Author: European Springs

Insects are capable of achieving an array of acrobatic feats that would leave most Olympians in awe and it’s this that has got engineers so excited!

According to a recent article from the BBC, for years scientists and engineers at the universities of Bristol and Cambridge have been working with an array of insects, including fleas, locusts and even praying mantises, in order to discover exactly how these insects take to the air. And what they have found is really rather extraordinary!

Aerial Acrobats

Thanks to their unique biology, insects have been able to overcome a wide range of problems, in order to increase their chances of survival.

The humble flee might not look like much. But these intriguing insects are actually equipped with an array of super-powers. For example, fleas typically rely on their ability to jump to escape danger. But in order to do so they have to accelerate in a very short space of time. Hence it’s rather lucky for them that they have the ability to release the energy in their legs in one thousandth of a second! Pretty neat right ?!

It’s not only fleas that are equipped with this remarkable energy releasing ability either, other jumping insects, such as grasshopper and locusts are also able to release energy from the muscles in their legs surprisingly quickly.

If you’re wondering what makes this possible, it’s all thanks to a little clever design and engineering on the part of mother nature.

Leg Springs

The best way to visualise how this system works is to picture a bow and arrow. If you draw an arrow the energy to perform this action comes from your muscles, however it’s actually storied in the bow. The bow is then able to amplify the speed at which this energy is released, propelling the arrow forwards with greater speed.

Similar springs – akin to an internal bow- can be the found in the legs of fleas and other jumping insects – and these can be used to store energy, enabling the insects to take off at a moment’s notice and escape their foes.

Following a number of years of investigation scientists have uncovered examples of innovative biological springs inside the legs of insects. These are made of insect cuticle – the material that compromises the exoskeleton of an insect- and a type of protein known as resilin – these materials are layered giving the springs properties akin to those found in bows.

All this goes to show that sometimes engineering marvels can be found in even the most unexpected of places! Here at European Springs, as leading die spring manufacturers, we know a thing or two about what it takes to make a good spring! And can supply a wide range of high quality springs that would put even those designed by nature to shame.

For more information about our products and services, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team today, by giving us a call on +44 (0) 208 663 1800.

European Springs

To make sure you know why your clock read 11:59:60, we'll be explaining why we need the leap second to keep our clocks and calendars in check.

Whereas the leap day corrects discrepancies with the calendar and the earth's orbit around the sun, the leap second corrects discrepancies between the clock and the rotation of the Earth. Although our clocks have exactly 24 hours in them, the Earth's rotation isn't quite that accurate. The Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down so every now and again we need to add a second or else we'd eventually have the sun setting in the morning and rising in the evening.
Leap days occur every four years in years that are multiples of four, for example 2000, 2004, 2008 and so on. The leap second isn't quite as regular though and is introduced sporadically. The National Physical Laboratory monitor the alignment of the coordinated universal time (UTC) with the rotation of the earth and add in a leap second on June 30th or December 31st when they feel that it is necessary. We've experienced leap seconds in 2015, 2012, 2008, 2005 and 22 other times in the last 43 years and we'll have many in the future too.

There are many reasons for the Earth's rotation changing so that it doesn't match up with clocks. Tidal friction has the biggest effect. As the moon orbits around the Earth its gravity pulls oceans towards it, controlling our tides and slowing down the earth's rotation. The movement of the Earth's crust relative to its core also plays a part in the changing of the rotation, as well as major geological disturbances such as earthquakes. It's hard to predict how the Earth's rotation will be affected so the leap second is only ever planned six months in advance.

Now that you know more about leap seconds you'll be able to plan how you'll spend your extra second next time it comes around. Here at European Springs we're passionate about all things science, whether it's an extra second being added to a day or the science we use to produce our products. We have a huge range of springs that we deliver to our happy customers every day, including quality torsion springs. If you would like some more information, contact us on +44 (0) 208 663 1800 and a member of our team will be happy to help.

European Springs

With new technologies being discovered or conceptualised each day we're a long way from the day there will be no new modes of transport to invent, but this blog post will look at how we're doing right now and what will be coming to us within the next 20 years.

Our first stop will be rail, but this is no ordinary train…

Hyperloop