Charts
56 Military, Commercial, and Personal Aircraft Ranked by Top Speed
What can go nearly six times the speed of sound and cost $2.5 trillion dollars to build and operate (adjusted for inflation)? The answer is the North American X-15, hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft that achieved the fastest aircraft flying speed of all time on October 3rd, 1967 when it reached 4,520 miles per hour! That is an awe-inspiring 75 miles per minute and 1.25 miles per second. GlobalAir.com has launched a compelling (or propelling?) chart visualizing aircraft ranked by max flying speed. More than half of the aircraft shown are capable of flying faster than the sound of speed!
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How fast is the sound of speed anyway? Mach 1, or the speed of sound, varies depending on the temperature of the air (or other medium) that it is passing through. So at sea level on planet Earth at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the speed of sound is approximately 767 miles per hour. That means that the North American X-15, an aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, flew at a rate nearly six times as fast as the speed of sound. The record was achieved by William J. Knight, a Vietnam combat pilot and test pilot for the U.S. Air Force. During his 16 flights in the aircraft, Knight became one of the few non-NASA pilots to earn their Astronaut Wings by flying an airplane in space – this was achieved by reaching an altitude of 280,500 feet (53.125 miles). It truly is extraordinary how far aviation technology has come in a century!
Charts
Map Unveils Countries with Most Powerful Passports
There are many uses for a passport, but the most useful one is access to foreign countries. A powerful passport will grant the holder easy access to many different foreign nations. This map from the team at Italian Dual Citizenship ranks countries by how many foreign nations passport holders can visit without a Visa or with the easy Visa upon-arrival option. We can see an extensive list of their results, as well as a color-coded map with the most powerful country’s passports, darkened to navy blue and the weakest labeled with vibrant green.
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This map is a powerful demonstration of the data since we can look at the colors and notice patterns and anomalies. For example, the entire European Union, which encompasses most of Western Europe, is a deep navy blue, and the countries are among the world’s most powerful passport issuers. In the Middle East, we see a lot of green indicating weaker passports, but there’s a lone navy-blue country. The United Arab Emirates offers the world’s most powerful passport with Visa-free access to 133 countries and 46 countries with a Visa-on-arrival.
As for the countries with the most limited access, Syria is at the bottom of the list, with only nine Visa-free opportunities and 30 Visa-on-arrival. Afghanistan offers only six Visa-free opportunities but pushes past Syria with 34 Visa-on-arrival countries.
This map is a perfect way to display a huge wealth of data, like information on passport requirements.
Business Visualizations
New Research Shows Which Vehicle Makes and Models are Deadliest
Fatal accidents are all too common in the United States, but some crucial factors can affect whether an accident becomes deadly. One of those factors is the safety features of the vehicles involved. Makes and models aren’t equally safe, and the research conducted by the team at Convoy Car Shipping makes this grim fact clear.
The research used data from government organizations to study the statistics on which vehicles were involved in fatal accidents and how many fatal accidents a given vehicle was involved in compared to number of them on the road. The results give us a balanced look at which makes and models have the worst track record of fatal accidents.
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The research shows that these vehicles are the deadliest:
- Ford Ranger
- Jeep Cherokee
- Dodge Charger
- Nissan Maxima
- Ford Taurus
- Ford Mustang
- Chevrolet Camaro
- Chevrolet Blazer/Tahoe
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Ford Expedition
American-made vehicles aren’t looking safe when we consider the number of Ford and Chevy models on this top ten list. Examine the data to find information on even more vehicles. You’ll also see that this make/model list differs from overall crash statistics. The broader picture proved Harley Davidson motorcycles to be the second most deadly vehicles. We think that this skews the story the data tells because motorcycles have far fewer safety features than cars and trucks. The team at Convoy Car Shipping should be applauded for their attention to detail that considers the unequal safety standard on cars and trucks versus motorcycles. The research gives us all possible data so that vehicle owners can draw their own conclusions.
Charts
Visualizing the Cost Per Ounce of the World’s Most Valuable Metals
The team at Kylar Mack shows us just how valuable the world’s most precious metals are with this illustrated chart visualizing the cost per ounce of the most expensive metals and alloys. A metal is naturally occurring, and many appear on the periodic table of elements whereas an alloy combines two elements.
On this illustrated chart, we can truly visualize the comparative value of these metals because the team stacked money representative of the value beside an image of each metal. The chart is a great example of the power of visual data. Our eye is immediately drawn to the vast stacks of cash beside the most valuable metal, Californium. These stacks tower above ever other metal on the chart making it clear that not all metals are created equal.
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Californium’s value is a shocking $765,436,299 per ounce! That’s significantly higher than the second-most popular metal, a non-synthetic called Iridium, which is valued at $4,700. The key to the value difference lies in the fact that Californium is a synthetic substance. It’s created in a nuclear reactor and only two plants in the world have the capability of engineering it. As for Iridium, it’s naturally occurring but hard to mine and access. It’s found deep under the Earth’s crust, often attached to asteroids. Through this chart, we can learn more about different metals as well as why they’re so highly valued. Many are needed for key electronics and aerospace parts.
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