Beer Mats make bad Frisbees

TL;DR

This paper explains why beer mats and similar disks flip and become ineffective as frisbees, due to an offset lift causing torque and precession, supported by theory and experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a new effective theory modeling disk trajectory and flipping behavior, validated by experimental data.

Findings

Disks flip due to lift offset causing torque

Theoretical predictions match experimental observations

Precession leads to backspin orientation

Abstract

In this article we show why flying and rotating beer mats, CDs, or other flat disks will eventually flip in the air and end up flying with backspin, thus, making them unusable as frisbees. The crucial effect responsible for the flipping is found to be the lift attacking not in the center of mass but slightly offset to the forward edge. This induces a torque leading to a precession towards backspin orientation. An effective theory is developed providing an approximate solution for the disk's trajectory with a minimal set of parameters. Our theoretical results are confronted with experimental results obtained using a beer mat shooting apparatus and a high speed camera. Very good agreement is found.