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P3rpetuallyC0nfused t1_javak5f wrote

I remember learning about a fungus in my mycology class that basically, as part of its reproduction, would absolutely BLAST some seed in the air. Basically 0 mass so it's nothing people would notice, but the speed was staggering. Grew on horseshit I believe, don't remember the name tho..

EDIT: it wasn't the speed that was staggering, but the acceleration of the spore. From Wikipedia in the comments: For a sporangiophore less than 1cm tall, this involves acceleration from 0 to 20 km/h in only 2 µs, subjecting it to over 20,000 G, equivalent to a human being launched at 100 times the speed of sound.

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anandha2022 t1_jaw4eug wrote

The question is about the fastest microbe. Spore ain't microbe. Spore is functionally like a plant seed.

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Edghyatt t1_jaw6ddl wrote

Isn’t there a discipline that uses a different term for “microorganism”? I don’t think it’s microbiologists, but maybe for a photographer, the term “microorganism” can denote anything that requires a macro or micro lens to properly observe.

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TeeDeeArt t1_jaw14ov wrote

Pilobolus crystallinus ? I'm reading up to around 90km/h.

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pete_68 t1_jawe21p wrote

It depends what you use to determine speed. Body lengths are a way of comparing speed of different organisms. By this measure, the Southern California mite is the fastest with speeds in excess of 300 body lengths per second.

That would be like a human going about Mach 2.

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