This picture was taken in one of the CSIRO branches: the Australian Commonwealth and Scientific Research Organization. It is the leading independant research institute in Australia. Speaking of science, here is a question of the day for you:
There are three types of kangaroos: Bettong, Tammer and the Red Kangaroo, ranging from small to large according to their size. So an interesting project studied the energy consumption of these 'roos. The researchers put them on different treadmills and monitored their breath rate as the speed varied. Scientists found that before the speed reached 10 km/h, the kangaroos walked and their breath rate changed linearly with the speed. But after 10 km/h, the kangaroos started to hop and they breathed at a relatively constant rate until the belt ran too fast that the 'roos hit back to the wall. Why don't they consume more energy when the belt runs faster?
Thursday, June 14, 2007
CSIRO - science question for you
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4 comments:
Kangaroos on treadmills...I'd like to see that :) Is that an IKEA chair I see?
hah, nastassja, i can tell you are sold to ikea now ;)
nop, it's just a lonely chair in the corner of the research center... we deserve some nice chairs as well...
Ying,
I think the answer to your question is as follows: So kangaroos hop naturally and thus their metabolism/energy consumption is as such (they are best at hopping). When the scientists put the roos on a treadmill at a slow speed, this is an unnatural situation for them and thus would need to walk until their hopping speed matches the treadmill speed. When the kangaroos are walking, they need to try harder and thus burn more energy to maintain that speed, i.e. not hopping but walking fast.
This is comparable to us going at the speed right in between walking and running, where it is really difficult for us to maintain. There is a point at which running is easier for us than walking fast...
rich, i think the professor mentioned something about making the analogy to a spring. like the more kinetic energy the spring has, the easier it can be deformed, because less potential energy is stored, and thus the total amount of energy is conserved. but i think your way makes sense. if the roos opt for +10 kmh, they must be trying harder when off the limit.
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