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The principles of cascading power limits in small, fast biological and engineered systems.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Ilton, M; Bhamla, MS; Ma, X; Cox, SM; Fitchett, LL; Kim, Y; Koh, J-S; Krishnamurthy, D; Kuo, C-Y; Temel, FZ; Crosby, AJ; Prakash, M; Wood, RJ ...
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.)
April 2018

Mechanical power limitations emerge from the physical trade-off between force and velocity. Many biological systems incorporate power-enhancing mechanisms enabling extraordinary accelerations at small sizes. We establish how power enhancement emerges through the dynamic coupling of motors, springs, and latches and reveal how each displays its own force-velocity behavior. We mathematically demonstrate a tunable performance space for spring-actuated movement that is applicable to biological and synthetic systems. Incorporating nonideal spring behavior and parameterizing latch dynamics allows the identification of critical transitions in mass and trade-offs in spring scaling, both of which offer explanations for long-observed scaling patterns in biological systems. This analysis defines the cascading challenges of power enhancement, explores their emergent effects in biological and engineered systems, and charts a pathway for higher-level analysis and synthesis of power-amplified systems.

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Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

April 2018

Volume

360

Issue

6387

Start / End Page

eaao1082

Related Subject Headings

  • Models, Theoretical
  • General Science & Technology
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Ilton, M., Bhamla, M. S., Ma, X., Cox, S. M., Fitchett, L. L., Kim, Y., … Patek, S. N. (2018). The principles of cascading power limits in small, fast biological and engineered systems. Science (New York, N.Y.), 360(6387), eaao1082. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1082
Ilton, Mark, M Saad Bhamla, Xiaotian Ma, Suzanne M. Cox, Leah L. Fitchett, Yongjin Kim, Je-Sung Koh, et al. “The principles of cascading power limits in small, fast biological and engineered systems.Science (New York, N.Y.) 360, no. 6387 (April 2018): eaao1082. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aao1082.
Ilton M, Bhamla MS, Ma X, Cox SM, Fitchett LL, Kim Y, et al. The principles of cascading power limits in small, fast biological and engineered systems. Science (New York, NY). 2018 Apr;360(6387):eaao1082.
Ilton, Mark, et al. “The principles of cascading power limits in small, fast biological and engineered systems.Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 360, no. 6387, Apr. 2018, p. eaao1082. Epmc, doi:10.1126/science.aao1082.
Ilton M, Bhamla MS, Ma X, Cox SM, Fitchett LL, Kim Y, Koh J-S, Krishnamurthy D, Kuo C-Y, Temel FZ, Crosby AJ, Prakash M, Sutton GP, Wood RJ, Azizi E, Bergbreiter S, Patek SN. The principles of cascading power limits in small, fast biological and engineered systems. Science (New York, NY). 2018 Apr;360(6387):eaao1082.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

April 2018

Volume

360

Issue

6387

Start / End Page

eaao1082

Related Subject Headings

  • Models, Theoretical
  • General Science & Technology
  • Biomechanical Phenomena