Why can snails crawl through razor sharp blades without harm?

The sharp razor can cut our flesh any time and only requires a very small force. Going on the blade? Surely we can only see that in risky magic tricks.

The sharp razor is so that snails crawl through too easily. What is their secret?

The sharp razor can cut our flesh any time and only requires a very small force. Going on the blade? Surely we can only see that in risky magic tricks.

However, there is an animal that can do this - whenever they like. That is the snail.

Why do they have this unique ability, let's find out!

The first is a bit of physics

The answer turned out to be very simple.The first cause lies in size . Compared to us, snails are small and much lighter.

Suppose a force of 5N is enough to cut off our hands and the body of the snail. But while we can create such small forces easily, snails cannot do it. When sliding through the blade, the weight of the snail is not even 5N so it is obvious that they crawl through the blade safely.

Picture 1 of Why can snails crawl through razor sharp blades without harm?

Snails can crawl through the razor blade safely.

In addition, we all know that pressure depends heavily on the force surface area:

Picture 2 of Why can snails crawl through razor sharp blades without harm?

We have a large size so the thickness of the blade for us is very small. Snails are smaller in size so this thickness for them is quite large.

To make it easier to understand, imagine when you stand next to a giant's knife 1,000 times bigger than you - you'll see a wall. The sharp blade to them is not sharp at all, all due to the size correlation.

Thus, due to the small force of force , the surface area of ​​force exerting large force, the result is that the force on the snail is actually very small. So of course they were inadvertent when crawling through the blade.

Now comes this bio-chemical element

Size is one thing, the real secret of this special ability comes from something very ordinary: mucus.

The snail's lower body has glands that secrete many different types of slime depending on their purpose. The composition of this sebaceous gland is 91% - 98% water, the rest are sugar and protein molecules. Bonding in the substance can break and re-form continuously, making the slime both stable and flexible.

Picture 3 of Why can snails crawl through razor sharp blades without harm?

The mucus of some snails has been shown to be very good for the skin and is a valuable ingredient added to cosmetics with high economic value.

The viscous type around the snail body is quite dense to keep the snails from losing water through the skin, the viscous type under the "legs" is loose but more sticky to help climb easily and reduce friction to the ground, .

In this case, the substance itself protects the snail absolutely, separating the body and blade when they crawl.

Is the snail hurting but still enduring?

Oh, absolutely not. Low-level animals such as snails do not feel as pain as we do but they also have a certain degree of nerve induction. For example, when you accidentally touch your right hand or when a snail is attached to salt, they will immediately recede because this is considered a danger.

If snails feel pain when they crawl through the blade, will they have slipped into the shell? But the reality is not. Proved, they did not feel pain when they crossed the blades.

Update 16 December 2018
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