• Question: Can you catch an arrow that is shot with speed?

    Asked by killa to Colin, John, Kevin, Shikha, Triona on 10 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Tríona O'Connell

      Tríona O'Connell answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      I couldn’t catch a gently thrown balloon, so no, no I couldn’t.
      It seems (from a cursory search on the internet), that a) mythbusters disproved it and b) even with good timing, you might not be able to close your hand fast enough around it. You could probably get good a punching a speeding arrow if you had time and practise (and trusted the archer), but probably not grabbing it.

    • Photo: Shikha Sharma

      Shikha Sharma answered on 12 Nov 2014:

      Hi Killa,
      I surely can’t catch it but theoretically it depends on 4 things (a) distance, (b) speed, (c) trajectory or path of the arrow (d) reflex & practice of the person. Distance and speed together gives the elapsed time, the time taken by the arrow to travel from bow to the person who is catching it. If it is very short a person eye can’t follow the motion of the arrow and hence he can’t catch. If elapse time is long enough so that person can follow the motion of arrow, he may catch it depending on the reflex of the person. The trajectory or path of the arrow also plays important role. If the arrow is shot at half elliptical path it is easier to catch while it is coming down comparing if the arrow is shot in straight line. However, attempting to catch an arrow in any speed is extremely dangerous.

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