can anyone tell me why the usual shuttlecock has only 16 feathers? why can't it be 17 or 18? is there any history about this or its just a coincidence? i'm just curious about this..... Tnx..More Power!
here is a guess. i think there are many factors. - the feathers are distributed in a circle. it is much easier to divide a circle by 2/4/8/16/32 than any other numbers. it is just like cutting a cake. - it just happens that the size of feathers, and the weight of the feather, 16 of them seems to fit nicely. 8/32 are all too little or too much, ended up with a shuttlecock that doesn't have enough resistant or too much weight.
its quite hard to answer isn't it........even me is having a hard time about this. anyway please continue to give your opinions or answers about this weird and funny question. NOW THIS IS A CHALLENGE..........hahahhaha ^^ even me can't answer this believe it or not! but guys this is not a joke!!!! i'm really curious about this
Well, I'm not sure why but I would still go with kwun's assumption about the 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 feathers. 16 is just right and fits around the shuttle. But then again, that's like asking the moon why it shines (yes, we know it's because of the sun) or man why he walks (and again yes, there is an answer: because he can). Who knows! Haha. Let's just appreciate the sport!
tnx a lot! sorry for me being so hardheaded and stubborn that i am not contented with ur answers. sorry guys but anyways tnx a lot..........MORE POWER!!!
Look at the picture at http://www.rsljapan.com/badminton/index.html In the past, there are some other forms of shuttlecocks. 16 may be just the end of many try&errors.
Wah... i asking for many times and it's still a good question hahahaha..... for more than 16 feathers is not eficient, the total weight for the feathers in to heavy. maybe i should try to make a 15 feathers hehehe... but it's hard to make it true theres is no drilling machine for 15 holes hahaha.... all shuttlecocks machine is for 16 feathers. weight is very important on shuttlecocks, when you hit 5,0 gram and 4,9 gram shuttlecock, you will know ecxactly the diferent hehehe... even just 0.1 gram. i think when the feathers and cork have a balance weight 15 feathers is no problem. is there any research told that 15 feathers is not good???
I don't think it'd be possible for the shuttle to be symmetrical so I'd question as to whether it would fly well and/or consistently. Maybe, because shuttles' feathers are positioned in a circle, it'd be OK but I'm really not sure. Also, one must consider the fact that shuttles must fly at a certain speed (the one we have found acceptable over many years of badminton) to remain in court for shots that we think should stay in court. Changing the amount of feathers, and with it the weight and air resistance of the shuttle would change the speed and dramatically alter the game. I don't really think anyone would be brave enough to do that. Also, the way shuttles fly today isn't so bad.
Imagine you had a shuttle that had 15 Feathers. You found that the shuttle is too slow for a normal one. So you decide to speed it up by snapping equal no. of feathers diametrically opposite to the the one you snap. In case you had 15 feathers, you cant really do that. Unless you divide one Feather into 2 ! So as kwun said, 8, 16, 32 is just to maintain Symmetry. When you have 16 feathers, if you snap a feather at 12 O clock, you can snap one at 6, because you have diametrically opposite ones.
And for the the shuttle to maintain flight (aerodynamics) , you MUST snap a feather at 6 O clock, in case you snapped one at 12.
