One point that ns have found most annoying around the movie Avatar is the chorus of worship for that is "scientific accuracy." ns don't know of any movie quick of Star Trek that has tried so difficult to to convince its fans that it's based upon real science, and fallen for this reason short. So I thought it would be beneficial to simply make an archive showing that the movie is no science-fiction; it's science mixed with fantasy.I understand I promised this week to cover the moon of Pandora, however it's taking longer than i thought due to the fact that astronomy isn't my specialty, and also I desire to obtain it right. For this reason instead, we'll be looking at one more famous facet of Avatar, creatures with 6 legs.Most that the dominant lifeforms on Pandora have six limbs, making castle what's known as hexapoda (Greek because that "six legs"). Some hexapods in the movie room a horse-like creature referred to as the Direhorse, a panther-like creature referred to as a Viperwolf, and also a pterodactyl-like creature referred to as a hill Banshee. All of them have actually six limbs.On Earth, many creatures are tetrapods, definition they have four limbs. That has everything from dogs to horses to humans. The only creatures that have six four are insects. There's a reason for that; four is a great number that limbs. Not too many, not as well few. If one could argue that having 4 arms would certainly be useful, it's not really necessary. Even if you essential or might use another collection of hands, primates solved this problem by having opposable toe on your feet, transforming them right into a 2nd pair that hands. Adding much more limbs would simply require an ext brain-power to control them, and would call for a significant change in configuration the would typical that it would have to have part benefit.While no one yes, really knows precisely why insects have actually six limbs, we do recognize that it's an advantage to them as opposed to other animals. As soon as a biology runs on 2 or 4 legs, only one or two feet stay in call with the floor at all times. Once a six-limbed insect operation on a surface, three limbs usually stay in call with the soil at every times. For a wall-crawling creature prefer a paris or a spider, this is an advantage because it way greater stability as soon as clinging to a vertical surface ar or upside-down. That's no an advantage that other pets need wade upright on a level surface.In many ways, 6 legs would hinder normal creatures. For example, insects on earth that have six legs have them splayed the end from the body so they don't acquire in every other's way. In Avatar, every the creatures have their six legs in line v their bodies, which would cause them to bump into or gain tangled up with each other easily. That seems favor the developers knew this, so they make the efforts to change for it.Let's look in ~ the Direhorse, for example. It was a speedy biology in the movie, however take keep in mind that they animated the Direhorse come run just like our four-limbed horses with the front 2 legs moving together and the rear two legs moving in the contrary direction. This would be a recipe because that disaster, since the forelegs would only work-related if castle were specifically in sync. The little misstep on any kind of of the 4 forelegs would reason the biology to pilgrimage on its own limbs and fall. The Direhorses must run much more like cockroaches, alternate three legs at a time.
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That would actually cause them to run slower than earth horses, i beg your pardon goes earlier to our original point…they would certainly be far better off with four legs.Then there's the apparent fact that the Na'vi have only four limbs; two arms, two legs. But that's for an additional post.Further Reading:Avatar's Walking through HexapodsNEXT WEEK: Pandora (seriously)What do you think about Avatar's six legged beasts?The Flawed scientific research of Avatar1 - Floating Mountains2 - The Avatar3 - six Legs4 - Pandora5 - Chest Nostrils6 - Unobtainium