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The Squid's Beak May Revolutionize Engineering

Posted by kdawson on from the fortuitous-gradient dept.

Ace905 writes "For years the razor-sharp beak that squid use to eat their prey has posed a puzzle to scientists. Squid are soft and fragile, but have a beak as dense as rock and sharp enough to break through hard shells. Scientists have long wondered why the beak doesn't injure the squid itself as is uses it. New research has just been published in the the journal Science that explains the phenomenon. One of the researchers described the squid beak as 'like placing an X-Acto blade in a block of fairly firm Jell-O and then trying to use it to chop celery.' Careful examination shows that the beak is formed in a gradient of density, becoming harder towards the tip end. Understanding how to make such hardness gradients could revolutionize engineering anywhere that 'interfaces between soft and hard materials [are required].' One of the first applications researchers envision is prosthetic limbs."

9 of 79 comments (clear)

  1. Beaks are neat by RockModeNick · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Puffer fish also have a shell-crushing beak attached to a relatively soft base, but they have the advantage of a jaw bone(thought they lack skeletal structures like ribs) to propel it. It still always amazed me how they managed to have such soft lips and skin and yet chew apart snails and other hard shelled foods so fast.

  2. No comments? by Lordfly · · Score: 5, Funny

    A front page article with no comments? Really? ...are you all having sex or something?

    --
    hookers and grits.
    1. Re:No comments? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Individually, yes.

    2. Re:No comments? by MdotCpDeltaT · · Score: 5, Funny

      That would only explain a delay of a minute or two.

  3. Basically it mentions a hardness gradient by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Basically the article says something about a hardness gradient across the material is why the beak doesn't damage the squid itself. Then they say something about how this idea can be applied to manmade materials. Even that idea isn't entirely new anyways among manmade materials. The traditional samurai sword is forged in such a way that the edge is tempered and hardened to hold razor sharpness, yet the bulk of the blade is not hardened so that it doesn't shatter upon impact.

    1. Re:Basically it mentions a hardness gradient by I+Like+Pudding · · Score: 5, Informative

      That's not a gradient. It's a binary transition from martensite to pearlite. Still, I agree that the idea is not exactly earth-shattering. In fact, my kneejerk reaction was "duh".

    2. Re:Basically it mentions a hardness gradient by RockModeNick · · Score: 5, Informative

      Thats the trouble with traditional Japanese differential hardening, the difference in hardnesses is slightly too great. The edges, while they hold a razor edge well when cutting softer targets, are more prone to chipping than is pleasant, and the bulk of the blade is pearlite, which while shatterproof, does not spring well enough; it's very prone to taking bends rather than snapping back into place like a spring. Don't think I'm calling the process bad or inferior, it's just different than other solutions and has its own set of problems.

  4. Re:Squid = awesome by Naughty+Bob · · Score: 3, Funny

    Realistically I don't know if this is so "revolutionary"
    Are you so bold as to question the editorial integrity of /.?

    No, as the headline says, the entire field of Engineering will never be the same.
    --
    "Be light, stinging, insolent and melancholy"
  5. Re:I think you mean... by neomunk · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually, if I understand the article right, the gradient is more like soggy ramen to 3-week old dried-on-the-stove Spaghetti-o. It gets pretty hard on the far side, and cannot be destroyed without the power of Dremel at your disposal.