![]() Aroldis Chapman, the holder of the world record for fastest recorded pitch (105mph), could in theory launch a baseball 14 giraffes high.īut what about projectiles other than baseballs? Obviously, with the aid of tools such as slings, crossbows, or the curved xistera scoops in the sport of jai alai, we can launch projectiles much faster than that. ![]() Someone with a reasonably good arm could manage five.Ī pitcher with an 80mph fastball could manage 10 giraffes. I will give these heights in units of giraffes: I ran through the basic aerodynamic calculations for a baseball thrown at various speeds. We could use a springboard, a greased chute, or even a dangling sling – anything that redirects the object upward without adding to or subtracting from its speed. But we could also sidestep the whole problem by using a device like the one pictured above. Since we’re going for maximum height, we could use projectiles that curve upward when you throw them forward the Aerobie Orbiters I had when I was a kid often got stuck in the highest treetops. We seem to be much better at throwing things forward than throwing them upward. In terms of timing, this is like a drummer dropping a drumstick from the 10th storey and hitting a drum on the ground on the correct beat. That means that when your arm is still rotating toward the correct position, the signal to release the ball is already at your wrist. To put that in perspective, it takes about five milliseconds for the fastest nerve impulse to travel the length of the arm. A timing error of half a millisecond in either direction is enough to cause the ball to miss the strike zone. In order to deliver a baseball to a batter, a pitcher has to release the ball at exactly the right point in the throw. In fact, we’re so good at it that some researchers have suggested that rock-throwing played a central role in the evolution of the modern human brain. So while there are other animals that use projectiles, we’re just about the only animal that can grab a random object and reliably nail a target. I don’t know why they do this, because whenever I reach the phrase “shoot jets of blood from their eyes” in an article I just stop there and stare at it until I need to lie down. Horned lizards shoot jets of blood from their eyes for distances of up to 5ft. Archerfish hunt insects by throwing water droplets, but they use specialised mouths instead of arms. Antlions throw sand, but they don’t aim it. It’s true that chimpanzees hurl faeces (and, on rare occasions, stones), but they’re not nearly as accurate or precise as humans.
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