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geniice t1_iu4nhm4 wrote

Reply to comment by ARoundForEveryone in TIL Devon Allen, track & field athlete/Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, was disqualified in the World Athletic Championships for a controversial false start. The starting blocks measured his reaction time from the time the gun went off at 0.099, which is 0.001 seconds faster than legally allowed. by The_Critical_Cynic

> Wind difference, both speed and direction, between inside and outside lanes. Not even for the obvious reason of helping/hurting some runners differently than others, but for the fact that it will affect the time it takes for the sound of the pistol to reach them.

sound is played from speakers behind each athelete.

>I wonder if eliminating the pistol and going strictly to a red/yellow/green light system like drag racing would work. I guess it could, but then these differences all crop up again if you start measuring down to the trillionth of a second...

You can't usefuly do anything at the trillionth of a second level because light can only travel 0.3mm in that time.

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