MANTIS MURDER SHRIMP (Slow Motion) - Smarter Every Day 121 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Mantis shrimps have an incredibly powerful punch due to their unique anatomy and composite structure.

Key Insights

• 😒 Mantis shrimps use a latch mechanism and a hyperbolic paraboloid shape to generate an incredibly powerful punch.
• 👻 Their club is made up of a variable composite structure, allowing for varying material makeup and strength orientation.
• 💪 The mantis shrimp's club is made of chitin fibers bonded together in a mineralized matrix, creating a strong and durable structure.
• ♣️ The club's internal structure transitions smoothly to distribute impulse load and prevent breaking.
• 🙂 Mantis shrimps have incredible vision and can see circularly polarized light.
• 💨 The mantis shrimp's punch is too fast to be achieved by muscle movement alone.
• 😥 The mantis shrimp's punch generates a cavitation bubble at the point of impact.

Transcript

Yeah. Hey it's me Destin, welcome back to Smarter Every Day. So I've seen enough videos on the internet of a mantis shrimp punching to have a good idea of what's going on, but I don't understand it, like at the mechanical level. So today on Smarter Every Day my sister has volunteered to model three seemingly unrelated objects to help us understand ... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What makes a mantis shrimp's punch so powerful?

The mantis shrimp's punch is driven by a latch mechanism and uses a hyperbolic paraboloid shape, allowing it to generate extreme force.

Q: How does the mantis shrimp's club differ from a normal composite structure?

Unlike a normal composite structure, the mantis shrimp's club is a variable composite, meaning its material makeup and strength orientation can vary based on its needs.

Q: How does the mantis shrimp's club prevent itself from breaking when punching hard shells?

The mantis shrimp's club is made up of organic polymer fibers called chitin, which are bonded together in a mineralized matrix to create an incredibly strong structure.

Q: What did scientists discover when analyzing the mantis shrimp's club in a synchrotron?

Scientists found that the crystal orientation and composition change throughout the structure, allowing for the distribution of a huge impulse load and preventing the club from breaking.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Mantis shrimps, although called shrimps, are actually stomatopods and have a similar hunting strategy as praying mantises.

• Their punch is so fast that it can't be achieved by muscle movement alone, and it is driven by a latch mechanism and a hyperbolic paraboloid shape.

• The mantis shrimp's club is made up of a variable composite structure, allowing it to punch with immense force without breaking.