Science Memes

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[debunked] tap tap tap (mander.xyz)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Debunked here https://sopuli.xyz/comment/17362730

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Not trying to contradict the study, but integrated force and impulse are different. You can apply the same force over a longer period of time and lower the impulse. This is why a boxer wearing a glove can actually deliver more total energy without breaking their own hand - the energy transfer is more complete because the greater surface area and longer impulse and more elastic collision. This means that you are more likely to experience a concussion, whereas with a bare fist, broken bones and torn ligaments are more likely to absorb a significant amount of that total energy.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

Impulse is the integral of force over time, but I get what you're after.

When pecking at a tree, the maximum force exerted is what pushes the wood beyond its breaking point. That maximum force can be increased by increasing the impact energy as a whole (wasteful and costly) or shortening the impulse. A woodpecker isn't trying to do soft blows to shake some branches, it's trying to shatter a small portion of the trunk, much like someone looking to shatter their opponents nose would choose bare fists over boxing gloves.