by For the many wonderful things that people can do, we cannot fly alone. But if we could, how big would our wings be?
Of course the answer depends on the size of the person. But someone who is about 155 pounds (70 kilograms) and at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) long would have a wingspan of about 20 feet (6 m), said Ty HedrickA professor in biology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, “I thought it was surprisingly small.”
Hedrick arrived in this figure with the help of a comparison developed by Robert NuddsA senior biological sciences teacher at the University of Manchester. Nudds described this comparison in a paper from 2007 published in the Journal of Avian Biologyin which he describes the scales of bird wing parameters with regard to body mass.
But in this hypothetical scenario we can’t just hit a few wings and call it a day. It requires a complete reinvestion of our anatomy. If we want to fly, we need other functions alongside Vleugels.
First, we must consider what kind of wings we will have. The classic Engellawook portrays a flying person with a huge pair of fed wings that stuck from the back. Anatomical, that would require a separate shoulder blade, Michael HabibA research employee at the Dinosaur Institute in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, said Live Science. Those wings would also need flight muscles that hang around from the chest to the back.
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According to Habib, bat -like wings would be more logical for people. In this setup, the entire arm and the hand would extend, creating that 20-foot wingspan. A fleshy membrane wing would cover these limbs.
But to actually fly, the rest of our body should produce sufficient power, which would require strong muscles. In birds, an average of 16% to 18% of their muscle mass that are used to fly. In some, up to 30% of their muscle mass comes from the chest. This also applies in bats, although the masses are distributed over more muscles. “It is what distinguishes them from the construction of a non -flying animal,” said Habib.
The result of people creates a funny visual. “You are going to have a breast that is far away,” said Habib, “and a back that is super, super torn.”
The type of flyers would also be factors in this question. “Not everything flies in exactly the same way,” said Habib. “How you fly will be determined by your anatomy.” There are a few types of flights and all flying creatures Specialize in different typesSuch as fluttering, sliding, floating and rising. Each of these specialties includes different types of wings. For example, Habib said that a bird that folds through a journey has shorter, starms. On the other hand, a rising bird like an Albatros has much longer wings compared to its size. People, with their relatively large size, would probably rise.
There is also the issue of taking off, especially with 20-foot long, bat -like wings. With the wings so large, we would not be able to drop our way up. “You can’t flap much if you’re close to the ground,” Hedrick Live Science told.
Habib suggested what is known as a four -fold launch, or a launch from a position where all four limbs start on the ground. Pterosaurusthose were some of the first vertebrates to develop the ability to fly more than 200 million years agoProbably walked and also left this way, according to a 2010 paper co-author from Habib and published in the Journal Plos One. Some bats, such as Vampire bats, walking and running on hands and feet also.
Of course people have an evolutionary disadvantage. Flying animals perfect their anatomy for a flight for millennia. “We would need many of the other adjustments that birds have acquired over the years,” said Hedrick.
