Why an ant climbing wall vertically doesn't fall but we climbing a hill end up fracturing our bones?

Question

Does not gravity have any effect on the ant. Not only that ,the ant does not fall while crawling on the ceiling which you know is supposed to be upside down. How is it possible?

Answer 1

Ants have small claws (Tarsal Spurs) at the end of their legs.  We do not.

Also, Gravity's effect is relative.  Yes, the ant is getting the same pull downward, but there is little to no mass to effect.

Answer 2

Scaling ..

Many things (surface tension, surface roughness etc) not NOT 'scale' 1:1 with size ...

See how thick the legs of an elephant are ? it's to support the weight .. scale an elephant down a bit and the thickness of it's legs could be reduced MUCH more than the simple scaling suggests ..

Answer 3

because the ant has special adaptive legs and feet that hook to the smoothest of surfaces. and there strength relitive to there size makes them 20 to 30 times stronger than us.

Answer 4

they have little claw thingies all over their feet

Answer 5

Ants have very small barbs on their legs/feet which stick / hook into whatever surface they're climbing

Gravity does affect them, as it does all things, but they weigh very little

Read the Wikipedia article to learn more about them http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant

Answer 6

Two parts to this-  The following essay illuminates the fact that body size, hence weight is proportional to distance^3 whilst the surface area that makes impact is proportional to distance^2 it contrasts the fate of vrious creatures dropped down a mine shaft- worth a read

http://www.physlink.com/Education/essay_...

pt 2 is that ants in common with many other insects have very precisely controlled sticky feet.  This also enables flies to stick to the ceiling

Answer 7

Ants have a greater surface area to body mass ratio.  Meaning, there is more contact between the surface of the wall and their ?feet? (haha) and their body mass is much less than ours.  We have only the soles of our feet, that's very little contact, and our bodies stand vertical, so our center of gravity tends to tip more easily.  Think about how it's easier to climb up a steep slope using your hands too.