Captain Marvel (it’s all magic).
Off topic and I can’t provide a link to verify but I heard once that it is essentially impossible for a submarine vehicle to achieve mach 1
This reminds me of the BBT show with the nerds talking about giving Wolverine a prostate exam. When talking about comics, there are no silly questions. However, I’d think that air resistance and terminal velocity in this case are irrelevant. If the Flash has the capability to shed heat then why would air resistance bother him. His biggest problem is propulsion. He gets his speed from running and at some point he loses friction that enables him to continue to propel himself. On another note, many years ago a fool had himself strapped to the top of a Boeing 727 to see what would happen at higher speeds. The 727 took off and cruised at 170 mph. The guy survived but was unconscious. Since we are talking about a comic book being, I don’t think that is an issue.
That depends on the operating system... / didn’t read the article>
I had a comic book that involved a charity race between Flash and Superman. The race was to be run across the galaxy and speed was limited to the speed of light, as Superman could obviously fly faster, but Flash could only run that fast. I forget how he was to breathe, I think some kind of energy shield. Flash got tired at some point, but Superman never tires. IIRC, they timed the finish to a perfect tie, splitting the finish line ribbon into three pieces. Truth is, Superman could have easily beaten Flash.
Now, as far problems punching someone into space, I think the energy required would punch right through a person’s soft tissue. He could, without question however, fling you into space, but there might be tissue issues as well.
Note I am not an expert, but am constantly amazed at what remains in one’s brain compared to what does not.
In the comics, Flash has a protective aura which prevents things like wind shear, heat resistance etc..from killing him.
You should check out a book called “The Physics of Superheroes” by James Kakakios, a physics professor. It’s informative funny and smart. I don’t know if it deal exactly with the Flash question you asked but it might have
His secret are those wings — they create a cavitating envelope, giving him very little wind resistance.
I’m a little surprised that the rapidity of his loss of mass due to burning stored energy hasn’t come up though.
They call him the streak.