Biomechanics of Tyrannosaurus Rex :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Biomechanics of Tyrannosaurus Rex Do you remember sitting in the movie theatre as an 8 year old child watching Jurassic Park? The continuous action left your bones chilled and your frail youthful body stuck to the seat. But you couldn’t get enough of this movie because you knew that it was a privilege for you to see a rated R flick. But just when you thought that you could take no more, enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex flooded the screen running after a jeep going at least 50 miles per hour. The problem wasn’t that T-Rex looked fearsome but it was that he outran the jeep. In your mind you wondered how such an extremely large animal could move like the wind but you decided not to question it. As a kid you knew that a T-Rex couldn’t move that swift but just recently the scientific world began to catch on. Scientists have come to some very valuable conclusions through the study of biomechanics. Biomechanics is the application of the principles of mechanics to living systems, particularly those living systems that have coordinated actions. Unlike claims, dinosaurs can be analyzed through biomechanics because they move systematically. But the question still remains could Tyrannosaurus Rex run as fast as they say? Many people have attempted to answer this question, only few have come to a valid conclusion. The most famous study on the biomechanics of T-Rex was by Hutchison and Garcia. They discussed whether or not the short-armed T-Rex could run very fast considering its massive size. Through this hypothesis a model was created. The model designed by Hutchinson and Garcia used physics and biological equations to calculate the amount of leg muscle an animal needs to remain balanced during fast running. While running at great speeds an animal pushes against the ground in order to support itself. This also means that the animal exerts force proportional to its weight every time its foot hits the ground. As a result, the ground pushes back upwards on the leg with a vertical force. That vertical force, called a ground reaction force, is about 2.5 times body weight during fast running. Hutchinson and Garcia's model calculates the ground reaction force along with other necessary factors such as the length of limbs and stance to determine the amount of muscle mass that would be needed to maintain equilibrium. Biomechanics of Tyrannosaurus Rex :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers Biomechanics of Tyrannosaurus Rex Do you remember sitting in the movie theatre as an 8 year old child watching Jurassic Park? The continuous action left your bones chilled and your frail youthful body stuck to the seat. But you couldn’t get enough of this movie because you knew that it was a privilege for you to see a rated R flick. But just when you thought that you could take no more, enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex flooded the screen running after a jeep going at least 50 miles per hour. The problem wasn’t that T-Rex looked fearsome but it was that he outran the jeep. In your mind you wondered how such an extremely large animal could move like the wind but you decided not to question it. As a kid you knew that a T-Rex couldn’t move that swift but just recently the scientific world began to catch on. Scientists have come to some very valuable conclusions through the study of biomechanics. Biomechanics is the application of the principles of mechanics to living systems, particularly those living systems that have coordinated actions. Unlike claims, dinosaurs can be analyzed through biomechanics because they move systematically. But the question still remains could Tyrannosaurus Rex run as fast as they say? Many people have attempted to answer this question, only few have come to a valid conclusion. The most famous study on the biomechanics of T-Rex was by Hutchison and Garcia. They discussed whether or not the short-armed T-Rex could run very fast considering its massive size. Through this hypothesis a model was created. The model designed by Hutchinson and Garcia used physics and biological equations to calculate the amount of leg muscle an animal needs to remain balanced during fast running. While running at great speeds an animal pushes against the ground in order to support itself. This also means that the animal exerts force proportional to its weight every time its foot hits the ground. As a result, the ground pushes back upwards on the leg with a vertical force. That vertical force, called a ground reaction force, is about 2.5 times body weight during fast running. Hutchinson and Garcia's model calculates the ground reaction force along with other necessary factors such as the length of limbs and stance to determine the amount of muscle mass that would be needed to maintain equilibrium.