![spine2d physics speed spine2d physics speed](https://cdn.numerade.com/previews/3ddb851a-730c-4682-b0f0-2d2be1e3a8de_large.jpg)
University of California Museum of Paleontology. "Vertebrate Flight: Gliding and Parachuting". International Journal of Solids and Structures. "A dynamical explanation of the falling cat phenomenon". Superstrings and Other Things: A Guide to Physics. "An insight into the Biomechanics of Twisting".
![spine2d physics speed spine2d physics speed](http://esotericsoftware.com/img/v4-beta/v4-beta-launcher.jpg)
![spine2d physics speed spine2d physics speed](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1uQVdlRi440/maxresdefault.jpg)
Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Medical Engineering. "How does a Cat always land on its feet?". "Development and maturation of postural reflexes in normal kittens". Buttered cat paradox – a humorous combination of two proverbs.Falling cat problem – the mathematical problem of explaining the physics of the cat righting reflex.A 2003 study of 119 cats concluded that "Falls from the seventh or higher stories, are associated with more severe injuries and with a higher incidence of thoracic trauma." See also However, critics of the study pointed out a survivorship bias in that instantly fatal falls were not included (as an already dead cat would not be taken to the vet), questioning the authors' conclusion that the injury rate declined for higher falls. The study authors speculated that after falling five stories the cats reached terminal velocity and thereafter relaxed and spread their bodies to increase drag. One cat survived a fall of 46 stories and landed with no injuries at all. In a 1987 study, published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, of 132 cats that were brought into the New York Animal Medical Center after having fallen from buildings, it was found that the injuries per cat increased depending on the height fallen up to seven stories, but decreased above seven stories.
![spine2d physics speed spine2d physics speed](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/1-151004102859-lva1-app6891/95/speed-and-acceleration-10-638.jpg)
However, this is not always the case, since cats can still break bones or die from extreme falls. With their righting reflex, cats often land uninjured. A 2003 study of feline high-rise syndrome found that cats 'orient limbs horizontally after achieving maximum velocity so that the impact is more evenly distributed throughout the body'. An average-sized cat with its limbs extended achieves a terminal velocity of about 60 mph (97 km/h), while an average-sized man reaches a terminal velocity of about 120 mph (190 km/h). While falling, a cat spreads out its body to increase drag. Their small size, light bone structure, and thick fur decrease their terminal velocity. In addition to the righting reflex, cats have other features that reduce damage from a fall.
#Spine2d physics speed full
Extend their front legs and tuck their rear legs so that they can rotate their rear half further while their front half rotates in the opposite direction less.ĭepending on the cat's flexibility and initial angular momentum, if any, the cat may need to perform steps two and three repeatedly to complete a full 180° rotation.Tuck their front legs in to reduce the moment of inertia of the front half of their body and extend their rear legs to increase the moment of inertia of the rear half of their body so that they can rotate their front by as much as 90° while the rear half rotates in the opposite direction as little as 10°.Bend in the middle so that the front half of their body rotates about a different axis from the rear half.They are able to accomplish this with these key steps: Cats falling at normal gravity and with no gravityĪfter determining down from up visually or with their vestibular apparatus (in the inner ear), cats manage to twist themselves to face downward without changing their net angular momentum.