So how do snakes slither and slide?
by Rich Bowden - Jun 9 2009, 06:16
Img: Researchers visualize snakes slithering by watching them undulate on a mirrored surface, lifting the curves of their bodies.Credit: David Hu and Grace Pryor
US researchers at Georgia Tech and New York University (NYU) have discovered the answer to the age-old question - how do snakes slither across flat surfaces?
The team found that snakes use both friction generated by their scales and a delicate redistribution of their weight to slither across flat surfaces. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, runs counter to previous studies which suggest snakes push themselves off objects such as rocks, says a Georgia Tech news release.
“We found that snakes’ belly scales are oriented so that snakes resist sliding toward their tails and flanks,” said the paper’s lead author, David Hu, a former postdoctoral researcher at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and now an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.
“These scales give the snakes a preferred direction of motion, which makes snake movement a lot like that of wheels, cross-country skis, or ice skates. In all these examples, sliding forwards takes less work than does sliding sideways.”
Hu said recent advances in technology allowed the team to closely study the snake's movements.
"When I first started studying snakes, we didn't have personal computers or robotics," he said. "But now we have the tools to emulate nature."
According to the statement, the scientists measures the snake's frictional anisotropy, described as the resistance to sliding in certain directions of a snake’s belly scales.
Though previous studies had suggested a link between the frictional anisotropy of these scales and the locomotion over flat surfaces, this had not been proven.
In order to study the effect of the resistance, scientists first made a theoretical model of the snake's movement, then used video and time-lapse photography to gauge their movements.
The snakes' movements matched closely to the motion predicted by the model, said the university statement.
Want regular updates from The Tech Herald? Follow us on Twitter.
Interested in a more interactive TTH? Join our Facebook Group.
Comment on this Story