We know everyone will join us in heaving a huge sigh of relief now that science has taken away one thing to worry about. If you ever run into a tyrannosaurus rex, they can't run very fast! Better yet, they can't turn fast!
To get a better estimate of the giant’s movement, the new study modeled a typical complete T. rex skeleton, which probably weighed between about 13,000 and 17,000 pounds, and estimated its center of mass and the inertia, or resistance to movement, that it would have had when the animal turned or pivoted.
The center of mass is important to consider because two animals with similar weights may move in different ways depending on how their mass is distributed. For example, an elephant’s four tree trunk-like legs keep its center of mass over its feet, while T. rex would have had to balance its mass differently over its two small legs, bending them to keep from toppling over.
The model results, detailed in the June 21 issue of the Journal of Theoretical Biology, also showed that T. rex would have had considerable inertia preventing it from turning quickly; a 45-degree turn would have taken one or two seconds—far longer than for a human.
These calculations lend further support to previous research indicating that the large tyrannosaurs could run no faster than 25 mph (and certainly not the 45 mph seen in some movies), because its leg muscles weren’t big enough for fast running.
Well, they say these beasts are extinct, but it never hurts to be prepared. The advice we give for T. rex is the same that applies today when hiking in bear country. Remember, it is not necessary to outrun an angry, charging grizzly bear. You merely have to outrun whoever you're with. So do what we do: steal your companion's shoes!
May I remind you that aerodynamicists proved that bumblebees can’t fly?
Until we have a live T.Rex (not holding my breath, here), we can’t know what a T.Rex can or can’t do. Chickens, recently said to be descendants of T.Rex, are the Wright Flyer of birds–with a larger brain, who knows what they could do. (Probably taste just as good, and feed a bigger family on Sunday.)
I am amused that there is a Journal of Theoretical Biology. There is enough of a demand for theoretical biology that there has to be an entire journal dedicated to it? Unless it comes out annually…?