We should use this amazing mechanism that's inside a grasshopper leg
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores the fascinating mechanics of a grasshopper's leg, which allows it to jump with incredible height and speed, overcoming the limitations of animal muscles. It compares this to human solutions, such as the slingshot, which uses elastic potential energy to amplify force. The grasshopper's leg contains a specialized exoskeleton that acts like a spring, storing energy and releasing it quickly for the jump. The video also delves into various power amplification mechanisms found in nature, like the froghopper's acceleration and the trap jaw ant's catch mechanism. It highlights the ingenuity of biological adaptations and draws parallels to human inventions, emphasizing the shared principles of mechanical advantage and energy storage. The script concludes with a discussion on data brokers, the privacy concerns they raise, and how the service Incognit can help individuals protect their personal data by automating the process of data removal requests across multiple companies.
Takeaways
- ๐ The grasshopper's leg contains a clever mechanism that allows it to jump high by overcoming the limitations of animal muscles.
- ๐ฉ Humans use tools like slingshots and bows to amplify power, storing energy slowly and releasing it quickly, overcoming muscle limitations.
- ๐ The power output of muscles is limited; they can apply a large force slowly or a small force quickly, but not both simultaneously.
- ๐ฆ In grasshoppers, a specialized exoskeleton acts like a spring, storing elastic energy that can be released quickly for a powerful jump.
- ๐ The flexor muscle in a grasshopper's leg uses mechanical advantage and a pivot point to hold against the stronger extensor muscle during energy storage.
- ๐ Nature employs various mechanical power amplification mechanisms, such as in the froghopper and the trap jaw ant, which store and release energy effectively.
- ๐ฌ The video discusses a unique mechanism where an object becomes easier to move just past a certain point of energy storage, similar to a compound bow.
- ๐งต The slingshot spider is a rare example of an animal using an external source (its web) for mechanical power amplification.
- ๐ Data brokers collect and sell personal data, leading to targeted ads, robocalls, and potential data breaches, compromising individual privacy.
- ๐ก๏ธ Incognito is a service that helps users remove their personal data from various companies, providing a solution to the challenges posed by data brokers.
- ๐ฏ The video concludes with a call to action, encouraging viewers to subscribe for more content and highlighting a promotional offer for Incognito.
Q & A
How does the mechanism inside a grasshopper's leg allow it to jump high?
-The grasshopper's leg contains a specialized exoskeleton that acts like a stiff spring, storing elastic energy. The extensor muscle applies a large force slowly, which stores energy in the spring-like exoskeleton. When the flexor muscle releases, the energy is delivered quickly, allowing the grasshopper to jump high.
What is the fundamental limitation of animal muscles that humans also face?
-The limitation is that muscles can either apply a large force slowly or a small force at high speed due to their maximum power output. This trade-off means that muscles cannot generate high force and speed simultaneously.
How do humans overcome the limitations of muscle power?
-Humans use tools to amplify power. For example, a slingshot stores energy as elastic potential energy when pulled back with a large force, and then releases it quickly to propel an object with high speed.
What is the role of the flexor muscle in a grasshopper's jumping mechanism?
-The flexor muscle holds the leg in place against the force of the extensor muscle. It does this by leveraging mechanical advantage and a bump inside the knee joint, which allows the flexor to hold the leg in place until it releases the energy stored in the exoskeleton.
How does the Trap jaw ant use a catch mechanism to amplify its power?
-The Trap jaw ant holds its jaw open using a catch mechanism that requires a small force to release. It slowly builds up energy behind the jaw and then releases the catch with a small force, causing the jaw to snap shut quickly on its prey.
What is the significance of the specialized exoskeleton in a grasshopper's leg?
-The specialized exoskeleton in a grasshopper's leg is stiffer and better for storing lots of elastic energy. It bends like an archer's bow, storing energy that can be released quickly for a powerful jump.
How does the slingshot spider use mechanical power amplification?
-The slingshot spider stores elastic potential energy in its web and then transfers all that energy suddenly into the web and its own body to catch prey, using something external to its body for mechanical power amplification.
What are data brokers and why are they a concern?
-Data brokers are companies that gather personal information about individuals and sell it to other companies. They are a concern because they can lead to targeted ads, robocalls, and even supply lists of vulnerable people to scammers. Additionally, data breaches can expose personal information to criminals.
How does the incognito service help with the problem of data brokers?
-Incognito offers a service that automates the process of contacting different data broker companies on behalf of individuals to request data removal, helping to protect their privacy.
What is the difference between a frog hopper and a grasshopper in terms of their jumping mechanisms?
-The frog hopper achieves one of the largest accelerations in the animal kingdom by pulling its leg up against its chest and using an elastic mechanism to store energy, which is then released quickly. This is different from the grasshopper, which uses a stiff exoskeleton to store and release energy for jumping.
What is the concept of mechanical advantage in the context of the flexor muscle in a grasshopper's leg?
-Mechanical advantage refers to the ability of a system to amplify force, allowing a weaker force (like the flexor muscle) to hold against a stronger force (like the extensor muscle). In the grasshopper's leg, the flexor muscle uses a mechanical advantage due to its tendon's position and a bump in the knee joint to effectively hold the leg in place.
How does the human body use a similar mechanism to the grasshopper's leg in a different context?
-Clicking fingers is an example where the human body uses a similar mechanism to the grasshopper's leg. The thumb and finger are pressed together to slowly build up elastic energy in muscles, tendons, and joints, which is then released quickly to produce a snapping sound.
Outlines
๐ Muscle Limitations and Power Amplification
The first paragraph discusses the limitations of animal muscles, particularly in humans, and how we overcome them using tools. It explains the trade-off between applying a large force slowly or a small force quickly, which is a fundamental limitation of muscles. The paragraph uses the example of throwing a steel ball to illustrate this point and then introduces the concept of mechanical power amplification devices, such as a slingshot, to overcome these limitations. It sets the stage for comparing human solutions to the natural mechanisms found in grasshoppers.
๐ฆ Grasshopper's Jump Mechanism
The second paragraph delves into the specific mechanism within a grasshopper's leg that allows it to jump high. It describes the two tendons in the grasshopper's leg, the extensor and flexor, and how they work with the muscles to create movement. The paragraph highlights the grasshopper's ability to store energy in a stiff exoskeleton before releasing it quickly for a powerful jump. It also explains the mechanical advantage the flexor muscle has over the stronger extensor muscle due to the leverage and the knee joint's design, which allows the grasshopper to hold its leg in place before jumping.
๐ Power Amplification in Nature and Human Inventions
The third paragraph explores various power amplification mechanisms found in nature, such as the froghopper's acceleration and the trap jaw ant's catch mechanism. It draws parallels between these natural mechanisms and human inventions like spud guns and crossbows. The paragraph also discusses an interesting mechanical principle where a device becomes easier to open as the elastic medium becomes more stretched, only requiring a small force to close once past a certain point. It invites viewers to think of natural examples of this principle and mentions a few human applications, like the compound bow and boomerang cards.
๐ Data Brokers and Privacy Concerns
The fourth paragraph shifts the focus to the issue of data brokers and privacy. It explains how data brokers collect and sell personal information, leading to targeted ads, robocalls, and even scams. The paragraph emphasizes the challenges of dealing with numerous data brokers and the risks of data breaches. It introduces incognit, a service that automates the process of requesting data removal from various companies on behalf of individuals. The paragraph concludes with a promotional offer for incognit and an encouragement for viewers to subscribe to the channel.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กGrasshopper's Leg Mechanism
๐กMuscle Limitations
๐กPower Amplification
๐กElastic Potential Energy
๐กMechanical Advantage
๐กExoskeleton
๐กTrap Jaw Ant
๐กData Brokers
๐กCatch Mechanism
๐กSlingshot Spider
๐กIncognit
Highlights
Grasshoppers have a unique mechanism in their legs that allows them to jump high, overcoming the limitations of animal muscles.
Human muscles face a fundamental limitation in power output, which can be overcome using tools like slingshots and bows.
The grasshopper's leg contains a specialized exoskeleton that acts like a spring, storing elastic energy for a quick release.
The flexor muscle in a grasshopper's leg, despite being weaker, can hold against the stronger extensor muscle due to mechanical advantage and a bump in the knee joint.
Mechanical power amplification mechanisms are found in various forms in nature, such as the frog hopper's acceleration and the trap jaw ant's catch mechanism.
The video explores the concept of power amplification in nature and compares it to human-made tools, like a barbecue lighter and a pistol hammer.
A unique compliant mechanism is demonstrated, which gets easier to open as the elastic becomes more stretched, similar to a lever arch file.
The slingshot spider is a rare example of an animal using an external source for mechanical power amplification, storing energy in its web.
Data brokers gather and sell personal information, leading to issues like targeted ads, robocalls, and potential data breaches.
Incognit is introduced as a service that helps users remove their personal data from various companies, automating the process of data deletion.
The video discusses the innovative use of mechanical principles in nature and how humans have emulated these in tool design.
The grasshopper's jumping mechanism is an example of a biological power amplification system that stores and releases energy quickly.
Different animals have evolved unique ways to amplify power, such as the frog hopper's extreme acceleration and the trap jaw ant's rapid jaw closure.
The video uses a model to illustrate the complex interaction between the flexor and extensor muscles in a grasshopper's leg during a jump.
The concept of power as force times speed is explained, showing why muscles can't apply a large force quickly, leading to the use of tools.
The video highlights the importance of understanding the natural world's exceptions to rules, such as mammals that lay eggs and fish that fly.
The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to subscribe and engage with the content for more informative videos.
Transcripts
this is the mechanism inside a
grasshopper's leg that enables it to
jump so high and it's really clever
because it solves a fundamental
limitation of animal muscles humans come
up against the same limitation but we
get around it with tools and actually
it's kind of two limitations I'm going
to show you how humans deal with the
problem first because it's quite
instructive and then we'll see how the
same mechanical principles are found
inside the grasshopper's body and a few
different variations in other animal so
here's a problem that a human might face
there's an object in the distance that I
would like to puncture a hole in and
I've got this little steel ball here so
I think if I can get the ball going fast
enough by the time it reaches that thing
maybe it'll puncture a hole in it and I
think well how can I do that I'm going
to throw it with my
arm the problem is the steel ball is
quite light which means it's not
offering much inertial resistance to my
muscles so my hand ends up traveling
really quickly and actually it takes
muscles a little bit of time to build up
to their maximum force and by the time
the ball has left my arm I'm nowhere
near my maximum Force that's the first
limitation of muscles and it's quite
easy to overcome actually in quite a
counterintuitive way and that is to just
make the ball heavier so this ball has
much more inertia so my arm is is going
to move more slowly when I throw it but
at least it's going to give my muscles a
chance to get up to maximum force and
because it's heavier it's going to have
more kinetic energy meaning when it hits
the target it's going to have more
puncturing ability but this is where we
come up against the big limitation of
muscles you can either apply a large
Force slowly or a small Force at high
speed and it's something you've
experienced like if you've ever lifted
weight if it feels heavy to you you have
to lift it slowly so that makes
intuitive sense but it also makes
mathematical sense because what you're
experiencing is your muscle maximum
power output like you know that power is
a measure of how quickly you can deliver
energy in other words energy divided by
time but maybe you also know that energy
is force times distance moved in
direction of force and if we slide
things around to get the force term on
its own you can now see that power is
also force times speed so given that
your muscles have a maximum power output
that explains why you can either have a
small force moving quickly or a large
force moving slowly but if I want either
of these balls to leave my hand with
enough speed to puncture the target when
it arrives I need to be applying a large
Force at high speed but with my muscles
I can't do both and that's where the use
of tools comes in the tool in this case
is a slingshot here in the UK we call it
a caterp but that's a bit confusing cuz
other things are called catapults so
I'll keep calling it a slingshot
probably the elastic of this thing is
really strong so to pull it back I have
to use a large Force which means I have
to move my muscle slowly but that's fine
because what I'm doing is I'm storing
all that energy as elastic potential
energy in the slingshot and the
slingshot doesn't have the same
limitations as my muscles it can move
with a large Force quickly
so a slingshot is an example of a
mechanical Power amplification device
and humans have invented loads of those
things another obvious example is a bow
and arrow I use a large Force traveling
slowly to flex the bow and that stores
energy again as elastic potential energy
and all that energy can be delivered by
the bow with a large Force quickly one
of my favorite examples is a barbecue
lighter inside there is a quartz crystal
and if you hit it really hard it'll
generate an electric spark these two
wires carry that electric spark up to
the tip where it can ignite a flame but
you would never be able to hit it hard
enough just like with moving your finger
that short distance so instead you apply
a large Force slowly right and that
compresses a spring so all that energy
is being stored in the spring and at
some point you get far enough down that
um catch is released and all the energy
that's stored in the spring is released
with a large Force
quickly and that's enough of a force
hitting the crystal to generate the
spark the hammer on a pistol works in
the same way as a barbecue lighter and
by the way in all these examples we're
never using an external source of energy
all the energy comes from your body it's
just stored slowly and released quickly
even the electrical energy in the spark
ultimately comes from your muscles so
that's what humans have figured out but
what about the gra Hopper is there
something like a slingshot or an archery
bow inside the grasshopper's body so
here's a diagram of the back leg of a
grasshopper and there are two tendons
the one shown in red extends the leg so
that's called the extensor tendon and
the blue one flexes the leg so that's
called the flexer tendon and of course
each tendon is pulled by a muscle and in
my model that's just these two ropes
here the flexer tendon in blue the
extensor tendon in red and you can see
it's just a lever that pivots around
this point this is the knee joint that
extensor muscle is big like amazingly in
a large grasshopper like a locust that
extensive muscle can produce almost 15
Newtons of force which means with both
back legs at the same time a grasshopper
could lift these three bags of sugar so
the peak force is huge but unfortunately
it takes a little while to reach Peak
Force about 300 millisecond which
doesn't sound like a lot but it only
takes 30 milliseconds for the
grasshopper to leave the ground once the
jump has started so by the time the peak
Force has reached there's nothing to
push against that's a bit like the issue
that I had with my tricep muscle and
then there's the big limitation of
maximum power that we talked about
earlier like a locust could bench press
3 Kg but it could only do it very very
slowly and that's no use for the jump so
the grasshopper needs something like a
bow something that can store energy and
release it quickly and this is actually
something that you can see from the
outside compare this jumping leg on the
left with this middle leg on the right
everything you can see here is
exoskeleton but the darker region is a
different type of exoskeleton it's much
stiffer much better for storing lots of
elastic energy and you can see in this
video how it bends before the kick a lot
of these videos and animations come from
Dr Bill heer's website by the way which
has been an amazing resource for this
video linking the description for that
so in our model we've added a spring to
represent that specialized exoskeleton I
also added this lever here that's not
part of the grasshopper's body that's
just there to give my puny muscles
enough mechanical advantage to be able
to represent the immense strength of the
grasshopper's extensor muscle so here's
the sequence first the flex attendant
pulls the leg up and it holds it there
so then when the extensor muscle
contracts it's not going to cause the
leg to kick out because it's being held
in place by the flexor muscle in instead
it's going to cause that spring to
contract which remember in the case of
the grasshopper is actually a super
stiff specialized bit of exoskeleton
that's going to bend like an Archer bow
and because it's so stiff the extensor
muscle has to apply a large Force which
means it has to move slowly and that's
absolutely fine because what it's doing
is storing up all that energy in the
spring then all the grasshopper has to
do is release the flexor muscle and all
that gets delivered with a large Force
quickly like that but that's not the
whole story because the flexor muscle is
much weaker than the extensor muscle
like the extensor muscle can produce up
to 15 Newtons of force but the flexor
muscle can produce up to like 0.7
Newtons of force so how is it that the
flexa muscle is able to hold the leg in
place against the much Superior force of
the extensor muscle that's acting to
oppose it well there's two things the
first is mechanical advantage you'll
notice that um the position of this
tendon is much further away from the
Pivot Point than this tendon here so
this has mechanical advantage over this
one but even that isn't enough there's
actually a little bump inside the knee
joint of the grasshopper and the flex
attendant goes around that bump so I've
put a rod here for the flex attendant to
go around so when the flexor tendon is
pulled and the leg reaches this position
you see how the tendon is leaving the
leg almost perpendicular so almost all
the force from the tendon is acting to
turn the leg around the pivot whereas if
you look at the angle of the extensor
tendon where it meets the leg it's a
shallower angle so it's only the
perpendicular component of that force
that acts to rotate the leg in the
opposite direction around the pivot
point and it's the combination of those
two factors that means the much weaker
flexer muscle is able to hold the leg in
place against a much stronger extensor
muscle there are loads of different
mechanical Power amplification
mechanisms found in nature and it's
really interesting to look at the
different types for example the frog
hopper it has one of the largest
accelerations in the animal kingdom
clocking in 500 G's it does that by
first pulling its leg up against its
chest right so imagine like the Frog
Hopper's body is up here this is the
chest and this is the leg that's coming
up and they stick together by something
akin to Velcro so I've put some velcro
there and then a muscle tries to pull
the leg free but it does it via some
kind of elastic thing like this so again
it's a large Force applied slowly energy
is being stored in that elastic medium
until eventually the dark C gives way
and all that energy is released with a
large Force quickly the human equivalent
might be something like a spud gun where
you build up energy until something
gives way in this case you're building
up pressure until the potato seal gives
way what about catch mechanisms do you
find those anywhere in nature like
humans use catches a lot to hold back a
large force with a catch that only
requires a small Force to release and it
turns out that the Trap jaw ant uses a
catch mechanism to to hold its jaw open
it then uses a large Force to slowly
build up energy behind the jaw and then
it uses a small Force to release the
catch so that the jaw snap shut on the
ant's prey this footage is from the ant
lab by the way link to their brilliant
video in the card and description so the
Trap jaw ant mechanism is not quite the
same as a crossbow in the sense that the
energy buildup stage happens after the
catch has been put in place it's a bit
like if the string of my crossbow was
slack when I locked it in place and only
then did I tighten up the string right
this is where I get distracted by a
massive side quest and I hope you'll
come with me cuz it's really interesting
so thinking about all these different
Power amplification mechanisms I thought
of one I was like I'm sure I've seen
this in a device before but I wonder if
it's ever happened in nature so I
printed this thing out to demonstrate it
gets harder and harder to open this
thing up as the elastic becomes more and
more stretched but actually Beyond a
certain point it gets easier again and
that's because of the shallow angle of
the elastic like only a small component
of the force from that elastic is
perpendicular to the arm so it gets
easier and easier and easier until look
when it passes the pivot point there
it's actually slightly holding it open
now and you only need a really small
Force to close it again I was sure that
I'd seen a mechanism like this in a
device but I just couldn't think where
it was which is very frustrating I even
built an alternative representation of
the thing so look this is a compliant
mechanism it's a by stable switch I
didn't Design This by the way and look
it switches between these two
configurations and you need a lot of
force to switch between the two stable
States but look if I get it just like
halfway between the two stable States
just as you're getting over that energy
hump you hardly need any Force at all to
move it around you know it's just as you
get over the hump and then it races away
to the other stable configuration but
what if you put a little nub in there
right so just as you're getting over the
energy hump the nub in's in the way so
you hardly need any Force at all to get
it back to that first stable
configuration and I'm pretty sure it's
the same kind of thing as this right you
get just past the energy hump you know
it gets easier and easier and easier you
get just past the hump and then it's
like on a a hair trigger but I still
couldn't think of any device that
employs this mechanism and then I spoke
to some people if you've got any ideas
please tell me because this video goes
out in two days uh lots of people had
ideas by the way tickets go on sale for
our end of year show in a few days I'll
link to that in the description a few
people said what about a mouse trap but
that's not quite the same mechanism like
when you're priming a mouse trap and
you're pulling that thing back it gets
harder and harder and harder harder and
harder all the way and then you apply a
catch to
it so it's not the same as this right
where it starts to get easier just at
the end there David didn't actually
suggested the lever Arch file just like
the thing that I demonstrated it's hard
to move at the beginning but look
eventually this is mostly moving side to
side so at that point you don't need
much force to move but you're not
working against this spring and it would
be easy to pop up if it wasn't for all
that
friction and it's easy to pop up Step
Smith mentioned these boom cards look
they pop up into a cube inside there's
an elastic band and when you get towards
flat there's pretty much no resistance
at all because the elastic band at that
point isn't really changing length but
there's enough bounce in the card to get
it started my favorite suggestion comes
from Matt barington the compound bow
actually gets easier to pull back Beyond
a certain point so it's easier to hold
in that drawn position compare that
experience to a normal bow where your
arm is quivering with the strain of
holding it at full draw that's a clever
idea isn't it so it turns out that
humans have used that mechanism a number
of times but I don't have an example of
it in nature if you can think of one let
me know you know it seems to me any way
you try to categorize the natural world
you'll always be able to find some
exception that defies your categorical
rule like the rule that mammals don't
lay eggs or fish don't fly or whatever
so I need to be careful because I've
kind of implied that humans always do
their power amplification through the
use of tools and animals always use
their bodies but actually I can think of
an exception to both of those rules like
take clicking your fingers for example
try and do that directly without par
amplification
it's a pretty weak sound what we
actually do is we press our thumb and
finger together and slowly build up
elastic energy in the muscles tendons
and joints and then we release it
quickly and you get that snapping of the
fingers there's only one known example
of an animal using something external to
its own body for mechanical Power
amplification and that's the slingshot
spider it stores elastic potential