More info about the physics of Angry Birds than you need to know
If there's anything I love to read, it's analysis of the commonplace items in our lives by physicists, engineers, and mathematicians. That's why I was attracted to a recent Wired Dot Physics post by physicist Rhett Allain in which he did a Tracker video analysis of the most important characters in Angry Birds -- the birds.
By using the official Angry Birds walkthrough videos on YouTube with Tracker, Allain was able to determine several important factors -- that the birds exist in a drag-free world (no air resistance), that the sling shot is huge (5 meters -- 16 feet) tall, and the birds are good-sized as well. Y'know that little red bird? He's about 70 cm (27.6 inches) tall. That's a big bird!
To see how Allain used Tracker to plot the horizontal and vertical motion of the birds in flight, follow his analysis, and review his assumptions, be sure check out the original post.
