Sledgstone 8,672 Report post Posted September 18, 2013 http://geekologie.com/2013/09/lil-bug-has-naturally-occuring-mechanica.php The reason for the gearing, they say, is coordination: To jump, both of the insect's hind legs must push forward at the exact same time. Because they both swing laterally, if one were extended a fraction of a second earlier than the other, it'd push the insect off course to the right or left, instead of jumping straight forward.The gearing is an elegant solution. The researchers' high-speed videos showed that the creatures, who jump at speeds as high as 8.7 miles per hour, cocked their back legs in a jumping position, then pushed forward, with each moving within 30 microseconds (that's 30 millionths of a second) of the other."We usually think of gears as something that we see in human designed machinery, but we've found that that is only because we didn't look hard enough," Sutton said. "These gears are not designed; they are evolved--representing high speed and precision machinery evolved for synchronisation in the animal world." Click the link for the pictures.. these bugs evolved gears.. holy crap. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Myk JL 1,731 Report post Posted September 18, 2013 I'm just glad that bad clock metaphor wasn't about gears instead. Quote Those who fight deplorables should see to it that they themselves do not become deplorables. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
