I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Organs Zone. It has scientists studying health and disease in various parts of our bodies. Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
hen someone falls from the fourth or fifth floor, and survives, we call it a miracle. When a cat falls from that height, we watch astonished as it lands on all fours, pauses, then straighten up and walks away looking just a little fazed.
And it all has to do with the in-built ability of a cat to adjust its position during a sudden fall, its light weight and lithe muscular body. While humans tumble uncontrollably and completely lose control over their bodies when they fall, cats are able to straighten themselves even in mid-air and manage to fall on their feet.
And because cats are so light, at one point, the speed with which they fall is almost equal to the upward thrust of air and the two get balanced. As a result, the cat continues to fall but at a steady speed, unlike humans who hurtle down with an increasing speed to crash on the ground. This gives the cat a bearing over the situation and it spreads its limbs out like a parachute.
Unlike humans, cats do not tumble because of an exceptional sensory system. It immediately tells the cat’s nervous system that it is upside down and falling. Thanks to this, the agile cat twists its body at once for a safer landing. Even its feet are flexed in order to absorb the shock of the fall.
And the cat’s muscles that join and surround its bones make the best shock absorbers ever made!
They truly are incredible animals. Science suggests that humans are just too heavy, and not built the right way to be able to make it to the ground like a cat! Only when we have a parachute (like when we are skydiving) can we safely make it to the ground without splatting.
1
This puzzle of how cats can land on their feet was solved with the invention of high-speed photography, in the late 19th century. The photos revealed that the cats turn over by twisting around the middle and rotating the front and back halves separately. A scientist called Dr Donald McDonald wrote a paper about this in 1960.
So, knowing how cats do the flip, an obvious question is: can humans do it? Sort of. Dr McDonald showed that it is possible for a human to turn themselves around in the same way a cat does. He trained an Olympic diver to fall like a cat — but into water. Being animals that walk on two legs, it would be more useful for us to flip end-over-end, which unfortunately isn’t possible.
I think its amazing that cats falling from great heights don’t accelerate any more! Wow Hannah.
Some people have tested what cats do in zero gravity!!! Watch the video here:
2
It’s possible i guess. Anything is possible. However, we are built differently.
Cats actually have the ability to spin and turn around whilst falling. We humans can’t really do this. We are built to run/move on land, are not really great climbers nor do we go from tree to tree etc. We have evolved to stand on 2 feet and be able to run for long distances.
Can we somehow evolve to have this function. Sure, it’s possible. But there would have to be 1. great selective pressure on us, and 2. it would take a very looooong time.
Hope that makes sense. Vote Yashar 😀
1