Yet it is probably rarely wondered how it is that Sonic is able to go this fast, or exactly what a power ring is and how it works. On this page I will attempt to explain all these things. By the end it should be clear how Sonic is able to start, stop, run, spin, and jump.

First of all before starting on the actual science of Sonic's motion I would like to point out how it could not be done. I will also put forward all the problems associated with traveling at this speed. The first and most obvious explanation of Sonic's ability is that he just simply is able to move his legs very quickly. This has plenty of problems. The first is that it would put such a strain on his muscles they would tear. The second is that there would be so much friction his feet would burn up.

If Sonic was traveling along at great speed and was hit by a small stone or a piece of debris it would cut right through him. There would be so much force applied in his direction of motion that turning in just a few metres as he does would split him open. If Sonic performed a Sonic spin he would be killed as his spines would be ripped out of his body. Sonic would not be able to stop in just a few metres because he would never be able to cause enough friction and the shock of stopping so fast would probably kill him.

There are all these problems. My theory on how Sonic manages all of this is that his ability to run is based on energy rather than just leg moving. In order to be able to run at that speed Sonic must be almost free of friction. Here is my theory. Sonic's body contains thousands of special cells that exist only to produce very powerful electrical currents. They are located mostly near his skin. When he runs his feet never even touch the ground. He is suspended a few millimeters above the ground by a combined magnetic field and air that is forced under him as he moves.

As Sonic runs his 5 senses are boosted by an incredible amount so he can move all the muscles in his body in a synchronized effort. He can see much further and can see much faster objects. If he is about to hit a small object coming towards him his muscles around the area of impact will contract and expand very quickly and bounce the object off when it arrives. Sensitive areas like his eyes, ears and genitals are protected by slight magnetic fields and also the air stream which surrounds them. Another system that Sonic uses for protection is the fact that the air hugs his body and incoming threats can be channeled around the outside by rapid muscular movements.

In order for Sonic to reach very extreme speeds it is necessary for him to dislocate his legs so they can move in almost complete circles. This is why there are 2 red circular blurs at the base of Sonic when he runs. Sonic also has to carry passengers. When he is carrying Sally I never notice anything like: "Sonic, a piece of grit has just punctured my right lung!" It seems that his ability is partly transferred to the person Sonic carries. It is probably only the rapid movements of muscles that is transferred and not the ability to produce magnetic fields. The magnetic fields he produces are used primarily to allow his muscles to expand and contact at speeds that would be almost impossible with just simple cells. Special strands of muscle fibre use the vast amount of energy his body creates to expand and contract rapidly.

There are many problems associated with Sonic going into motion and then coming to a complete stop. First I will deal with starting. Sonic could of course just gradually increase his speed until he finally reached the right velocity. But at what point would he dislocate his legs? Every time Sonic is about to run I have always seen him revving up. How does he do this? What keeps him still? The same thing that keeps him in motion. The magnetic and air flows that he creates.

When he revs all the energy is going nowhere and thus is sent straight to his legs. A very strong air stream is created that makes sure he is raised from the ground and stays put. After the energy he has created has reached a certain level the magnetic fields and air streams are oriented with his feet and he gains forward motion. But would the shock of starting so quickly kill him? It normally would but Sonic's entire body would produce a rapid muscular movement in the other direction and thus cushion the force. I will refer to this as 'inertial dampening' (readers of my NICOLE text will remember this).

Sonic's legs become dislocated the very instant he revs. Coming to a stop is similar but not entirely the same. This time Sonic needs to re-locate his legs and then come to a stop standing still. As he decrease his velocity slightly his legs begin to move in a more natural way until he is running. This actual process only takes a few milliseconds. Then he uses a final burst of energy to dampen the force and stand upright. Whenever Sonic starts or stops there is always a boom because the magnetic energy heats the air behind him and produces a whooshing sound. Similar to that of thunder and lightning.

Turning also requires a separated technique. Sonic if called upon can turn at almost 90 degree angles. To do this he needs something to push against. If he is near a wall he can use that and simply dampen the inertia. However if he is in open ground such as the great unknown then it can be a problem. When he wants to turn he produces a sudden blast of air in the opposite direction he wants to head this will alter his course and then it is only a matter of adjusting the air flow.

This is undoubtedly the most complicated move that Sonic will ever attempt. It actually sounds crazy. You would think Sonic would be mad deliberately smashing into things. But the Sonic spin is the most lethal weapon in Sonic's arsenal. The actual process is extremely complicated.

First of all, Sonic must choose a target. Then he has to decide if he is going to be able to destroy it without endangering himself. When he has found a good target he has to pin point a weak spot on it and then start to head towards it at a steadily increasing speed. He has to do this so he reaches peak velocity just before contact. His entire body dislocates itself and he curls his head round between his legs. His quills become erect and stiff and curl to cover his entire body. He becomes a ball and speeds along the ground at a very high speed suspended by a powerful air flow. At this stage Sonic is totally aware of his surroundings. Sonic can process such a vast amount of visual data he can see in almost every direction at once and his own magnetic field get information on his target. A SWATBOT for instance produces its own magnetic field and almost invites Sonic towards it. All his energy is channeled into a magnetic field around his now curled up body.

All his unconsciousness makes the calculations to dampen the inertia. Upon impact his brain works like crazy to make sure everything curls round Sonic's body and not through it. When he has passed through the target most of his body is re-located and he drops back into his normal running mode.

These entities are used primarily to enhance Sonic's speed. They are genetically coded so that they will only try and activate with him. If a power ring was used by someone without special abilities it may have adverse effects although probably not enough to kill them. As far as I know the power rings are created by a machine Uncle Chuck designed. This machine was placed in the ring pool. He designed it specifically for Sonic. It is possible that the power rings are created by a supernatural force of nature around the ring pool. However this goes way beyond Earth physics. I am more for the Uncle Chuck theory.

Now comes the hardest part. I have got to try and put the power ring into physical terms. If you disagree then please mail me. What thing would Sonic need more of in order to be more powerful? He would certainly need more of the magnetic fields around his body. His reactions may also have to be increased. The power ring's primary function therefore is to provide more power for him and the necessary skill to use it. Most of the power ring will be a storage for energy.

The surface will be micro textured with thousands of little nano-computers that scan any matter that comes near them. If the genetic pattern resembles that of Sonic they release the energy. Of course Sonic wears gloves all the time but the scanners in the nano-computers may be able to scan a few millimeters in any direction. But what sort of energy does the power ring contain and how is it stored? Well, it probably just contains a large charge of some sort.

The energy could be converted when it is absorbed by Sonic's body. There are a number of ways the charge could be stored. The first one involves lining the inside of the ring with a superconductive material. A charge could be put in and stored. The inside could contain chemicals that when reacted would produce a very high output. When Sonic has used a power ring it disappears and dissolves into energy. Therefore it must have only been made of energy in the first place.

It is quite possible that the power ring uses its own energy to pull itself together. When the forces keeping it together can not longer contain the energy it disappears. Therefore a delicate balance must be struck. But how could anyone hold onto a ring of energy? The outside of it is composed of a very thin but strong layer of particles. This means that holding onto it is no problem. When it runs out of energy the particles float away.

When Sonic touches the ring the sensors open up a channel to allow his body to receive the flow of energy. It enhances his abilities and lets him do many things he could previously not do. Like smashing SWATBOTS to pulp with as little effort as tripping up Sally (actually if Sonic did trip her up he really would need some speed afterwards!). The actual composition of the ring is probably a core of antimatter surrounded by an outer layer of matter. The outer layer of matter produces a magnetic field that contains the antimatter. Controlled reacting of the matter and antimatter would produce energy, vast amounts of it.

So, how are the things made in the first place? Like I said I am for the machine theory and so my diagram and this thesis I am about to put across are based on that. First of all, where does the machine get its power from? It gets it from the power stone contained within it. This is probably a magically based mineral which not only produces high outputs of energy but also aids the production of exotic matter It's internal make up is probably atomic. The ring machine only makes a ring about once every ten hours. This was predefined by Uncle Chuck. He probably did this to avoid a strain on the machine which cannot handle too much energy at once. When the right charge is stored a powerful magnetic field is produced and fast moving ionized particles taken from the water are forced into it and form lattices by themselves. At the same time a charge is also passed into it by ion beam. The inside of the ring now is made of fast moving highly charged antimatter. It is plasma. The outside of the ring is formed by producing a wall of various particles that are held together by the attracting force of the ring's energy.

The tiny nano-computers are then added. Infact, only one needs to be made. One tiny computer is put on and then it uses excess energy to multiply and fill all available area. Only one, because nano-technology is so advanced it takes hours to make just one. For the machine to make a little computer for every nano-meter on the ring we are looking at a power ring every few

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0 00,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00 0,0 00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ,00 0,000,000,000 years! This is longer than the universe has been around!

The initial computer may not even be complete. It may be zipped. It will de-compress itself into a fully functioning computer when given a large supply of energy. After it has been made it is released. The power rings upon completion float up into the air. They probably float under their own gravitational field and terminate it as soon as they are touched since there is more antimatter than matter in it.

When a power ring is used up it disappears. But what is to stop excess antimatter from leaking out and burning Sonic worse than one of his chili dogs? The outside of the ring sensing that its time is near immediately stores a set charge. As the energy in the center of the ring wears out it keeps itself from collapsing. Once all energy is gone it releases it's final charge and disperses.

Sonic can travel faster than sound. That is well over 750mph. Humans have invented tires for wheels on vehicles that will break the sound barrier on land. So what is the problem? On a wheel only a tiny amount is in contact with the ground at one time. Sonics sneakers on the other hand would be smashed into the ground hundreds of times a second, each time with an incredible force. This poses problems for Sonic. The jarring caused by the smashing will use up much needed energy. Each shoe would only last a few miles before being torn from his foot. It is too much of a safety hazard. The shoes infact if they were in contact with the ground would actually slow him down. Sonic is going so fast there is a cushion of air underneath him, like I have said before.

There may be some of you who are still not convinced, perhaps even as unconvinced as Sally if Sonic tried to persuade her to go bungee jumping. Here is a point, when Sonic goes into a spin it can be quite clearly seen that he does not touch the ground, he does not leave a trail of earth behind him. When Sonic comes out of running and stands still I have never seen a trail behind him then either. That doesn't mean the shoes serve no purpose. They would still have to be very well designed otherwise they would still be torn apart.

Hydrogen\Oxygen filters.These filter oxygen and hydrogen out of the water and use these particles to form the outer surface of the ring.

Forming power ring. The ring in the diagram is only antimatter/plasma at this stage and the outer coat has not been added. It will be constructed later.

Magnetic ring. These produce powerful magnetic fields that make sure that the antimatter /plasma stays put and no energy is leaked. The power ring could be generated internally but that would make it less easy to cool the machine.