Glimpses of creatures in their physical worlds
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Glimpses of creatures in their physical worlds
Princeton University Press, c2009
- : hbk
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
"Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds" offers an eye-opening look into how the characteristics of the physical world drive the designs of animals and plants. These characteristics impose limits but also create remarkable and subtle opportunities for the functional biology of organisms. In particular, Steven Vogel examines the size and scale, and trade-offs among different physical processes. He pays attention to how the forms and activities of animals and plants reflect the materials available to nature, and he explores the unique constraints and possibilities provided by fluid flow, structural design, and environmental forces. Each chapter of the book investigates a facet of the physical world, including the drag on small projectiles; the importance of diffusion and convection; the size-dependence of acceleration; the storage, conduction, and dissipation of heat; the relationship among pressure, flow, and choice in biological pumps; and how elongate structures tune their relative twistiness and bendiness.
Vogel considers design-determining factors all too commonly ignored, and builds a bridge between the world described by physics books and the reality experienced by all creatures. "Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds" contains a wealth of accessible information related to functional biology, and requires little more than a basic background in secondary-school science and mathematics. Drawing examples from creatures of land, air, and water, the book demonstrates the many uses of biological diversity and how physical forces impact biological organisms.
Table of Contents
Preface vii Chapter One: Two Ways to Move Material 1 Chapter Two: The Bioballistics of Small Projectiles 18 Chapter Three: Getting Up to Speed 39 Chapter Four: Moving Heat Around 58 Chapter Five: Maintaining Temperature 80 Chapter Six: Gravity and Life in the Air 95 Chapter Seven: Gravity and Life on the Ground 116 Chapter Eight: Gravity and Life in Water 141 Chapter Nine: Making and Maintaining Liquid Water 164 Chapter Ten: Pumping Fluids through Conduits 184 Chapter Eleven: To Twist or Bend When Stressed 209 Chapter Twelve: Keeping Up Upward and Down Downward 232 List of Symbols 259 References and Index of Citations 263 Index 289
by "Nielsen BookData"
