Timeline for Would it be possible to rearrange a dragon's flight muscle to somewhat circumvent the square-cube law?
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22 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| May 18, 2022 at 2:57 | answer | added | Raoden | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 18:19 | answer | added | Eth | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 17:35 | comment | added | jamesqf | You're under a misapprehension: the square-cube law does not just apply to objects that are similar, it's basic solid geometry. So you can't do much with re-arranging things - birds are pretty darned efficient as they are. What you need are muscles that generate more power, which means fundamental changes in their biochemistry. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 17:16 | comment | added | John | there is a golden area it is the ones muscles already use, go too far from that and you actually start to loose total force. you cant get more lift out of muscles without making them larger (and thus more massive) | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 17:12 | comment | added | John | There is a reason real animals have the muscle arrangements they do. the lift generated by a wing is controlled how much air it moves, a small powerful stroke does not move more air than a longer weaker stroke, power only generates more lift if the length of the muscle is the same. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 17:06 | comment | added | Mephistopheles | @CortAmmon That's all pretty interesting, but you're (I'm) forgetting one thing: power equals energy over time, which I wanted to increase. It's obvious the flight muscle fraction has to remain at around 20-25% for it to work out, but enough force also has to be produced to counteract the weight. The question is if there's a tradeoff between length and cross-sectional area that'd keep the power output in that range. A "golden middle way", if you will. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 14:52 | comment | added | Cort Ammon | You may be interested in this famous old argument. Basically, there is a limit as to how high animals can jump, based on how much specific-energy can be stored in a muscle. Flying is a bit different, but it does a good job of pointing out where the limitations are. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 14:44 | comment | added | Mephistopheles | @John I know it's infuriating, but I still don't get it. I thought making the muscle fibers thicker but slightly short would, with some trade-offs, help during the climbout flight burst. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 12:46 | comment | added | John | This is like asking is their any nozzle I can put on a bottle rocket that will let it lift a freight car to the moon, the available energy is just insufficient. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 12:35 | comment | added | John | I am saying getting more power in return for shorter movement does not actually help you fly. the total weight of the muscle needed to get the same amount of lift does not change. | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 7:44 | answer | added | Klaus Æ. Mogensen | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 15, 2019 at 5:41 | comment | added | Mephistopheles | @John Are you trying to say a compromise isn't possible? | |
| Apr 14, 2019 at 18:23 | answer | added | John | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 14, 2019 at 18:07 | comment | added | John | Sure and then the wing can move a grand total of half an inch, cross section determines power, length determines how far it can move. | |
| Apr 14, 2019 at 17:40 | history | edited | Mephistopheles | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 13, 2019 at 20:54 | history | became hot network question | |||
| Apr 13, 2019 at 20:46 | answer | added | The Square-Cube Law | timeline score: 0 | |
| Apr 13, 2019 at 18:34 | comment | added | Liam Morris | Related to this question: worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/143396/… | |
| Apr 13, 2019 at 17:42 | history | edited | Mephistopheles | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 13, 2019 at 17:25 | answer | added | Willk | timeline score: 3 | |
| Apr 13, 2019 at 15:28 | answer | added | L.Dutch♦ | timeline score: 6 | |
| Apr 13, 2019 at 15:14 | history | asked | Mephistopheles | CC BY-SA 4.0 |