• Deme@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    74·
    1 day ago

    IIRC this theory was debunked some time ago by a study. If you think about it, any dampening within the skull would lessen the force of the pecking and the bird would have to hammer away harder.

    Edit: Link to a study

    • socsa@piefed.socialEnglish
      2·
      6 hours ago

      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.

      • Deme@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        2·
        5 hours 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.

  • highduc@lemmy.mlEnglish
    34·
    1 day ago

    Reminds me of a joke I’m going to attempt to translate:

    • Why do woodpeckers have beaks?
    • So they don’t smash their heads against the tree.
    • iheartneopets@lemm.eeEnglish
      2·
      9 hours ago

      That made me chuckle, thanks for posting it. Kinda reminds me of a joke-phrase in American English that goes “If a frog had wings it wouldn’t bump its ass when it hopped.”

  • Venator@lemmy.nzEnglish
    1·
    23 hours ago

    Oh I thought they’d experience more than 1000 grams of force whilst pecking 😜