Thursday, March 10, 2005

falling cat experiments

Go HERE and go to the link "excerpt".

You will find the "falling cat" experiment film, and other nonsensical experimental data...

The riddle was finally solved by the French doctor Étienne Jules Marey. Marey was a tinkerer who invented all sorts of mechanical devices, including a film camera that could capture a cat falling at 60 images a second. At a demonstration of the film, some physicists still doubted that the rotation was possible without the cat repelling in some way. But one physicist took a closer look at the pictures and realized the cat’s trick.

The movement occurs in two phases: First, the cat turns its forequarters toward the ground, then—in the same direction—its hindquarters. Changing the position of its paws between the two phases allows the cat’s front and rear to repel off each other. The cat uses the same principle as an ice skater executing a pirouette who pulls her arms in for fast spins and extends them to turn more slowly. The cat does both moves simultaneously: it pulls in its forepaws and thrusts out its hindpaws. That way it is able to quickly make a half-turn of its forequarters toward the ground, while its rear end turns only a little in the opposite direction owing to the resistance created by extending its hindpaws. To bring its hindquarters around, the cat reverses the procedure, thrusting out its forepaws and pulling in its hindpaws.

Haile Berry, call your office....

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