By Helen BriggsBBC News
20 April 2016
Scientists have built a
mathematical model to explain the secrets of the chameleon's extraordinary
tongue.
It took more than 20 equations to
capture mathematically how the reptile's tongue unravels at very high speed to
snare insects.
The model explains the mechanics
of the animal's tongue and the inherent energy build-up and rapid release.
British researchers say the
insights will be useful in biomimetics - copying from nature in engineering and
design.
"If you are looking at the
equations they might look complex but at the heart of all of this is Newton's
Second Law - the sort of thing that kids are learning in A-Levels,
which is simply that you're balancing forces with accelerations,"
explained Derek Moulton, associate professor of mathematical biology at Oxford
University.
He added: "In mathematical
terms, what we've done is we've used the theory of non linear elasticity and
captured the energy in these various tongue layers and then passed that
potential energy to a model of kinetic energy for the tongue dynamics."
The chameleon is a reptile with
many distinctive features.
Its feet have two toes facing
forward and two facing backwards, like a bird; it can grasp objects with its
tail; it can change colour and its tongue is among the fastest on Earth.
The chameleon's tongue is able to
extend to twice the length of the body while unravelling telescopically.
Past research has shown if the
tongue were a car, it could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in one hundredth of a
second.
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