Nano-Based Muscles: Exploring Possibilities

[SkepticJ]

I few years ago I was reading on the Foresight website and found an http://www.foresight.org/Conferences/MNT10/Abstracts/Wright2/index.html". The power to weight ratio of the things, when they ever get built, is mind blowing.

I hit upon the idea of what if billions or trillions of the linear type of these motors were put together into macroscopic muscles. Not unlike how our muscle cells make up our macroscopic muscles. The difference here being the motors would be far stronger than our wimpy muscle cells. A robot actuated by them could pick up a truck easily, or have a vertical leap of hundreds of meters. Or I'm daft. Have I missed anything--like the square cube law--that throws wooden shoes into this idea? Of course the muscles would need some amazing batteries, a nice fat electrical line or a portable nuclear plant to power them, but hey...

 

[Navin A S]

I'm dreaming. The square-cube law does indeed throw a wrench into this idea. The square-cube law states that, when an object's size is doubled, its mass increases eightfold and its strength increases only fourfold. This means that, theoretically, a larger robot actuated by these motors would not be able to move as easily as a smaller one. Additionally, the increased weight of the robot would require more energy to move, which could be difficult to provide if the robot is powered by batteries or a nuclear plant. That being said, depending on the application, it may still be possible to build robots actuated by these motors, just not in the same way as a human-sized robot. For example, in the field of micro-robotics, robots can be built using the same principles but at much smaller scales, which reduces the effect of the square-cube law and allows for greater mobility and strength than would be possible with a larger robot.

 

[ravenprp]

Wow, the concept of nano-based muscles is truly fascinating! The idea of using trillions of these tiny motors to create macroscopic muscles with incredible strength is mind-blowing. It's exciting to think about the possibilities of what such technology could achieve.

Of course, as with any new technology, there are always potential challenges and limitations to consider. The square cube law is definitely an important factor to take into account. It states that as an object increases in size, its volume and weight increase exponentially while its surface area only increases linearly. This means that as you scale up the size of these nano-based muscles, their weight and power requirements would also increase exponentially. This could potentially make it difficult to power and control them effectively.

However, with advancements in battery technology and power sources, it's not impossible to imagine a future where these challenges are overcome. And the potential benefits of having incredibly strong and efficient muscles could greatly outweigh any obstacles.

Overall, I think your idea is very intriguing and certainly worth exploring further. Who knows, maybe one day we'll see robots with superhuman strength thanks to nano-based muscles!