Convert Mile/Hour (mi/h) to Cosmic Velocity - Third (v₃) instantly.
About these units
Mile/Hour (mi/h)
The mile per hour represents the number of miles traveled in one hour and is commonly used in the United States, the UK (in road contexts), and several other countries with legacy imperial systems. mph is deeply woven into cultural habits: driver training, speed limits, vehicular performance, and even athletic achievements are often expressed in miles per hour. In science and engineering, however, mph is rarely used because the mile and hour are not SI units. Still, mph retains strong emotional and historical associations—for example, the significance of a car "breaking 200 mph" or the legendary "88 mph" in popular culture. It persists because measurement units often survive long after their historical origins fade.
Cosmic Velocity - Third (v₃)
The third cosmic velocity is the speed required to escape the entire Solar System from Earth's orbit, overcoming the gravitational pull of the Sun. This speed is approximately 16.7 km/s, though missions often achieve this gradually using gravitational assists rather than brute-force acceleration. Space probes such as Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and New Horizons have exceeded v₃, making them interstellar travelers. The third cosmic velocity represents the threshold where an object ceases to be bound to the Sun and begins drifting through the galaxy—one of the most profound expansions of human technological capability.