評論
打印
Insects Invented Gears Long before Humans Did
昆蟲發(fā)明齒輪裝置比人類早多了。
Planthoppers are tiny insects, only a couple of millimeters long. But man can they jump. An adult planthopper can sweep its two hindlegs together to spring forward more than a meter—the equivalent of you or I leaping over tall buildings in a single bound.
稻飛虱是只有幾毫米長的昆蟲。但是它們跳的跟人類一樣高。成年稻飛虱迅速移動兩條后腿向前彈跳一米多的距離，相當(dāng)于人類跨越一次越過高樓的距離。
But these superjumpers must push off with both legs at almost exactly the same time, or else they’ll go into a spin and wipe out.
但是這些跳高強手必須兩腿準(zhǔn)確同時發(fā)力，不然它們會快速旋轉(zhuǎn)，跌倒在地。
A new study reports that the planthopper Issus coleoptratus evolved a foolproof solution to this problem: in young nymphs of the species, the two legs meet under the belly in plates fringed with interlocking teeth. They function just like mechanical gears. The work appears in the journal Science.
一項新的研究報告顯示稻飛虱進化出一個萬無一失的解決方案：它們在幼年時期，它們的兩條腿在肚子下方被有緊連著的牙齒的鱗甲連接。它們的功能就像機械齒輪。這項研究刊登在《科學(xué)》雜志上。
As the bug cocks its two hindlegs forward and then thrusts them back to push off, those gears guarantee that both limbs complete their motions within 30 millionths of a second of each other.
當(dāng)?shù)撅w虱迅速移動后退前進然后猛地往回推的時候，那些齒輪保證兩條腿百萬分之30秒的誤差內(nèi)完成動作。
The synchronized forces propel the nymph straight through the air at up to nine miles an hour—impressive. But adult planthoppers can jump at more than 12 miles an hour. And they do it using smooth-rimmed hips, with only friction to keep their legs in sync.
同步的動力能使得稻飛虱以九英里每小時的速度前進，令人印象深刻。但是成年的稻飛虱每小時跳行12英里。而且它們用光滑的臀部提供動力，只需要摩擦力保持它們的腿同步運行。
So perhaps the gears are like training wheels, just there until the youngsters learn how to jump straight.
因此，或許這些齒輪就像經(jīng)過訓(xùn)練的輪子一樣，直到幼蟲學(xué)會如何跳直。
—Wayt Gibbs
