11A10.40 - Muscles

Code Number:
11A10.40
Demo Title:
Muscles
Condition:
Good
Principle:
Physiology
Area of Study:
Physiology, Biology
Equipment:
Vacuum Muscle Demo and String Ligament Demo.
Procedure:

Make sure the hoses on the vacuum muscle are connected tightly.  As you pull out on the hand held chamber, the muscle should contract raising the hand.

Connect the motors to a 6 V. battery.  One motor runs the upper arm and the other runs the hand muscle.  Running the motor so the string winds and becomes shorter will raise the desired part of the demo.

References:
  • Dan Liu, Zhuojun Duan, "Simulations of Back and Arms", TPT, Vol. 59, #7, Oct. 2021, p. 544.
  • David Miles Headly and Howard Willard, "Student Bench Press Power – A STEM Project for the Gym", TPT, Vol. 57, #7, Oct. 2019, p. 450.
  • Nancy Donaldson, "Increasing Your Body of Physics Knowledge", TPT, Vol. 54, #1, Jan. 2016, p. 58.
  • Mickey Kutzner and Andrew Kutzner, "A Progression of Static Equilibrium Laboratory Exercises", TPT, Vol. 51, #7, Oct. 2013, p. 430.
  • Stacy S. Klein and Robert J. Roselli, "Finding the Center of Volume of the Forearm", TPT, Vol. 46, #4, Apr. 2008, p. 232.
  • Vasilis Pagonis, Russel Drake, Michael Morgan, Todd Peters, Chris Riddle, and Karen Rollins, "Modeling Forces on the Human Body", TPT, Vol. 37, #8, Nov. 1999, p. 469.
  • Martin Gardner, "Magnetized Pencils", TPT, Vol. 32, #4, April 1994, p. 237.
  • H. Richard Crane, "How Things Work: The Noises Your Muscles Make", TPT, Vol. 27, #9, Dec. 1989, p. 687.
  • Donald E. Shult, "Pulling Your Cups Apart!", TPT, Vol. 26, #7, Oct. 1988, p. 424.
  • Ronald D. Edge, "The Author Replies", TPT, Vol. 21, #5, May 1983, p. 280.
  • Otto Ögrim, "Bootstrap Physics", TPT, Vol. 21, #5, May 1983, p. 280.
  • Alan Van Heuvelen, "Inexpensive Body-Lever Models", TPT, Vol. 21, #3, Mar. 1983, p. 186.
  • Ronald D. Edge, "Physics and the New Games or Pretend You're an Atom", TPT, Vol. 20, #9, Dec. 1982, p. 596.
  • Kameshwar Razden, "Body Levers", TPT, Vol. 16, #6, Sept. 1978, p. 403.
  • Frank A. Smith, Jr., "Biomechanics Using a Crane Boom", TPT, Vol. 16, #4, Apr. 1978, p. 220.
  • Melanie Cluss, Kenneth Laws, Natalie Martin, T. Scott Nowicki, and Allan Mira, "The Indirect Measurement of Biomechanical Forces in the Moving Human Body", AJP, Vol. 74, #2, Feb. 2006, p. 102.
  • Johanna Miller, "A Muscle's Mechanical Advantage is Not Constant", Physics Today, Vol. 61, #4, Apr. 2008, p. 21.
  • Phillip F. Schewe, "Listening to Muscle Noise", Physics Today, Vol 60, #7, July 2007, p. 29.
  • Paul Guinnessy, "DARPA Joins Industry, Academia to Build Better Prosthetic Arms", Physics Today, Vol. 59, #9, Sept. 2006, p. 24.
  • Olof Lippild, "Physiological Tremor", Scientific American, Vol. 224, #3, Mar. 1971, p. 65.
  • Theodore Gray, "Bacon: the Other White Heat", Popular Science, Vol. 281, #5, May 2009, p. 70.
  • Stuart Fox, "Lock and Roll", Popular Science, 280, #10, Oct. 2008, p. 41.
  • Don Rathjen and Paul Doherty, "Hydraulic Arm", Square Wheels, 2002, p. 29 - 33.
  • Vicki Cobb and Kathy Darling, "Shaky Odds", Bet You Can't!, p. 108 - 109.
  • Neil Downie, "35: Balloon Biceps", Ink Sandwiches, Electric Worms and 37 Other Experiments of Saturday Science, p. 287 - 291.
  • Neil A. Downie, "Vacuum Muscles", Vacuum Bazookas, Electric Rainbow Jelly and Other Saturday Science Projects, p. 61 - 69.
  • Neil A. Downie, "Twisted Sinews", Vacuum Bazookas, Electric Rainbow Jelly and Other Saturday Science Projects, p. 51 - 58.
  • Harvard Instructional Physics Labs, "Muscles and Bones - Forces and Torques in the Body", www.fas.harvard.edu/~scphys
  • Curt Suplee, "Putting Flex in Your Step", Everyday Science Explained, National Geographic, p. 226 - 227.
  • Curt Suplee, "Nerves and Muscles", Everyday Science Explained, National Geographic, p. 224 - 225.
  • Curt Suplee, "Getting Going", Everyday Science Explained, National Geographic, p. 182 - 183.
  • "Sense and Non-Sense with Your Five Senses", Science Experimenter Magazine, p. 60 - 62.
  • Robert J. Brown, "Chapter 5: Biology and Psychology", 333 Science Tricks and Experiments, p. 47 - 48.
  • Sara Stein, "A Slow Circuit", The Science Book, p. 256.

Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist.  The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose.  The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources.  Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks.  These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage.  Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.