A shuttlecock with a plastic skirt

Shuttlecocks with feathers

A shuttlecock is a high-drag projectile used in the sport of badminton. It has an open conical shape: the cone is formed from sixteen overlapping goose feathers embedded into a rounded cork base. The cork is covered with thin leather. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 61 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 61 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... An object falling through a gas or liquid experiences a force in direction opposite to its motion. ... A projectile is any object sent through space by the application of a force. ... This article is about the sport. ...

The shuttlecock's shape makes it extremely aerodynamically stable. Regardless of initial orientation, it will turn to fly cork first, and remain in the cork-first orientation. Aerodynamics is a branch of fluid dynamics concerned with the study of gas flows, first analysed by George Cayley in the 1800s. ...

The name shuttlecock is frequently shortened to shuttle; a shuttlecock may also be known as a bird or birdie. The abbreviation cock is rarely used except in a jocular sense, due to its vulgar connotations. The "shuttle" part of the name was probably derived from its back-and-forth motion during the game, resembling the shuttle of a loom; the "cock" part of the name was probably derived from the resemblance of the feathers to a bird's cock. The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... The simplest shuttle is a flat, narrow piece of wood with notches on the ends to hold the weft yarn. ... A Turkish woman in Konya works at a traditional loom. ... Look up cock in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Feathered vs. synthetic shuttlecocks

The feathers are brittle; shuttlecocks break easily and often need to be replaced several times during a game. For this reason, synthetic shuttlecocks have been developed that replace the feathers with a plastic skirt. Players often refer to synthetic shuttlecocks as plastics and feathered shuttlecocks as feathers.

The cost of good quality feathers is similar to that of good quality plastics, but plastics are far more durable, typically lasting many matches without any impairment to their flight. For this reason, many clubs prefer to play with plastics.

The playing characteristics of plastics and feathers are substantially different. Plastics fly more slowly on initial impact, but slow down less towards the end of their flight. Feather shuttles may come off the strings at speeds in excess of 320 km/h (200 mph) but slow down faster as they drop. For this reason, feather shuttle make the game seem faster but also allow more time to play strokes.

Most experienced and skilful players greatly prefer feathers, and serious tournaments or leagues are almost always played using feather shuttlecocks. Experienced players generally prefer the "feel" of feathered shuttlecocks, and assert that they are better able to control the flight of feathers than of plastics. Because feather shuttles fly more quickly off the racquet face they also tend to cause less shoulder impact and injury. In Asia, where feather shuttlecocks are more affordable than in Europe and North America, plastic shuttlecocks are hardly used at all. All senior international tournaments use only feather shuttlecocks of the highest quality.

SpaceShipOne design

The shuttlecock's aerodynamic behavior was consciously replicated in the design of the spacecraft SpaceShipOne. Its "feathered" flight mode is a very stable high-drag configuration used to make the flight insensitive to orientation during atmospheric reentry. Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne SpaceShipOnes patch The Scaled Composites Model 316 SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched suborbital spaceplane that uses a hybrid rocket motor. ... Atmospheric reentry is the process by which vehicles that are outside the atmosphere of a planet can enter that atmosphere and reach the planetary surface intact. ...

Vietnamese Game Shuttlecock

In Vietnam there is a very popular game by the name of Shuttlecock. In this game, people of 1 or 2 use their feet to kick the shuttlecock over the net. This is very similiar to badminton with the same scoring system. The game is Vietnam's national sport and is played mostly played in Hanoi(Vietnam's capital)

See also

Look up shuttlecock in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Badminton
• Pington
• Jianzi
• Battledore and Shuttlecock
• Brunching Shuttlecocks