why is it impossible for animals to grow to certain sizes without collapsing under their own weight? If you just scale everything up 1:1, why can’t they just function normally at increased sizes?
In: Biology
There are many things that simply do not scale well. One common theme is when a scale goes up many attributes increase exponentially to different exponents. Volume is related to a distance cubed. Surface area is only squared. That is a problem when an animal’s oxygen requirements depend on its volume, but the amount it’s able to take in depend on the surface area of its lungs. Other critical attributes will increase by even higher exponents, and others lower.
Then there are things that just don’t work at other scales. Capillary action doesn’t work above a certain size, and vacuum pumps cannot pump water above 34 feet.
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