Afalse beginning , according to the International Amateur Athletic Federation ’s road map for course event , is characterized by one of two situations :
enquiry has found that a reaction fourth dimension quicker thanone - one-tenth of a secondis impossible for a human being , and the runner is therefore deemed to have previse the gun . Under current international rule , a sprinter is allow one sour starting line without penalisation ; the 2d false start results in disqualification . A declare oneself ruler change would found a " zero - margin " policy that would indispose a sprinter after the first false beginning .
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The most uncouth way to notice a mistaken get-go in major track meets is by a gimmick calledReacTime . The ReacTime whole sits on the back of thestarting block . It is connect either bywiresor byradio signalsto a master electronic computer near the backwash starter ( usually an individual with a starting grease-gun ) . The machine measures thepressurethat an athlete exerts on the start cylinder block when in a set emplacement and relay this information in tangible - time to the principal computer , measured down to one - thousandth of a sec .
When thestarting gunis fire , the master computer marks the exact moment of the start , and also calculates the clip it will be one - tenth of a second later . Each pressure - sensitive unit go forward to relay entropy back to the main information processing system as the base runner leave their respective starting blocks and start down the trail .
As the runners leave the blocks , the pressure exerted on the blocks increases and then decreases ; on a graph , this rise and dip of pressure forms a parabola . The computer dissect the data for each offset and determines the exact instant when the pressure begin to increase at a sure pace . This is the split - second at which the runner react .
If this split - secondment precedes the precise showtime time , a false start has happen . If the information processing system detects that the runner’sreaction timewas less than the one - tenth of a second allowed under IAAF road map , this is also a assumed scratch line . In either example , a signaling is relay to the starter via a pocket-size earpiece . It is then the crank ’s responsibility to provoke the hit man again , signify a false start and fetch the runners back to the starting block . The starter then verifies that the equipment worked by rights , determines which runner committed the false start , inform the ball carrier and then puzzle the runners back in place to attempt again .
