this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2023
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The cat won't be able to maintain its top speed because of deceleration from lack of friction
Claws homie
Good point. It has zero contact force at the apex, so 14m is an upper bound on possible cat-loops.
True. But if top speed allows for 14 meters, surely a 1.5 to 2 m loop should be possible (especially given a cat's incredible reflexes and control given a lack of friction or even freefall). I'd guess that a cat, given enough motivation, could keep running under the little friction provided by the centripetal force for a few hundred milliseconds - likely long enough to complete a 1m loop, maybe even 2, given sufficient space for a top-speed run before entering...