Microballistics in fungi and plants

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Fluid Mechanics
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Ballistic movements in biology are driven by various mechanisms including muscle contraction, chemical reactions, and fluid dynamics.
• Macroscopic examples like jumping fleas and squirting cucumbers appear familiar due to overlapping scales with human experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the diverse mechanisms powering biological ballistic movements.
• To contrast macroscopic and microscopic scales of biological ballistics and their governing physics.

Main Methods:

• Review of biological systems exhibiting rapid movements.
• Analysis of physical principles governing both macroscopic and microscopic ballistic phenomena.

Main Results:

• Biological ballistics encompass muscle power, chemical reactions, bubble dynamics, droplet mergers, and pressure release.
• Macroscopic ballistics share intuitive physics with human experience.
• Microscopic ballistics operate under distinct fluid mechanics, where viscosity dominates and gravity is negligible.

Conclusions:

• Biological systems exhibit a wide range of ballistic capabilities across different scales.
• The physics governing microscopic biological ballistics are counterintuitive, differing significantly from macroscopic phenomena.