Know WHY a curved stick flies straighter

[andy]

than a straight one when you throw them? :-)

[lucille]

No, why, Andy?

[andy]

Wait a bit, Lucille, let some of those who "know" so much more than me have a chance to show what they "know". :-)

[neolithic hunter]

it has to do with rotational speed andy.

[Aslan]

It's not an absolute - i.e. why are spears straight. The way the stick is thrown matters, as do some other factors. (But your original premise is valid, and has a direct bearing on hunting boomerangs - not the toys that come back to you, hunting boomerangs are designed to fly straight and hit hard)

And here's the bonus question: at what point does the curvature stop making it fly straighter, and can you determine what happens if you throw holding the shorter arm of the curved stick vs the longer arm?

Extra bonus question: how does the way you throw it matter?

:devil:

[carguy]

Wait a bit, Lucille, let some of those who "know" so much more than me have a chance to show what they "know". :-)

andy wants u to wait because he don't know, hes a lying POS poser

[gripper]

OK carguy;why DOES it do what it does???

[GBullet]

Know WHY a curved stick flies straighter than a straight one when you throw them? :-)

Wait a bit, Lucille, let some of those who "know" so much more than me have a chance to show what they "know". :-)

I will assume you throw two flat sticks, one a traditional boomerang and the other a "straight" boomerang, identical except for curvature, in the usual rotating manner and with the same initial rotational speed.

The more nearly the stick keeps its edge in the direction of travel, the drag will remain minimum. Because the stick's ability to remain edge-on is a function of its rotational speed squared, the greater the stick's rotational inertia, the longer its drag remains minimum and the farther it will fly.

A curved stick's geometry places its mass further from its axis of rotation than a straight stick. The mass of the curved stick being located further from its axis of rotation gives it greater rotational inertia than the straight stick. Hence, the curved stick will fly further.

[7of7]

Thanks GB. I appreciate the explanation of why a curved stick will fly further than a straight one. I really think GK should have done the explaining though, However the reality of his limited knowledge does come to mind as an excuse for his silence on this question that he brought up....

[Aslan]

If you throw using the shorter end of the stick vs the longer end, you get a different rotational speed if thrown with the same force (basically short lever vs long lever)


GB knows his stuff...


:devil:

[copycat]

Kind of strange he never answers his own question?

[Aslan]

Kind of strange he never answers his own question?

To be fair, he may still be banished to the rubber room.

:devil: