Ballistics and Mother Nature

Spores are really neat and they can be ejected from a sporangia at amazing speeds. I found this article in PLOS One...scroll down and download the videos. I really appreciate the Pilobolus one....a spore ejected like a rocket at a distance of almost 3m!

"In this study, we have used ultra-high-speed video cameras running at maximum frame rates of 250,000 fps to analyze the entire launch process in four species of fungi that grow on the dung of herbivores. For the first time we have direct measurements of launch speeds and empirical estimates of acceleration in these fungi. Launch speeds ranged from 2 to 25 m s⁻¹ and corresponding accelerations of 20,000 to 180,000 g propelled spores over distances of up to 2.5 meters."

To view the Pilobolus video you can also click HERE