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Slow Motion Flipping Cat Physics | Smarter Every Day 58

SmarterEveryDay · 11.3M views · 2012-08-08 · 6:26

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Overview

Destin of Smarter Every Day films a cat falling in high-speed slow motion to show how cats right themselves in midair, and introduces the physics behind it.

On Hacker News

HN recommends it as a good visual explanation of how cats land on their feet.

Recommended by 3 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2012–2023

Topics

Everyday physics & science demosAnimals & nature
Search by tags
high speed videocatsphysicsangular momentumslow motion

What people said

ryankrage77 · 2023-02 · Recommendation

> the exact mechanics of the animal’s righting reflex are still not completely understood. I don't think this is true anymore. They move their head and tail to rotate themselves upright, and due to their low weight their terminal velocity is not fatal. This video has a good explanation of the process, [VIDEO] Squirrels use a similar technique, Mark Rober has made some good videos explaining that.

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MiguelHudnandez · 2013-07 · Recommendation

You'd just see some blinding white light for a few seconds and then maybe nothing else for the rest of your life. Our human eyes and brains limit us from perceiving even everyday things with the majesty they deserve. Even popping water balloons looks amazing in high speed video. On YouTube, there is a community of people doing silly things with high speed cameras that makes for stimulating watching: Smarter Every Day: weird glass phenomenon [LINK] Smarter Every Day: cat righting itself in midair [VIDEO] Lots of high speed videos [LINK]

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otneusnocuh · 2012-08 · Recommendation

I think it's cos they don't want to get hurt landing on their back. Now how they do it is a different question all together. Ps, awesome video [VIDEO] , article is pretty useless.

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Sources

Video by SmarterEveryDay, played through YouTube.

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