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Many elastic structures have two possible equilibrium states: from umbrellas that become inverted in a sudden gust of wind, to nano-electromechanical switches, origami patterns and the hopper popper, which jumps after being turned…
Using a flapping robot in a wind tunnel, we show that flapping faster amplifies existing longitudinal static stability (focusing on the pitch stiffness) and can even make an unstable flier stable. We show that stability for a flapper is not…
The move to high performance applications greatly increases the demand to produce large instantaneous fluid forces for high-speed maneuvering and improved power efficiency for sustained propulsion. Animals achieve remarkable feats of…
Empowerment -- a domain independent, information-theoretic metric -- has previously been shown to assist in the evolutionary search for neural cellular automata (NCA) capable of homeostasis when employed as a fitness function. In our…
Animals achieve robust locomotion by offloading regulation from the brain to physical couplings within the body. In contrast, locomotion in artificial systems often depends on centralized processors. We introduce a rapid and autonomous…
Cells moving on a two dimensional substrate generate motion by polymerizing actin filament networks inside a flat membrane protrusion. New filaments are generated by branching off existing ones, giving rise to branched network structures.…
We consider a particle performing a stochastic motion on a one-dimensional lattice with jump widths distributed according to a power-law with exponent $\mu + 1$. Assuming that the walker moves in the presence of a distribution $a(x)$ of…
I present and discuss a unified scheme for jet launching that is based on stochastic dissipation of the accretion disk kinetic energy, mainly via shock waves. In this scheme, termed thermally-launched jet model, the kinetic energy of the…
Magnetic reconnection, especially in the relativistic regime, provides an efficient mechanism for accelerating relativistic particles and thus offers an attractive physical explanation for nonthermal high-energy emission from various…
High-speed water entry of projectiles and diving systems induces high forces and jerk to the entering bodies due to the development of large hydrodynamic pressure. Previous research has shown separately that the peak forces can be reduced…
The collective motion of groups of animals emerges from the net effect of the interactions between individual members of the group. In many cases, such as birds, fish, or ungulates, these interactions are mediated by sensory stimuli that…
The energy of plasma waves can be moved up and down the spectrum using chirped modulations of plasma parameters, which can be driven by external fields. Depending on whether the wave spectrum is discrete (bounded plasma) or continuous…
Growth in confined spaces can drive cellular populations through a jamming transition from a fluid-like state to a solid-like state. Experiments have found that jammed budding yeast populations can build up extreme compressive pressures…
Flying insects are thought to achieve energy-efficient flapping flight by storing and releasing elastic energy in their muscles, tendons, and thorax. However, flight systems consisting elastic elements coupled to nonlinear, unsteady…
Via numerical simulation and experimental assessment, this study examines the use of origami folding to develop robotic jumping mechanisms with tailored nonlinear stiffness to improve dynamic performance. Specifically, we use Tachi-Miura…
Production of energy (metabolism) and its distribution is vital for living organisms, both at individual level - between different functions of an organism, as well as between species of communities at different organizational levels,…
Crawling is a common locomotion mechanism in soft robots and nonskeletal animals. In this work we propose modeling soft-robotic legged locomotion by approximating it with an equivalent articulated robot with elastic joints. For concreteness…
When the background density in a bounded plasma is modulated in time, discrete modes become coupled. Interestingly, for appropriately chosen modulations, the average plasmon energy might be made to grow in a ladder-like manner, achieving…
A weak spring is connected at one end to a rotor turning at constant angular velocity. The spring extends to a stretched length as determined by the spring mass, rest length, spring constant, rotor radius and rotor angular velocity. When…
Cheetahs are characterized by large spinal flexion and extension during high-speed running, yet the dynamical role of the phase relationship between spinal motion and limb support remains unclear. We aimed to clarify how this phase…