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As I understand it, humans can't fly for the same reason
big birds don't fly -- we're too heavy, a key contributor
being our skeleton, made with solid (rather than hollow)
bones to support our frame and head.
Easily solved, one would think -- while the current
generation of chielfly titanium
implants is not
necessarily a
weight saver (have not immediately found supporting
data), clearly one can design a competitive, or even
lighter
endo-skeleton.
Our service will meticulously replace the heaviest bones
(perhaps sparing the skull), but assuredly the hips, ribs,
pelvis and extremities while you sleep. Awake to feel
like a superhuman, with your weight trained muscles
enabling you not just to walk, not just to run, but to fly
like the birds!
//There's probably a few things that you could spare.//
http://en.wikipedia...ki/Hemicorporectomy
[mouseposture, Jan 05 2012]
[link]
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This process will probably be fatal. Your red blood cells (or something equally important) are made in the bone marrow. |
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honestly, Vernon, details, given the magnitude of
what's proposed :) |
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[21_Quest], this is of course somewhat tongue in
cheek, but I'm saying one can thus (re)build a
human
that is sufficiently strong for human powered
flight.
You'd wear a wing suit -- the question is how much
weight could you (and need to) to save). |
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I believe you will need to get down into the 50 to
75 lb range with a very strong adult's muscles. |
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As the entire skeleton is 40% of the weight (let's
say 35% to save the skull -- it's obviously pretty
freaking hard -- but I'm not sure it's impossible. |
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It's probably be a lot easier to build functioning
powered exoskeleton wings. But honestly, I've
been waiting for the Moller Car for 20plus years.
We need some radical thinking here :) |
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There's probably a few things that you could
spare. |
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To begin with, at least one kidney could go. Lose
the thymus. Reduce the intestines drastically -
we no longer need to digest raw meat. Do away
with the legs but keep the feet (for landing).
Teeth are optional too, and would save a few
grams. |
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The bladder is a bit of a luxury too, but then again
it doesn't weigh much when empty, so probably
no point losing it. |
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Hmm. The pleural membranes are a waste of
weight (in fact, they're often deliberately fused in
people who get recurrent spontaneous
pneumothorax), and can go. A couple of ribs on
each side can be managed without. And little
fingers (and toes) are not really necessary. Hair
can also go. |
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As for the skull - probably no advantage in
replacing it (or other bones) with titanium. But
the skull could be multiply trepanned to remove a
few tens of grams. |
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Naturally, whole-body liposuction would be a good
idea too. |
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All in all, I reckon you could get the average
human down to 30kg without too much effort,
although of course they'd be non-average by the
time you'd finished. |
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People have been trying to work out the minimum
gene set for an organism. Someone should work
out the minimum body-part set to leave a human
viable, in suitable surroundings. |
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I'm sorry, I don't see bad science here. I even
pointed out titanium is not a weight saver -- but I'm
comfortable believing a bone of equivalent to human
strength can be built that weighs less. |
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Tape up the mouth and nose and pump helium in through the arse. |
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Actually human bone is pretty efficient in terms of strength-to-weight. Your femur can support a car. |
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I know they do a breast-reconstruction surgery that brings part of the latissimus dorsi around front. Perhaps a similar use of the gluteus maximus could make use of the human body's largest muscle - yeah, it'd be a little farther back, but I think the human's center of gravity would require that anyway. |
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Delta-ish wings would help positioning them, and the high AOA requirement matches up well with the needs of human landing gear. |
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//The pleural membranes are a waste of weight (in fact, they're often deliberately fused in people who get recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax), and can go.// |
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There would be pleura serous consequences and repercussions. |
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Surely some humans should be capable of flight. Ive
known quite a few near seven foot tall one hundred forty
pounders that could get blown over on a windy day. Lets
start strapping wings on tall skinny dudes, and dudettes
more likely, and let natural selection or whatever take its
sweet course. |
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I dont see much of an idea here. Even if we go to all the trouble of reducing a normal human's weight to.. my weight, they would still need wings. It seems easier to just make a bigger pair of wings with an artificial muscle running across the breast to flap them. They could even be shape memory wings, like Batman's. Or collapsable, like Yves Rossi's. |
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