Squid Beaks Use Chemical Trick to Keep From Tearing Off
[2008-3-28]
Researchers have figured out how a jumbo squid's hard, razor-sharp beak can slice through the soft tissue of its prey—without tearing off from the stress.
The work solves a longstanding mystery over a problem akin to anchoring a knife blade in Jell-O, according to the authors of the new study.
Squid beaks are one of the hardest organic materials known. They're also powerful: With a single notch through a captured fish's back, a squid beak can sever the fish's nerve cord and cause paralysis.
The beak exhibited an overall stiffness gradient that differs a hundredfold from beak tip to base. Though rigid at its cutting end, the beak gradually becomes softer and more flexible as it approached the soft muscle tissue.
The findings offer a potential solution for the longtime engineering struggle to attach mechanically mismatched materials.
"This could really revolutionize the way engineers think about attaching materials together in all sorts of applications," Frank Zok, a study co-author, said.
The paper appears in this week's issue of the journal Science.
The work solves a longstanding mystery over a problem akin to anchoring a knife blade in Jell-O, according to the authors of the new study.
Squid beaks are one of the hardest organic materials known. They're also powerful: With a single notch through a captured fish's back, a squid beak can sever the fish's nerve cord and cause paralysis.
The beak exhibited an overall stiffness gradient that differs a hundredfold from beak tip to base. Though rigid at its cutting end, the beak gradually becomes softer and more flexible as it approached the soft muscle tissue.
The findings offer a potential solution for the longtime engineering struggle to attach mechanically mismatched materials.
"This could really revolutionize the way engineers think about attaching materials together in all sorts of applications," Frank Zok, a study co-author, said.
The paper appears in this week's issue of the journal Science.
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