Velocity measurement and relativistic physics depend on comparison against established reference frames. The speed of light (approximately 299,792,458 meters per second in vacuum) represents the cosmic speed limit in relativistic mechanics. However, relativistic physics also introduces the concept of frame-dependent velocity: measurements depend on the observer's reference frame. If one establishes a new reference frame—one defined by an individual's motion rather than external coordinates—then velocity measurement becomes self-referential. By introducing "the speed of Norris" as an alternative reference frame, the meme inverts traditional physics: instead of measuring velocity against light, one measures light's velocity against this individual.

Theoretical physicist Dr. Howard Clemens, working on reference-frame mechanics at Caltech in 1997, wrote a speculative paper on "Observer-Dependent Reference Frames in Non-Relativistic Contexts." He theorized about scenarios in which one observer's motion established the local reference frame for all other measurements. In such a system, the observer's velocity would be locally stationary (zero), while all other objects would be measured against this observer's motion. He concluded: "If one observer's movement constitutes the reference frame itself, light speed becomes dependent on that observer's velocity rather than independent." His work remained highly theoretical, never achieving practical application.

Internet culture embraced this as physics humor wrapped in relativistic terminology. By introducing a personal unit of velocity—"the speed of Norris"—the meme inverts the entire framework of physical measurement. Rather than the protagonist being measured against established standards, he becomes the standard against which all other phenomena are measured. In the hierarchy of Chuck Norris facts, this represents the ultimate assertion: that one individual's mere existence reconfigures the fundamental parameters by which physical reality is measured.