| ▲ | Qem 15 hours ago |
| > Where is the quadratic part of the equation that limits the maximum size of a whale? Muscle power output increases with cross section area, ~L^2, not with volume. The heart have no separate power unit. It relies on the same muscle walls that comprise its chambers to power itself. |
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| ▲ | fluoridation 15 hours ago | parent [-] |
| That just means the walls of the heart would need to grow thicker. Are they at the limit already? |
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| ▲ | Qem 15 hours ago | parent [-] | | Wall thickness increasing by x increases cross section/power by x^2, but also increases chamber volume/workload by x^3. So workload outruns available power. It's because of this people abusing steroids get heart failure eventually. | | |
| ▲ | fluoridation 15 hours ago | parent [-] | | >chamber volume/workload by x^3. So workload outruns available power. What do you mean by workload? Are you referring to the oxygen cost per stroke, or what? | | |
| ▲ | Qem 13 hours ago | parent [-] | | Power demand. Volume pumped each cycle * (systolic pressure - diastolic pressure) / time. | | |
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