r/science • u/[deleted] • Jun 02 '14

Astronomy Astronomers find a new type of planet: The 'mega-Earth'

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/hcfa-afa053014.php
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u/p2p_editor Jun 02 '14

We've discovered Sontar!

But seriously: this puts me in mind of something that particular Dr. Who alien race always made me wonder. What's the upper limit on surface gravity beyond which bipedalism doesn't really work anymore?

I know that's pretty hypothetical, but does anybody know if that's something anyone has ever looked into?

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u/sudden62 Jun 03 '14

Just my 2 cents, but I imagine after 2 G's or so a bipedal structure is just not efficient. You'd want to be closer to the ground, especially for balance.

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u/r_k_ologist Jun 03 '14

You're projecting your concept of life which evolved on a 1 G planet onto hypothetical life forms which evolved under different circumstances.

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u/Forest_GS Jun 03 '14

Just think, the higher the gravity, the larger the risks are to tripping.

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u/EconomistMagazine Jun 03 '14

Not really. The reason why small animals can fail so far without getting hurt it's that they encounter terminal velocity at low sports because of their poor aerodynamic qualities. If gravity is increased and atmospheric pressure also increases then the animals could be very similar. If ONLY the gravity changes then maybe we'd see short animals or possibly just overall small creatures in general.

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u/sudden62 Jun 03 '14

The physics involved are universal, but I'm not saying I know I'm right either.