And if humans fell the same distance, in proportion to our size, we would die?
2007-06-05 07:53:42 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Simple physics. The momentum a human carries from a great height would crush the person upon impact because of the speed and the mass of the person. An insect is much lighter and smaller, thus even if they accelerate the same as us the momentum they carry is much lower because their mass is so little.
Just like dropping a ball of paper and a ball of lead with the same surface area, say the size of a pingpong ball. Paper lands softly because its mass is small, the ball of lead lands hard because it has a lot of mass. But if you drop both you'll see that they reach the ground at the same time. Terminal velocity also plays a huge role with the insect, but in the end it's all about momentum.
2007-06-05 08:15:41 · answer #1 · answered by flammable 5 · 9⤊ 2⤋
It is physics and chemistry involved. The mass of the falling object creates a force on impact in pounds per square inch(even if the object is smaller than an inch). The force of a falling human is much greater than that of a bug. Also the molecular bonding of the exoskeleton of the bug or even say the exoskeleton of a small mammal is actually stronger than the force that is exerted on impact. Therefore the 'bones' do not break. Also there is a difference in density of the mass of the falling subject. A bird can fall from great distances and at great speeds and still get up and fly away unharmed because the density of the bones and internal organs are far less than that of other animals allowing a possible fall every now and then. Insects for the most part don't get hurt because of the size and not the density.
2007-06-05 09:33:53 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Generally speaking, the bigger something is the higher is its terminal velocity. This is because the downward force on it is in proportion to its mass, which is proportional to its size cubed. However, the upward force due to air resistance is in proportion simply to its size. Therefore the bigger something is, the smaller is the effect of air resistance compared to the acceleration due to gravity. So an insect falls to the ground at a much lower speed than (say) a human being, and so lands without being injured. If you dropped an insect, a human and an elephant from the top of a building, the insect would walk away, the human would be a crumpled heap, and the elephant would be all over the place!
2007-06-05 12:35:12 · answer #3 · answered by Martin 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What the first person said, AND the fact that insects like ants have complex exo-skeletons that allow them to take quite a beating for their size.
2007-06-05 08:08:43 · answer #4 · answered by CanadianFundamentalist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just like a feather, an insect actually falls at a slower rate than a human would. They simply do not weigh enough for gravity to have its full effect on them. The air pushes against them as they fall and that slows them down.
2007-06-05 08:04:09 · answer #5 · answered by j c 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
They weigh very less and gravity does not have a very strong effect on them.
2007-06-05 16:42:00 · answer #6 · answered by Abhijit 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
its all about the exoskeleton!
2007-06-05 09:46:17 · answer #7 · answered by carmen 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋