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AUTHORS		FAQ NAVIGATION
Who e-mail Handle Web site Phillip Pi y Ant The Ant Farm Randy Rencsok y Mr. Ant AntCam Andre Schmidt y Jinei Myrmecology James Trager y Dr. Ant		Prev Top Next Chapter Chapter Page Page

4.7 Why can ants/insects carry so much?

The reason is because lifting power scales in proportion to the
cross-sectional area of the muscle -- while mass scales with the
volume. This is the complicated explanation. Imagine a human 
which could lift his/her own weight were shrunk down to 1/100th
of his/her original size. Accordingly, they should be able to
lift 1000 times his/her own weight. In terms of muscle power, 
humans are roughly 20 times stronger than ants. If ants were
enlarged to our size, they probably wouldn't be able to lift 
themselves off the ground. --Mr. Ant