[ad_1]
It’s a gym a very difficult sport, and not just for extreme Olympic athletes like Simone Biles who won the medal five times (so far). Physics is also quite challenging. Let’s look at something seemingly simple, like a flip.
There will be a version of the flip-flop in all the women’s gymnastics tests: floor, bars, vault and beam. It is one of two types of rotation that a gymnast can do in the air. In terms of physics, the flip is a mental foot rotation about an imaginary axis that traverses the gymnast’s hips. As for the second type of rotation, a twist, imagine an axis going from head to toe.
Maybe it’s easier to see them. Both of these animations were created in Python. (You can see the code here and here.)
A gymnast can do both of these types of rotations at the same time, which is why it’s so interesting to watch the sport. In physics, we would call this type of movement a “rigid body rotation”. But it is clear that humans are not rigid, so the mathematics for describing such rotations can be quite complicated. For the sake of brevity, let’s limit the discussion to flipping only.
There are three types of flips. There is a design that allows the gymnast to keep the body in an upright position. There is a pike, which bends the hip approximately 90 degrees. Finally, there is a tuck, with the knees pulled towards the chest.
What is the difference in physics?
Rotation and moment of inertia
If you want to understand the physics of a rotation, you need to consider the moment of inertia. I know it’s a term that sounds weird. Let’s start with an example of boats. (Yes, the boats.)
Suppose you are located on the dock next to a small boat that is floating there and not tied up. If you put your foot in the boat and push it, what happens? Yes, the boat moves away, but it does something else. The boat too it accelerates as you move away. This change in speed is acceleration.
[ad_2]
Source link
