- #1
Archosaur
- 331
- 1
Yes, "cats", the animal. Not some jargon or acronym you haven't heard of. I have a question about angular momentum and cats.
Cats are pretty famous for always landing on their feet. I imagined that they accomplished this by manipulating their angular velocity by distorting their body in response to their angular momentum (which cannot change over the course of the fall). If that were so, and if a cat were held upside down and dropped with no angular momentum, then it should not land on its feet.
So, I did what any questionably ethical empiricist would do in the situation. I picked up my roommate's cat, held it upside down (over the couch. It's a very soft couch. Calm down) and dropped it with as little angular momentum as I could humanly manage. She landed on all four feet (and, being a mellow cat, didn't run off, but instead looked at me as if to say "I'm sorry, were you expecting something reasonable?"). So, myself being more curious than empathetic, I repeated this experiment... let's just say several times, until she finally ran off.
Each time, without exception...
Initially, I thought "She could orient her front half in any way she wanted, so long as her back half compensated, then, landing with her front feet, she could quickly bring her back feet around," but, I reiterate, she always landed on all four feet.
My question for you, Physics Forums, is "How do you think cats manage this?"
My question for you, cats, is "Who the f@$% do you think you are?"
Cats are pretty famous for always landing on their feet. I imagined that they accomplished this by manipulating their angular velocity by distorting their body in response to their angular momentum (which cannot change over the course of the fall). If that were so, and if a cat were held upside down and dropped with no angular momentum, then it should not land on its feet.
So, I did what any questionably ethical empiricist would do in the situation. I picked up my roommate's cat, held it upside down (over the couch. It's a very soft couch. Calm down) and dropped it with as little angular momentum as I could humanly manage. She landed on all four feet (and, being a mellow cat, didn't run off, but instead looked at me as if to say "I'm sorry, were you expecting something reasonable?"). So, myself being more curious than empathetic, I repeated this experiment... let's just say several times, until she finally ran off.
Each time, without exception...
- She left my hands upside down and with very very little angular momentum.
- Something wonderful happened about half way through the fall, which, in retrospect, I should have filmed. This event is the source of my confusion.
- She landed squarely on all four feet.
Initially, I thought "She could orient her front half in any way she wanted, so long as her back half compensated, then, landing with her front feet, she could quickly bring her back feet around," but, I reiterate, she always landed on all four feet.
My question for you, Physics Forums, is "How do you think cats manage this?"
My question for you, cats, is "Who the f@$% do you think you are?"