There is no air tight barrier in between my two cheeks, so how am I controlling the air in my mouth and directing it to one specific cheek? The deflated cheek is still floppy, so it’s not like I’m tensing a muscle to stop it inflating.
Also works if I have a mouth full of water, and can also be directed to top and bottom lips.
Thank you.
In: Biology
If you feel the inside of the deflated cheek with your tongue, you will see that the muscles there are flexed, closing off most of the space there, so it feels empty. The remaining space near your teeth still has air, but since the air can’t touch the skin sensors in the deflated cheek, you think it’s empty.
Sitting here and repeatedly moving air from one side of my mouth to the other tells me that what’s happening is that you’re not allowing any air/water to go out of your mouth, either through your throat or your lips. Additionally, your “empty” cheek might not be as tense/distended as the “full” one, but it’s not exactly floppy–you’re not allowing any air/water to be in that cheek, which puts pressure on the contents of your mouth and drives it to the “full” side.
You’re using the muscles in one face cheek to contract, tightening up. This pushes the air to the relaxed, floppy face cheek.
The same happens with the water. You’re using muscles to direct the water where you want it to go.
Isn’t it more the muscles in your cheeks moving as opposed to the internal air shifting around
Connect 2 balloons to an air pump, now hold one balloon tightly with your hand and let the other be free. What do you think will happen when you pump air? The free ballon will inflate. You might not notice but you are using your muscles to control your cheeks and let only one inflate.
The other cheek doesn’t have to be “tense,” just slightly less relaxed than the one the air is going into.
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Your cheek muscles. On the side with no air – muscles are contracted. Other side with air – relaxed.
You’re using your facial musculature to change the effective elasticity of your cheeks. You loosen one cheek while pulling on the other so the pressurized air goes where it’s easiest
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