Plus Blog  August 6, 2012  Yesterday was a great day for
badminton with gold medals being awarded in the men's singles
and doubles. This got us thinking about shuttlecocks. They are
not like balls at all and this means that they don't behave like
balls either. John D. Barrow, mathematician, cosmologist and
prolific popular science writer, explains.  Shuttlecocks used
for badminton are not like other projectiles found in sports.
They are extremely asymmetrical, with a conical skirt about 6cm
long and 6cm across that is attached to a cork of higher density
at the narrow end of the cone. However, when the shuttlecock is
hit it will quickly flip over so that the cork is leading
because its pressure centre if different to its centre of mass.
This will ensure that it is always approaching your opponent the
right way round for her to hit it back.  The effect of hitting
the shuttlecock is strange. When you hit a tennis ball or a
cricket ball with a racquet or bat it goes further the harder
you hit it. But no matter h