Steven Vogel Cats' Paws and Catapults (Paperback)
$ 17.74
Description
Further Details Title: Cats' Paws and Catapults Condition: New Subtitle: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People ISBN-10: 0393319903 EAN: 9780393319903 ISBN: 9780393319903 Publisher: WW Norton & Co Format: Paperback Release Date: 03/06/2000 Description: 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 Language: English Country/Region of Manufacture: US Item Height: 211mm Item Length: 140mm Item Width: 25mm Item Weight: 489g Author: Steven Vogel Illustrator: Kathryn K. Davis Contributor: Kathryn K. Davis (Illustrated by) Genre: Science Nature & Math Release Year: 2000 Missing Information? Please contact us if any details are missing and where possible we will add the information to our listing.
