Penguins 5x Speed

[Gene Cryder]

5The earliest known penguin fossil was found in 61.6 million-year old Antarctic rock, about 4-5 million years after the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs. Waimanu manneringi stood upright and waddled like modern day penguins, but was likely more awkward in the water. Some fossil penguins were much larger than any penguin living today, reaching 4.5 feet tall!

Gentoo penguins have paddle-shaped wings. These taper at the end, much as do the wings on Boeing 747 airplanes. On planes, that wing shape creates an upward force called lift that allows a plane to fly. On Gentoo penguins, paddle-like wings create thrust that pushes the birds forward through the water.

lift: An upward force on an object. It may occur when an object (such as a balloon) is filled with a gas that weighs less than air; it can also result when a low-pressure area occurs above an object (such as an airplane wing).

model: A simulation of a real-world event (usually using a computer) that has been developed to predict one or more likely outcomes. Or an individual that is meant to display how something would work in or look on others.

resistance: (in physics) Something that keeps a physical material (such as a block of wood, flow of water or air) from moving freely, usually because it provides friction to impede its motion.

robot: A machine that can sense its environment, process information and respond with specific actions. Some robots can act without any human input, while others are guided by a human.

simulation: (v. simulate) An analysis, often made using a computer, of some conditions, functions or appearance of a physical system. A computer program would do this by using mathematical operations that can describe the system and how it might change over time or in response to different anticipated situations.

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Penguins are birds, so they do have wings. However, the wing structures of penguins are evolved for swimming, rather than flying in the traditional sense. Penguins swim underwater at speeds of up to 15 to 25 miles per hour.

As adept swimmers, penguins spend a lot of time in the water. Some penguins spend up to 75 percent of their lives in the water. Like other birds, penguins do lay eggs and they raise their chicks on land.

Speed Camp is an immersive deep-diving program focusing on not only the techniques behind speed, but also the science. This exclusive camp is geared toward the elite level athlete looking for an edge over the competition. Speed Camp will consist of 2 on-ice sessions each day focusing on the following primary components:

Speed is one of the primary attributes that separates the NHL from lesser leagues like the AHL. Speed, or lack of, has prevented many a collegiate, junior hockey or European star from advancing to the pro level.

Once a player sustains a speed over 18 MPH, he is in a burst. That burst continues until his speed drops below 16 MPH. The speed associated with each burst is the maximum speed the player reaches during that window.

For the reasons stated above, our Pens are no longer the uber-fast team we once were. We ranked 19th in speed bursts over 22 MPH, which coincides exactly with our placement in the standings. A phenomenon that was actually a rare occurrence.

Again, the Avs and Oilers finished one-two in this category, ahead of the third place Blue Jackets. Again, a healthy portion of playoff teams, including the Conference Finalist Rangers, Stars and Panthers ranked in the lower half of the league, along with the Canucks and Bruins, while seven non-playoff teams finished in the top half.

Our Penguins also rarely, if ever stood still on the ice. Just like the teams in the current final 4, they always seemed to be in motion of some sort. Now our Penguins are overloaded with options and reads that delay their decision making and always seem to be standing still until some exigence calls them into motion and they have to overcome that bugaboo, inertia.

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It has been predicted that geometrically similar animals would swim at the same speed with stroke frequency scaling with mass(-1/3). In the present study, morphological and behavioural data obtained from free-ranging penguins (seven species) were compared. Morphological measurements support the geometrical similarity. However, cruising speeds of 1.8-2.3 m s(-1) were significantly related to mass(0.08) and stroke frequencies were proportional to mass(-0.29). These scaling relationships do not agree with the previous predictions for geometrically similar animals. We propose a theoretical model, considering metabolic cost, work against mechanical forces (drag and buoyancy), pitch angle and dive depth. This new model predicts that: (i) the optimal swim speed, which minimizes the energy cost of transport, is proportional to (basal metabolic rate/drag)(1/3) independent of buoyancy, pitch angle and dive depth; (ii) the optimal speed is related to mass(0.05); and (iii) stroke frequency is proportional to mass(-0.28). The observed scaling relationships of penguins support these predictions, which suggest that breath-hold divers swam optimally to minimize the cost of transport, including mechanical and metabolic energy during dive.

A: Their normal waddle is pretty slow, about two miles an hour (3.2 km/hr). But when penguins are afraid or angry, they can put their heads down and run with surprising speed. They can often outrun a penguin scientist who is trying to catch them!

A: It's not clear where the name "penguin" came from. It might be from the Latin word "pingua," meaning "fat." Penguins certainly are fat birds?their thick layer of blubber was well known to hungry sailors who hunted penguins in past centuries.

Penguins are incredible swimmers. They actually spend about 75 percent of their time in the water, so although they have wings, these are not ideal for flying. Their wing structure has evolved and is optimal for swimming. They have in fact very powerful flippers that allow them to swim for long distances and at lower depths. These flippers have a similar movement to the wings of a flying bird, so it may appear as though they are flying underwater. Penguins use both downstroke and upstroke with their flippers and have also developed strong back and chest muscles to help them work against the high density of water.

But not only are their wings designed to swim. Their body structure is also optimized for underwater activity. With their torpedo-shaped body, they can reach swimming speeds of 25 miles per hour underwater. Also, their legs are placed at the far back end of their body, helping minimize drag, and they steer with their webbed feet.

One of the main reasons why penguins are such fast swimmers is because they are able to reduce drag by fluffing their feathers and releasing bubbles under water. The water density around them is temporarily reduced, together with their drag, which allows them to triple their swimming speeds.

Penguins usually swim at a distance of 1 to 2 meters below the surface, using a technique known as porpoising. They skim through the water using consecutive leaps. This allows them to move underwater while being able to breathe without slowing down. It also acts as a defense mechanism as the continuous movement above and below the surface makes it difficult to get caught by predators.

Penguins are also very good divers, and are able to hold their breath for approximately 6 minutes under water which helps them go to depths from 9 to 18 meters below the surface. Penguins are known to swallow small stones together with their food. This may not only help them with digestion, grinding food in their stomach, but also helps them to dive deeper by adding extra weight.

Nowadays however, penguins have not been able to avoid human impact, and climate change is very much affecting their habitat. Illegal fishing and oil spills are other possible threats that these charming creatures can fall victim of.

Fernando hired freelance researcher Tony Schick, who did an amazing job to get information on new science that had never been shown before. The early sketches put most of the emphasis on the animal and its speed, rather than on a detailed explanation of the physics behind it, which would become more interesting as we continued to learn about them. The version below was used to pitch the story and graphic to our Editor in Chief, Chris Johns:

Emperor penguins have the extremely dense, insulating feather cover you would expect in very cold climates. The unique adaptation that helps the penguins speed under water is the ability to store a large quantity of air inside their feather cover.

Each feather has a thick, rigid shaft, thin filaments on both sides and an abundance of microscopic downy feathers in between, small enough to trap tiny bubbles of air. After much insistence, Fernando convinced Mr. Milensky to take three feathers with him back to the office.

A new sketch (below) was more focused on the dive of the penguin and the acceleration provided by releasing the tiny bubbles of air. A small chart shows the decreasing thickness of the air layer as the penguins rocket upwards, but the graphic was still not explaining the details of how it all happened.

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