Flexible, stretchable fire-ant rafts

Flexible, stretchable fire-ant rafts

And fire-ant rafts' unusual properties don't stop there, according to a new study presented in a talk at the upcoming American Physical Society's Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa. Researchers found the rafts actively reorganize their structure, a feat that allows them to more effectively cushion themselves against applied forces, such as the battering of raindrops or the surges of waves.

According to study lead Zhongyang Liu, an undergraduate student in the laboratory of Georgia Tech mechanical engineer and biologist David Hu, fire ants form the rafts by linking their legs and jaws. "The linkage structure they form, similar to a truss structure, is elastic and so is able to sustain external forces," he said.

However, the structure of an ant raft is far from stationary. Indeed, it is in constant flux because the ants repeatedly form, break, and reform their body-part connections. Through these rearrangements, the researchers discovered, the raft is able to store energy (and thus acts as an elastic material) and dissipate energy (as a viscous material) to equivalent degrees -- a situation that has not been seen in any other active materials, such as bacteria films or liquid crystals. (Indeed, the researchers found, rafts made of dead ants don't show this feature; instead, they behave more like solid viscoelastic materials).

"This is our most important discovery," said Liu, who noted that the swarm intelligence that the ants use to accomplish their continual construction could be applied to robotics research. Furthermore, he added, "the special structure formed by the ants might inspire new research in material science."


Welcome to SUV System Ltd!

SUV System Ltd is ISO 90012008 Certified electronics distributor with 10 years of experiences.

We have built up long term business relationship with about many companies which are stockers and authorized agents. we have a steady and reliable supply to meet customer's demands to the greatest extent .Confidently, we are able to lower your cost and support your business with our years of professional service.

SUV System Ltd is Electronic Components Distributor Supplies,Find Quality Electronic Components Supplies Products IC(Integrated Circuits),Connectors,Capacitor,Resistors,Diodes,Transistors,LED at Suvsystem.com. Sourcing Other Energy, Environment, Excess Inventory Products from Manufacturers and Suppliers at Suvsystem.com

Electronic Components distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com

Connectors Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Connectors-1.html

IC Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/IC(Integrated-Circuits)-1.html

LED Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/LED-1.html

Capacitor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Capacitor-1.html

Transistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Transistors-1.html

Resistor Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Resistors-1.html

Diode Distributor:http://www.suvsystem.com/l/Diodes-1.html

SUV System Ltd insists on the managing faith ofsincereness,speciality,foresight, win-win,so we build up stable-relationship customers located all over the world, including the States, Europe, Argentina, UAE, Malaysia, Australia,and India etc

we are focus on the following fields,and hope we can help you.


chip Filter saws LED MAXIM IC ELPIDA IC ALTERA IC Bipolar Transistors Metal Can Packages Transistors Chip Ferrite Beads Switching Diodes LINEAR IC VISHAY IC Capacitor IC(Integrated Circuits) Freescale Semiconductor Civil IC Dialight LED ST Transistors Fairchild Semiconductor Transistors Electronic News Schottky Diodes TOSHIBA Diodes HARRIS IC Rectifier Diodes Voltage Regulators Transistors TOSHIBA Transistors MURATA IC Cypress IC Fast Recovery Diodes Vishay resistors Infineon Technologies Transistors Renesas parts IC IR transistor Digital Transistors Chip Fuses PANASONIC Resistors Fleld Effect Transistors PANASONIC Diodes Inc Atmel IC IR Diodes
http://www.suvsystem.com/a/7406.aspx

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

指纹浏览器定制开发全面助力企业安全与智能升级

跨境电商资讯:一文带你走进亚马逊19大海

利用 Google 购物广告促进销量的初学者指南