The shock-absorption system modeled by the UB physicists consists of a long, cone-shaped chain of spheres. The sphere positioned closest to the expected source of a shock is the largest, while each ...

The first step was testing whether there was any measurable evidence of shock absorption occurring between a woodpecker's beak and brain as it pecked, via in vivo kinematics. Van Wassenbergh and ...

Dr. Van Wassenbergh said that if woodpeckers were absorbing some of the shock they were trying to deliver to the tree, “it would be a waste of precious energy for the birds.