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Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393352951
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388
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Book Description
"Full of ideas and well-explained principles that will bring new understanding of everyday things to both scientists and non-scientists alike."—R. McNeill Alexander, Nature 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
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393352951
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388
Get Book Here
Book Description
"Full of ideas and well-explained principles that will bring new understanding of everyday things to both scientists and non-scientists alike."—R. McNeill Alexander, Nature 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
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691138060
Category : Biology
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
This book investigates facets 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. It considers design-determining factors and builds a bridge between the world described by physics books and the reality experienced by all creatures.
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195082699
Category : Cardiovascular system
Languages : en
Pages : 328
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Book Description
Why does dust collect on the blades of a fan? Why should you wear support hose on a long airplane flight? Vogel ranges across physics, fluid mechanics, and chemistry to show how an enormous system of pumps and pipes works to keep the human body functioning. Anyone curious about the workings of the body will want to read this book. 64 line drawings.
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226859398
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
In its essence, science is a way of looking at and thinking about the world. In The Life of a Leaf, Steven Vogel illuminates this approach, using the humble leaf as a model. Whether plant or person, every organism must contend with its immediate physical environment, a world that both limits what organisms can do and offers innumerable opportunities for evolving fascinating ways of challenging those limits. Here, Vogel explains these interactions, examining through the example of the leaf the extraordinary designs that enable life to adapt to its physical world. In Vogel’s account, the leaf serves as a biological everyman, an ordinary and ubiquitous living thing that nonetheless speaks volumes about our environment as well as its own. Thus in exploring the leaf’s world, Vogel simultaneously explores our own. A companion website with demonstrations and teaching tools can be found here: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/sites/vogel/index.html
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400847826
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 639
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Book Description
The classic textbook on comparative biomechanics—revised and expanded Why do you switch from walking to running at a specific speed? Why do tall trees rarely blow over in high winds? And why does a spore ejected into air at seventy miles per hour travel only a fraction of an inch? Comparative Biomechanics is the first and only textbook that takes a comprehensive look at the mechanical aspects of life—covering animals and plants, structure and movement, and solids and fluids. An ideal entry point into the ways living creatures interact with their immediate physical world, this revised and updated edition examines how the forms and activities of animals and plants reflect the materials available to nature, considers rules for fluid flow and structural design, and explores how organisms contend with environmental forces. Drawing on physics and mechanical engineering, Steven Vogel looks at how animals swim and fly, modes of terrestrial locomotion, organism responses to winds and water currents, circulatory and suspension-feeding systems, and the relationship between size and mechanical design. He also investigates links between the properties of biological materials—such as spider silk, jellyfish jelly, and muscle—and their structural and functional roles. Early chapters and appendices introduce relevant physical variables for quantification, and problem sets are provided at the end of each chapter. Comparative Biomechanics is useful for physical scientists and engineers seeking a guide to state-of-the-art biomechanics. For a wider audience, the textbook establishes the basic biological context for applied areas—including ergonomics, orthopedics, mechanical prosthetics, kinesiology, sports medicine, and biomimetics—and provides materials for exhibit designers at science museums. Problem sets at the ends of chapters Appendices cover basic background information Updated and expanded documentation and materials Revised figures and text Increased coverage of friction, viscoelastic materials, surface tension, diverse modes of locomotion, and biomimetics
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691024189
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384
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Book Description
Describes how living things bump up against nonbiological reality.
Author: Josh Donald
Publisher: Chronicle Books
ISBN: 1452163219
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 259
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Book Description
Sharp is a knife skills class in book form and an introduction to the best knives you can buy from all over the world. From a premier knife purveyor and go-to knives expert, this comprehensive guide details the elements of buying and caring for good knives, including sharpening and knife skills. Step-by-step instructions and photography cover a range of techniques with 15 recipes from great chefs—including Stuart Brioza of State Bird Provisions and Melissa Perello of Frances—which feature all the cuts that mark an accomplished cook. Sharply packaged with a textured cover, a foil spine, and more than 150 striking photographs of knifemakers, coveted knives, and beautiful food, this is the cookbook, handbook, and visual journey for anyone wanting to hone their skills in the kitchen.
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393324631
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388
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Book Description
Whether we blink an eye or throw a ball, we are using a muscle. This text discusses how form and performance make these things happen - illustrating nature at work.
Author: Steven Vogel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380
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Book Description
Both a landmark text and reference book, Steven Vogel's Life in Moving Fluids has also played a catalytic role in research involving the applications of fluid mechanics to biology. In this revised edition, Vogel continues to combine humor and clear explanations as he addresses biologists and general readers interested in biological fluid mechanics, offering updates on the field over the last dozen years and expanding the coverage of the biological literature. His discussion of the relationship between fluid flow and biological design now includes sections on jet propulsion, biological pumps, swimming, blood flow, and surface waves, and on acceleration reaction and Murray's law. This edition contains an extensive bibliography for readers interested in designing their own experiments.
Author: Laura Levine
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ISBN: 1496728157
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 229
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Book Description
The latest in acclaimed TV comedy writer and novelist Laura Levine’s witty, lighthearted mystery series featuring Hollywood-based freelance writer Jaine Austen and her snarky cat, Prozac—a laugh-out-loud read for fans of Joanne Fluke, Miranda James, and Laura Childs. Uber-stylist Bebe Braddock plans to juice up her Instagram feed and thinks Jaine would make a perfect “Before & After” model. At Lance’s insistence Jaine is ushered into Bebe’s sprawling Brentwood spread to await her transformation. Yet, while the surroundings are glamorous, the atmosphere is toxic as Bebe bullies her team of assistants, and even her husband, into obeying her every whim. Having earned the wrath of everyone in her orbit, few are shocked when Bebe is found strangled with one of her detested wire hangers. But Jaine’s prints are all over the murder weapon, making her a prime suspect. The police, however, aren’t the only ones showing interest in her—so is Justin, Bebe’s very cute, very young personal assistant. While Jaine navigates a cougar-style romance, Prozac is mistakenly hailed as a feline hero and catapults into internet fame. Still, there are more urgent matters at hand than Prozac’s swelling ego. Unless Jaine can track down Bebe’s killer and clear her own name, the only new outfit she’ll be modeling is an orange prison jumpsuit . . . “As always, Levine’s spunky heroine gets the last laugh.” —Kirkus Reviews “For lovers of the zany this is a sure thing.” —Booklist
