In: Physics
The
cat righting reflex
is a cat's innate ability to orient itself as it falls in order to land on its feet. The
righting reflex begins to appear at 3
–4 weeks of age, and is perfected at 7 weeks. The minimum height
required for this to occur in most cats would be around 30 cm.
You are part of an engineering team trying to reproduce this in a mechanical cat. Your prototype, aptly
named Katt, when dropped motionless, upside down from 2.5 m, can right itself before it hits the ground
by rotating its “tail”. Katt’s body is a solid cy
linder 30 cm in length and 15 cm in diameter, with a mass of
3.0 kg. Attached to the center of one end of the body is Katt's tail, a 20
-cm long rod which extends out
perpendicular to Katt's body and has only 10% the mass of the body. The tail will rotate due to a s
mall
electric motor in the body that produces a constant torque. In order to order the piece, determine the
angular speeds it will need to deal with.