How is it that bugs take no fall damage?

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How is it that bugs take no fall damage?

In: Physics

26 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Smaller things are stronger relative to their size.

Some effects and forces dominate at different size scales. Like how an ant can carry 10-50 times their body weight. And grasshoppers can jump so far compared to their size. And why bugs find water to be very gloopy.

Suppose that a thing has length ***L***. It then has area ***L******^(2,)*** ***and volume L******^(3)***. Now imagine increasing L and see what happens to each. Area increases more than length, and volume increases even faster. Some effects may depend upon area, some on volume, and so the relative strength of these changes at different size scales.

The mass and weight will scale with it’s volume. But the strength the material it’s made of will scale with area (think of the thickness of an iron rod). So bugs are very tough and strong for their weight.

Also, the air resistance they feel scales with area, so they will fall slower and fly easier.

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