Cats are incredible creatures and it turns out the physics of how they do what they do is just as remarkable – like how they always land on their feet. In fact, that very phenomenon has captivated scientists for over 300 years and it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that high-speed photography finally let scientists begin to understand it.
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00:00cats are incredible creatures and it turns out the physics of how they do what they do is just
00:08as remarkable like how they always land on their feet in fact that very phenomenon has captivated
00:13scientists for over 300 years and it wasn't until the late 1800s that high-speed photography finally
00:19let scientists begin to understand it in the end experts have identified four possible motions
00:24they hypothesize are responsible for the mid-air ability the tuck and turn where cats pull in one
00:29set of legs to rotate body segments the figure skater model where cats change rotational speed
00:33by extending limbs the bend and twist where cats bend at the waist to counter rotate body halves
00:38and the propeller tail where some rotation is adjusted via tail movement the more research
00:43that has been subsequently conducted has identified that cats use a combination of all of these
00:47techniques or even cats without tails have highlighted that the mechanisms are flexible
00:52and not all are necessary however physicist and author of falling felines and fundamental physics
00:57greg debor says one of them is a core mechanism explaining the most important is a bend and
01:02twist motion when one goes through the math that seems to be the most fundamental aspect of how a cat turns
01:08over