Cats' Paws and Catapults

Cats' Paws and Catapults by Steven Vogel

Nature and humans build their devices with the same earthly materials and use them in the same air and water, pulled by the same gravity. Why, then, do their designs diverge so sharply? Humans, for instance, love right angles, while nature's angles are rarely right and usually rounded. Our technology goes around on wheels—and on rotating pulleys, gears, shafts, and cams—yet in nature only the tiny propellers of bacteria spin as true wheels. Our hinges turn because hard parts slide around each other, whereas nature's hinges (a rabbit's ear, for example) more often swing by bending flexible materials. In this marvelously surprising, witty book, Steven Vogel compares these two mechanical worlds, introduces the reader to his field of biomechanics, and explains how the nexus of physical law, size, and convenience of construction determine the designs of both people and nature. "This elegant comparison of human and biological technology will forever change the way you look at each."—Michael LaBarbera, American Scientist

Steven Vogel (1940—2015) was James B. Duke Professor of Biology at Duke University. He was a prolific author of popular works on the intersection of physics and biology such as Cats' Paws and Catapults and Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780393319903
ISBN 10	0393319903
Titel	Cats' Paws and Catapults
Autor	Steven Vogel
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	WW Norton & Co
Erscheinungsjahr	2000-03-06
Seitenanzahl	384
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.