0:05:50 > 0:05:57.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Welcome to Science Fiction,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09the show which scratches at the darkest corners of science...
0:06:09 > 0:06:12And attempts to flood them with light.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14BUD E, tell us what's on the roster today.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Wargh! Argh! Today's question is from Joel in Seoul.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26That's a load of rubbish, Joel. I have an aunt in Dublin.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30- She's as weak as water. - No, silly, the insects!
0:06:30 > 0:06:33Ants live in well-organised communities, or colonies.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Within each colony, there's a queen, a male ant,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40and worker ants who do most of the actual labour -
0:06:40 > 0:06:42hunting, building, looking after the queen.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Ironing the underpants, making the lunches, Hoovering.
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Sure, you'd never be finished.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Ah, but really, Doctor, can they lift 50 times their own weight?
0:06:51 > 0:06:53That'd be like me trying to lift a bus.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Well, here's the thing, Professor.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Ants' muscles aren't actually any stronger than ours.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00It's all to do with their size.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Oh, go on. I'm all ears.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Basically, the smaller the creature,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07the more it will be able to lift, relative to its own size.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It's all about the physics.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11So, like, a tiny ant could lift a load of other ants,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14but an elephant couldn't lift another elephant,
0:07:14 > 0:07:15is that what you mean?
0:07:15 > 0:07:18Exactly. And we could do the same if we were that small.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- That's brilliant, that is! - So there you have it, Joel.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23The ant can, indeed, lift 50 times its own weight.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26And that's no science fiction, that's a fact. Bye!
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Dr Knowles, did you ever get ants in your pants?
0:07:32 > 0:07:34I did once when I was in France.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35Purely by chance. Ha-ha!
0:07:35 > 0:07:37It was fierce itchy, all the same.