EMU - THE SOLUTION PROTOTYPE
So, now that we know the problem, what can we do about it? Well, as mentioned, we are going to formulate the perfect ratio based on these two things so that an emu can fly! This brings us more problems though. What are we going to change - the wingspan or the weight? If we change the weight, we will be reducing it to a very small amount and the emu would become extremely tiny. This means that we would not even be able to see it fly! If we change the wingspan, we would be adding more weight every time we added more wing. This needs to be accounted for in our new emu prototype so that we can ensure that the emu would actually fly!
To solve this, we will have to reduce unnecessary parts of the emu. The emu has quite long legs, and we could reduce the size of these to account for this extra weight. While this would reduce their amazing running speed, which allows them to escape from prey, they would alternatively be able to fly away from their prey.
Another thing we need to account for is the fact that an emu no longer has a keel. A keel is an essential muscle for the movement of the wings in flight - basically the muscle located in the sternum. As every bird has a different weighted keel and an emu does not have one, we had to calculate the average amount. To do this, we are again using a ratio. The emu needs a well defined sternum area for flight so we got the average weight of a human sternum and compared it to the overall weight of an average human. This resulted in the below ratio:
62kg : 311g = 62000g : 311g
We then need to apply this to the emu. To do this, 62000g (average weight of a human) can be divided by 1.55 to get 40000g (average weight of an emu). Therefore, if we divide 311 by 1.55, we get the weight of the sternum of an emu. This results in the sternum of an emu being 200.65g (two decimal places).
Once added to the average weight of an emu, we get the average weight being 40.20065kg.
This would result in the final wingspan being 13.226013m and the final weight of the new emu being 40.20065kg.
To solve this, we will have to reduce unnecessary parts of the emu. The emu has quite long legs, and we could reduce the size of these to account for this extra weight. While this would reduce their amazing running speed, which allows them to escape from prey, they would alternatively be able to fly away from their prey.
Another thing we need to account for is the fact that an emu no longer has a keel. A keel is an essential muscle for the movement of the wings in flight - basically the muscle located in the sternum. As every bird has a different weighted keel and an emu does not have one, we had to calculate the average amount. To do this, we are again using a ratio. The emu needs a well defined sternum area for flight so we got the average weight of a human sternum and compared it to the overall weight of an average human. This resulted in the below ratio:
62kg : 311g = 62000g : 311g
We then need to apply this to the emu. To do this, 62000g (average weight of a human) can be divided by 1.55 to get 40000g (average weight of an emu). Therefore, if we divide 311 by 1.55, we get the weight of the sternum of an emu. This results in the sternum of an emu being 200.65g (two decimal places).
Once added to the average weight of an emu, we get the average weight being 40.20065kg.
This would result in the final wingspan being 13.226013m and the final weight of the new emu being 40.20065kg.