Course Description
A grasshopper can jump up to ten times its size, so a human-sized grasshopper can jump up to 60 feet in the air.
Is this true? We'll show, in fact, that it is not, by demonstrating that there are fundamental consequences of size in nature that determine what is physically possible. By using simple mechanical arguments, we will explain, among others: why elephants have such thick legs; why ants can lift so much weight; why human-powered flight is so difficult; and why deep-diving mammals are so large. Note: this class covers essentially the same material as a class of similar name given last year (so you should probably only take it if you didn't take it then).
Course Materials
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