How fast would we have to flap our arms in order to fly? (Thanks to Digonto Islam of Old Dominion University, for suggesting the question.)

How much force would we have to apply in order to flap our arms 5000 times per second so we could fly?

Look for the answers online at tpt.aapt.org under “Browse,” at the very end of the current issue.

Question suggestions are always welcome!

For more Fermi questions and answers, see Guesstimation 2.0: Solving Today’s Problems on the Back of a Napkin, by Lawrence Weinstein (Princeton University Press, 2012).

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