Kinetic energy, the energy a body in motion has by virtue of being in motion, depends on the speed of the object. If you want to imagine the deleterious effects of an object in motion coming to a sudden stop, think about this: A car traveling at 60 mph has four times the kinetic energy of the same car traveling at 30 mph. The faster car is four times more likely to result in destruction if it crashes.

Neil deGrasse Tyson suggests thinking about what happens when you stick your arm out the window of a car at 60 miles per hour. It blows back. “Imagine doing 800 miles an hour and what that will do—it starts ripping you apart.”

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