tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post224030718631962045..comments2024-03-26T22:16:26.572-04:00Comments on Terrierman's Daily Dose: Rat FactsPBurnshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-40795728034497550132016-06-15T07:33:06.757-04:002016-06-15T07:33:06.757-04:00Yes, pounds per square inch is the way bite streng...Yes, pounds per square inch is the way bite strength is compared across species with widely different-sized jaws. Pushing a needle through a dog collar, as I did the other day, generates a massive PSI because the force is all on a point the size of a period dot. Rat teeth are very small. A bite force of 2.8 pounds is easy to get with a rat (see http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385299X03001168,. and when calculated over the actual surface area of the teeth, it is (apparently) in the many thousands of pounds per square inch (about 20,000 as noted and referenced here >> http://science.jrank.org/pages/5745/Rats-Physical-characteristics.html) It should be noted that bite strength is different than bite strength per square inch. One adjusts for relative size, the other doesn't. Sharks, for example, also have relatively sharp and small teeth, and their PSI bite is higher than than of a rat -- 20 tons per square inch, as compared to 12 for a rat.PBurnshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05781540805883519064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684843.post-45534883179437506092016-06-15T03:29:00.417-04:002016-06-15T03:29:00.417-04:00Hello: I read your piece about rats and was dubio...Hello: I read your piece about rats and was dubious about the bite strength you mentioned. A little Googling came up with this:<br /><br />http://www.pctonline.com/article/-fact-or-fiction--the-tooth-of-the-rat/<br /><br />Thought you might find this interesting. L.oldgreymarehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15001376518686029230noreply@blogger.com