Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: null and void
You are aware that human muscles are only capable of generating 1/10 the force of any other mammal's muscles on a gram per gram basis, aren't you?

No, I'm not aware of that and neither should you be since it is absolutely not true.

For instance, from Knut Nielson's, "Scaling, Why is Animal size So Important", Cambridge Univ Press, 1984, page 163, we have:

"It appears that the maximum force or stress that can be exerted by any muscle is inherent in the structure of the muscle filaments. The maximum force is roughly 4 to 4 kgf/cm2 cross section of muscle (300 - 400 kN/m2). This force is body-size independent and is the same for mouse and elephant muscle. The reason for this uniformity is that the dimensions of the thick and thin muscle filaments, and also the number of cross-bridges between them are the same. In fact the structure of mouse muscle and elephant muscle is so similar that a microscopist would have difficulty identifying them except for a larger number of mitrochondria in the smaller animal. This uniformity in maximum force holds not only for higher vertebrates, but for many other organisms, including at least some, but not all invertebrates."

51 posted on 02/27/2002 12:53:59 PM PST by medved
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies ]


To: medved
*sigh* I can't locate the reference. It is not particularly well known. I gleaned it from a seminar on artificial muscle, about 2 years ago. Should I track down the info, I'll FReepmail you.
53 posted on 02/27/2002 1:12:43 PM PST by null and void
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson