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Atlatl Physics
The important advantage gained by the use of the atlatl is the increase in rotational velocity which transfers into an increase in energy stored in the dart. In other words, the dart flies faster, has a lower trajectory, and hits the target with much greater force. Imagine the atlatl as the spoke of a bicycle wheel. The angular velocity is consistent over the entire spoke, but the portion farthest from the hub has a longer distance to travel. This means that its actual speed is much greater than the portion near the hub (tangential velocity). By adding this extra length to the human hand (rotating around the wrist), the length that the far end of the atlatl must travel is much greater, meaning much faster.
This speed translates into energy of impressive proportions when combined with mass. For example, when the speed of the dart is increased tenfold, the energy stored in the dart is increased one-hundredfold. This is because the energy is proportional to the square of the velocity (e.g., twice the speed equals four times the energy, four times the speed equals 16 times the energy, etc.). This major advantage allows relatively weak humans (compared to other predators) to cast a lethal missle from a safe distance.
