[MUSIC PLAYING]
Which of these would you
guess is the fastest sport?
If you said baseball,
soccer, or even tennis,
you'll have to cast a wider net.
Considering the speed
of the shuttlecock
at the release
after being hit, it
can reach up to over
200 miles per hour.
Yes, badminton, the
sport many Americans play
with a beer in one hand next
to their backyard grill,
is one of the world's
fastest sports.
To understand what
makes the birdie,
or shuttlecock,
fly so fast starts
with putting down the
beer and going indoors.
The weather and the
temperature could actually
cause the shuttlecock to fly
in different way than expected.
Once indoors, players
smash, clear, drop,
and drive the shuttlecock
towards their opponents.
It's a sport with roots
in ancient Greece,
China, Japan, and India.
But its current regulations
were developed in England
and brought to the United
States in the 19th century,
where the first badminton club
opened in New York in 1878.
The rules have
changed over time,
but the one constant
was the shuttlecock.
This is kind of a unique shape
for a projectile compared
to other sports.
This is a cone shape, and
there are 16 feathers.
They're made of goose.
Goose feathers are chosen
for their durability.
But sometimes duck
is used as well.
Only four feathers
per bird make the cut
for the optimal and uniform
curvature, shape, and weight.
No matter how the shuttlecock
is hit, it will fly nose first.
All other ball sports created
the ball to make it fly faster.
The shuttlecock is made actually
to slow down after being hit.
The feathers create
drag, which leads
to a more predictable
flight path,
giving the player more
control over shots.
Surprisingly, 80% of the
speed can be preserved.
As the shuttlecock
descends, the flight angle
becomes more steep than
its lift, a unique property
for a projectile in sports.
The feathers break easily, which
can make the shuttlecock wobble
during flight.
Often, several are
used in one match.
And players can
even alter the speed
of the shuttle with some minor
adjustments to the feathers.
If I want to increase
the speed of the flying,
I will tip the end of
the feather inside.
So less air resistance
actually can
be encountered during flight.
Just don't try that
during a match.
It's cheating.
And Dr. Qin Arthur
Zhu would know.
In addition to his
work in kinesiology
or the study of human
movement, Dr. Zhu
is a national-level badminton
umpire and a top player
trained in China.
To improve coaching techniques,
Dr. Zhu and his team
wanted to understand how
players could transfer the most
speed to the shuttlecock.
They looked at racquet angle,
swing speed, and string tension
when players hit a smash.
We suspended the shuttlecock
from the ceiling,
put the reflective markers on
the head of the shuttlecock,
and a racket head,
so that we can
keep track of the
shuttlecock movement
after impact to see how fast
the shuttlecock was moving
and in which angle it was moving
so that we can correlate it
to their swing performance.
Dr. Zhu and his team found that
the fastest shuttlecock speed
was achieved by expert
players when the racket
angle was 71.6 degrees.
Recreational players could
swing the racket just as fast
as expert players.
But since they weren't
able to hit the shuttlecock
at that optimal
angle, they weren't
able to achieve
the highest speeds.
It's really hard to hit
that angle right because--
It's a complicated process.
You have to bend your knees
to lower down your weight,
so that you can jump.
Then, the energy is going to
be passed from the lower body
to the upper body into the
shoulder, to the elbow,
to the wrist, and
eventually to the finger.
And all of those
energy is going to be
added up, passed through the
racket to the shuttlecock.
Try doing that with
a beer in one hand.
And there you have it--
badminton, a smashing
and speedy sport.
[EXCLAMATION]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[CLAPPING]
