The foot is a lever. A shorter lever has to bear less load.
Aeao@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
Do your feet hurt a lot? It sounds like a lot of pressure on a small area
jerkface@lemmy.ca 18 hours ago
NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Uh, no, that’s actually the opposite of how that works. Pressure is force per area, and torque is the cross product of force and length (at right angles). The smaller the area, the higher the pressure. The smaller the foot, in this case, the harder the muscles have to work to create the same torque (or moment). #ThanksForAttendingMyPhysics101TEDTalk
deranger@sh.itjust.works 18 hours ago
The smaller the foot, in this case, the harder the muscles have to work to create the same torque (or moment).
Isn’t that backwards? A shorter lever requires less force. If you had a 10 foot long foot, you’d have to have insanely strong calf muscles to stand on your tip toes.
NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
True, i didn’t consider the point of contact.
LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
This isn’t totally true (about longer limbs=harder to exercise), because it doesnt take into account how myosin works on a longer muscle/surface area, along with how electrical differences between limbs and the torso help with electrical flow due to potential energy.
Look at a thoroughbred (fastest over medium distance), an Arabian (best for endurance), a quarter horse (fastest in burst over short distance) versus a donkey (stronger pound for pound than a horse but not faster), vs a mule (stronger than horse, faster than donkey). Look at their legs. They are walking on (1) finger, look at where their ankle is. Their feet, like many animals, are angled completely differently than humans. Elephants have a similar foot to humans in that their sole contacts the ground, but obviously their feet don’t extend like ours (and they have bigger muscles). So it is interesting but I think theres more to it
jerkface@lemmy.ca 17 hours ago
The foot bears more than 100% of your weight because it is cantilevered.
deranger@sh.itjust.works 18 hours ago
That would be relevant to the calf muscles, but the lower surface area of the feet means higher pressure in terms of psi or pascals.
Leggomylego@lemmings.world 18 hours ago
Yes I can confirm that there’s more pressure on my feet if my wearing out kids shoes every 6 months is anything to go by. They are not designed for a man of my height and weight!
LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Have you ever had custom shoes made? Or checked what adult little people wear? They may have some suggestions
Leggomylego@lemmings.world 19 hours ago
Good question. You would think but my calf and foot muscles are quite strong to compensate for what I lack in foot surface area. They do get sore after a long day but nothing too crazy.