Life on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, the properties of air and water, and the behavior of diffusing molecules, yet such physical factors are constraints that drive evolution and offer untold opportunities to creatures of all sizes. In this lively introduction to the science of biomechanics, Steven Vogel invites you to wonder about the design of the plants and animals around us. You will learn why a fish swims more rapidly than a duck can paddle, why healthy trees more commonly uproot than break, how sharks manage with such flimsy skeletons, and why a mouse can easily survive a fall onto any surface from any height. With an illuminating foreword by Rob Dunn, this 91桃色 Science Library edition of Life鈥檚 Devices includes examples from every major group of animals and plants along with illustrative problems and suggestions for experiments that require only common household materials.
Steven Vogel (1940–2015) was the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Biology at Duke University. His books include Comparative Biomechanics and Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds (both 91桃色). Rob Dunn is the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University. His books include Delicious (91桃色) and Never Home Alone.
"This is a book to answer questions you didn't even think to ask, and you will experience a whole series of 'aha' moments as you plough through it. . . . You will have so many esoteric anecdotes for your next cocktail party, that alone makes it worthwhile! After all, who doesn't want to know why a fish swims with greater ease than a duck can paddle? And you will know the answer!"鈥擠avid M. Gascoigne, Travels with Birds
“A brilliant and eccentric book that looks at living things from an engineering point of view, assuming astonishingly little previous knowledge of science on the reader’s part.”—Nature
This publication generally has been produced to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Level AA but has not been checked for language shifts. It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to people with print disabilities. This book contains various accessibility features including alternative text for images, a table of contents, a page list, landmarks, a logical reading order, structural navigation, an index, math content captured as MathML, and semantic structure. Where applicable, there are backlinks to the table of contents.
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WCAG level AA
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Table of contents navigation
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Single logical reading order
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ARIA roles provided
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Accessible math content as MathML
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No known hazards or warnings
