Why Cats Land On Their Feet
Why Do Cats Land On Their Feet?
It’s a well known fact that whenever cats fall, they somehow manage to land to land on their feet, even if they fall facing the ground. Cats almost always land on their feet. This, to a regular observer, seems to violate the idea of angular momentum, which basically means that an object will continue to rotate around the same axis unless acted upon by another force. A cat rotates in the air, landing on it’s feet, but depending on the direction it is facing, and the distance, it shouldn’t be able to stop its motion when it has righted itself. Technically a cat shouldn’t be able rotate 180 degrees and land on it’s feet.
So why can it?
As explained in the video linked below, when a cat falls, it arches it’s back, and actually forms two rotational axes.
The front legs of a cat twist in one direction, forming positive body rotation, while the back legs of the cat twist in the other direction. The cat then pulls either set of paws in , to decrease rotation in one direction and increase rotation in another, much like an ice skater does when jumping.
In addition, when a cat extends it’s legs it increases momentum in a direction, allowing it turn very quickly. Using this two rotation system, cats instinctively can right themselves very quickly and brace to land on their feet.
For more information, and a video experiment, see the link below.
Sources:
I have always wondered why cats can magically land on their feet from falling down a staircase. Thanks for the insight on angular momentum!
ReplyDeleteI think that I could do this if I tried hard enough. I mean if cats can do it, why can't I? Also I found the video very interesting and informative.
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