WildBionics
Articles
One phenomenon per article, viewed through several lenses – with sources you can check.
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Article · Bioelectricity
Electric Eel: 860 Volts from Living Batteries
Electric eels stack thousands of cells like batteries in a torch – one eel reached 860 volts. How the shock remote-controls prey, from ions to circuits.
- Electromagnetism
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Article · Palaeobiology
Sabre-Toothed Cat: Weak Bite, Sabres at Risk of Breaking
Smilodon had huge sabres but a weak bite. Its bones and tooth mechanics suggest it pinned prey with its forelimbs, then bit the neck.
- Mechanics
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Article · Palaeobiology
How Fast Was T. rex? Footprints, Bones and Physics
Could T. rex run? A bone-stress model says it most likely only walked; footprints agree but cannot test it. How we know – from physics to chemistry.
- Mechanics
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Article · Biomechanics
How We Walk: Pendulums, Springs and Humanoid Robots
Walking is a pendulum, running a spring. Why we switch gaits near 2 m/s, how tendons save energy and how humanoid robots learn to walk.
- Mechanics
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Article · Quantum biology
The Robin's Quantum Compass
European robins sense the tilt of Earth's magnetic field. The leading explanation is a quantum effect in their eyes: a light-driven radical pair.
- Electromagnetism
- Quantum mechanics
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Article · Aerodynamics
How Insects Fly: Vortices, Halteres and RoboBees
Insect wings make more lift than classical aerodynamics allows – thanks to a vortex on the leading edge. How bees and flies fly, and how robots copy them.
- Fluid dynamics
- Mechanics
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Article · Atmospheric physics
Early Atmosphere: How Single Cells Changed the Sky
Early Earth had a fainter Sun and air without oxygen. Greenhouse gases kept it warm – until cyanobacteria filled the sky with oxygen.
- Thermodynamics
- Optics
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Article · Fluid dynamics
Swimming in Honey: the Physics of Bacteria
For a bacterium, water is as thick as honey: inertia plays no role. How E. coli still swims – with a rotating corkscrew, runs and tumbles.
- Fluid dynamics
- Mechanics
- Thermodynamics
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Article · Fluid dynamics
How Cats Drink: Inertia Against Gravity
A cat does not scoop water with its tongue. It touches the surface, pulls up a thin water column and bites it off before gravity wins.
- Fluid dynamics
- Mechanics
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Thought experiment · Quantum mechanics
Schrödinger's Cat: The Thought Experiment Explained
Schrödinger's cat is a 1935 thought experiment: a cat in a box, alive and dead at once. It shows why quantum rules seem to vanish in everyday life.
- Quantum mechanics
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Article · Surface physics
The Lotus Effect: How Leaves Clean Themselves
Lotus leaves stay clean in muddy water: wax crystals on tiny bumps hold an air cushion, so drops bead up at over 160°, roll off and carry the dirt away.
- Fluid dynamics
- Thermodynamics
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Article · Mechanics
How Cats Land on Their Feet: Angular Momentum Explained
A falling cat turns over without pushing off anything. Its total angular momentum stays zero – it rotates by changing its shape.
- Mechanics
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Article · Acoustics
How Bats See with Sound: Echolocation Explained
Bats hunt in the dark by shouting ultrasound and listening to the echoes: the delay gives the distance, the pitch shift the speed of their prey.
- Acoustics
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Article · Surface forces
How Geckos Stick to Walls: van der Waals Forces
Geckos run up glass without glue or suction: billions of tiny spatulae on their toes stick by van der Waals forces – and let go in milliseconds.
- Mechanics
- Electromagnetism
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Flagship article · Fluid dynamics
The Pistol Shrimp and the Physics of Cavitation
How a pistol shrimp boils water without heat: its claw fires a jet that forms a cavitation bubble, a flash of light and a shock wave. Physics, maths and code.
- Fluid dynamics
- Thermodynamics
- Acoustics
- Optics