If you are like me, you have probably wondered how much energy is involved when a bull hits its target.
To save you the trouble of cracking open your dusty, high school physics textbook, I’ve done the math for you.
So what is the energy of a charging bull? Let’s start with the formula for calculating the kinetic energy of a non-rotating object:
Energy equals one half of mass (in kilograms) multiplied by velocity (in meters per second) squared.
How Heavy Are Bulls?
Bulls come in all shapes and sizes, and of course bull is the term that describes males for a number of different species. In this case we are specifically discussing a rodeo bull, and according to Professional Bull Riders the average bull weighs about 1,700 lbs (which you convert to 771 kilograms).
How Fast Are Bulls?
According to Wikipedia – Running of the Bulls, the average bull can run about 24 kilometers per hour. In order to meet the criteria of the formula, we have to convert that into meters/second, so 24,000 divided by 3,600, which equals approximately 6.7.
What Is the Kinetic Energy of a Charging Bull?
Finally we are ready to plug in all our data:
Kinetic energy = 1/2 * 771 * 6.7^2 = 17,111 joules
There you have it. If you didn’t already know, now you know…don’t let one of these big bastards tee off on you. Check out this video of souls braver than us who went toe to toe with rodeo bulls in bubble suits. This game is called Knockerball. 1′ 39″ is where the real magic happens:
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