Sunday 13 April 2014

Mystery Solved: Why Flies Are So Hard to Swat?

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Why are buzzing flies so hard to swat? It's a question that’s vexed humankind for millennia, but scientists may finally have the answer. Flies on the wing react to looming threats as if they were fighter jets - by banking away in a fraction of the blink of an eye, according to a study published in the journal Science.

Too fast for the swat, the airborne insects harness their aerodynamic force within a wingbeat or two to almost instantaneously change their course. This happens so quickly - in less than one hundredth of a second - that scientists required three high-speed cameras, each able to take 7,500 frames per second, to capture it.

1 comment(s):

Anonymous said...

A very simple and effective way to swat flies every time and never miss is this:
Flies have great eyesight. Wait until they land within swatting distance. Hold out the arm that's not holding the swatter straight out away from your body. Wiggle your fingers. It will get the fly's attention and it won't see the swatter coming down on it.