Applied Math Seminar

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The Physics of Stinging

Speaker: Kaare Jensen, Technical University of Denmark

Location: TBA

Date: Friday, October 23, 2020, 3:30 p.m.

Synopsis:

Plants and animals of all shapes and sizes have evolved sharp, pointed outgrowths. Their uses vary widely, from injuring predators and delivering poison to providing buoyancy and adhesion. Despite their apparent diversity, stingers have inherent similarities. In this presentation, we will argue that natural stingers exist at the threshold of stability; they're just strong enough to penetrate their targets without buckling. For straight, rigid stingers, this stability criterion translates to a linear relationship between length and base diameter that accurately describes more than 200 natural and human-made examples, including wasp stingers, cactus spines, hypodermic needles, and lances. We conclude with a discussion of implications for biomedical and engineering stinger designs.