Physicist Dr. Anxo Biasi, from the Instituto Galego de Física de Altas Enerxías (Spain), claims to have discovered something almost as difficult for his discipline as unification field theory: the equation of motion for cats.
Biasi skipped the analysis of feline behavior in isolation and ventured directly into the “two-body problem”: how cats behave in the presence of a human.
Although Erwin Schrödinger’s name has recently been overshadowed by controversy, the physicist remains known for both the wave equation and the cat in quantum superposition. The fascination with how cats seem to defy physics (especially when they fall) has been linked to advanced science ever since, and an Ig Nobel Prize was awarded for proving that cats can be both solid and liquid.
However, Biasi believes there is still room for exploration. “This study aims to bring physics closer to non-specialists by providing a nice example by which it is possible to understand several concepts from classical mechanics,” explains Biasi.
The equation of the cats’ movements was found
“To achieve this, an equation is constructed that models the behavior of a cat in the presence of a person, considering the cat to be a point particle moving in a human-induced potential,” he continues, quoted by IFL Science.
The help of feline friends was welcome, but the equation of the cats’ movements is based mainly on the observations of a single cat, Eme, who lives with Biasi. The initial hypothesis was, “Cats behave as if they perceive a force around a person,” and identified seven movement patterns that were modeled.
Biasi places the man in the center of the model, setting his position as x=0, while the cat’s position is x. If m is the cat’s mass and ϵ is the coefficient of friction created by the cat’s fatigue, Biasi starts with a basic formula: md²x/dt² = – dV(δ)cat(x)/dx – ϵdx/dt.
From there, Biasi adds additional factors such as cat torsos and “evening madness” known as “zoomies.”
“It all started as a playful idea on April Fool’s Day. However, we realized that this story could be of great help to physics students,” said Biasi.
The equation of cat movements and why they sometimes seem impossible to move
The cat’s torso is used to demonstrate the physics of a self-sustaining system: “It is proposed that when a cat is petted and begins to purr, humans feel the urge to continue petting it, stabilizing the process.” Who knows how many people have been delayed from important business by the force of a purring cat that seems impossible to move?
In his model, Biasi considers lap sitting and five other behavioral patterns, including ignoring calls and rocking to petting, as part of the low-energy regime. In contrast, “zoomies” (also called frenzied random activity periods or FRAPs) involve a state of high energy. The FRAP can only be modeled by introducing a randomization function, since not even the cat knows where it will go. Biasi adds an additional term, σf
Limitations (and injustices) of the study
Here are some observations though. One aspect is that Biasi is the sole author of the work. If FDC Willard (a cat) managed to co-author a physics paper by his mere presence, Eme’s omission seems a grave injustice, writes IFL Science. Biasi only vaguely thanks “his cat” for being a source of inspiration, without mentioning its name.
Biasi also admits that his model uses only classical mechanics, considering the cat “a point particle obeying Newton’s laws”. Given the quasi-quantum behavior of cats, this seems like an oversimplification, even assuming that a cat obeys any laws, including Newton’s.
However, Biasi points out that his equations “are not universal and some cats may show a weaker version of them.” He suggests that his work can “reproduce behaviors characteristic of cats,” so those who understand his equations and have a cat at their disposal can judge the accuracy for themselves.
The study is published in American Journal of Physics.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
