Fly swatters

Why do fly swatters work so well? I can swing at these stupid little creatures all day but it never works untill I pick up the simplest most elementerary designed apparatus and then.....whap, swing, swoosh....their dead.
 
its the holes in the swatter. If your hand were more permeable then you would have better results.
Or mabey you just have terrible reaction time.
smirk.gif
 
I don't think air resistance plays much of a role with your arm. The biggest difference comes in the fact that a swatter weighs next to nothing and is quite easy to accelerate rapidly. Also the added length increases the relative velocity that your hand achieves. Go go gadget arms.
 
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I don't think air resistance plays much of a role with your arm. The biggest difference comes in the fact that a swatter weighs next to nothing and is quite easy to accelerate rapidly. Also the added length increases the relative velocity that your hand achieves. Go go gadget arms.

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but air resistance creates a wave that tips the fly off to its impending doom. Surely the holes reduce this effect, giving the flies less reaction time. Mostly I'd guess it's the speed you get by extending your arm, as noted above.

I read an article recently about a fly study. They found that flies leap away from a threat before beginning to fly. So predicting their move and leading them could improve your chances.

k
 
That's why they're called fly swatters. If your arms worked just
well maybe they'd be called your right and left fly swatters. It's simple, really. Just a matter of logic.
Phil
 
Seems to me with all of the hundreds of lenses on their eyes that a 5x5 inch piece of mesh wouldn't be enough of an object to get the upper hand. The square footage of my hand equals the stupid swatter. If it is speed and the holes have nothing to do with it then why are they even there? Is there perhaps hundreds of years of R&D with these things or what?
 
I think its magic that the stupid creatures always turn on me after I try to swat them and miss. I swear its like they know! And then when you grab the stupid fly swatter they dissapear! What the heck!
 
It's mostly the speed. When you use a fly swatter, the fulcurm is your wrist and it accelerates the tip like a catapult. Plus, as stated above, you're willing to hit the surface a lot harder (faster) with the sacrificial swatter than your hand. Plus, they're magic.

A long time ago, I philosophized over killing flies (very hard) vs. mosquitos (very easy) at summer camp. One of the counsellors told me that flies set their wings to "trigger" at air movement. When they're tripped, they take off - up and rearwards. He told me the way to kill flies isn't with standard flat hand slap, but rather use two hands and clap them together in the air above the fly. I was amazed at how well it worked. I'm like a fly sniper now! Try it, you'll be hooked.
 
in middle school, some friends and I got really good at catching flies. the trick is to grab the two inches of air above the fly. the fly leaps up and into your hand.
 

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