Break Strength of Net: Falconer's Question

[Raptortrapper]

My question doesn't come from any homework, or from a text, or any course work. I am just curious, but horrible with physics.

I am a falconer. I trap hawks and falcons for my hobby, and yes, I have a license for it. We use a trap called a dho gazza, which is a small net suspended by two poles. A bait bird is placed behind the net, and the raptor flies into the net while attempting to get to the bait bird. (No harm is done to the bait bird, other than scaring the daylights out of it for a few seconds.) My question concerns the net, and the break strength when it is hit by an incoming bird.

If the net is rated to a break strength of 20 pounds, and the falcon I am attempting to trap only weighs 10 ounces, how fast would that bird have to be traveling in order to break through the net instead of getting caught in it?

If there are other variables that you need, I will try my best to provide them. Thank you very much for your help.

 

[gneill]

I think you'd be better to start a discussion in the General Physics or General Engineering forum to begin with in order to get some ideas of what sorts of parameters might be involved. For example, what criteria do manufacturers use when specifying the strength of their nets? Is there an agreed upon standard test? Is it a static test or a dynamic test? Contacting a manufacturer might be in order.

As it stands I feel that the problem is too open-ended for the homework section. I note that you didn't use the homework formatting template, which is a pretty good indicator that the question isn't "ready for prime time" as a homework type question.

 

[Raptortrapper]

Ok thanks. I didn't know where to put this question, so thanks for the help. I'll throw it on there and see what happens. The manufacturer had no idea when I asked them this question.