Comparative Biomechanics

by Vogel, Steven

• ISBN13: 9780691112978
• ISBN10: 0691112975
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-04
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Why do you shift from walking to running at a particular speed? How can we predict transition speeds for animals of different sizes? Why must the flexible elastic of arterial walls behave differently than a rubber tube or balloon? How do leaves manage to expose a broad expanse of surface while suffering only a small fraction of the drag of flags in high winds? The field of biomechanics--how living things move and work--hasn't seen a new general textbook in more than two decades. Here a leading investigator and teacher lays out the key concepts of biomechanics using examples drawn from throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. Up-to-date and comprehensive, this is also the only book to give thorough coverage to both major subfields of biomechanics: fluid and solid mechanics. Steven Vogel explains how biomechanics makes use of models and methods drawn from physics and mechanical engineering to investigate a wide range of general questions--from how animals swim and fly and the modes of terrestrial locomotion to the way organisms respond to wind and water currents and the operation of circulatory and suspension-feeding systems. He looks also at the relationships between the properties of biological materials--spider silk, jellyfish jelly, muscle, and more--and their various structural and functional roles. While written primarily for biology majors and graduate students in biology, this text will be useful for physical scientists and engineers seeking a sense of the state of the art of biomechanics and a guide to its rather scattered literature. For a still wider audience, it establishes the basic biological context for such applied areas as ergonomics, orthopedics, mechanical prosthetics, kinesiology, sports medicine, and biomimetics.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
PART ONE Life's Physical Context	1	(90)
1 Preambulations	3	(16)
2 Setting the Stage	19	(24)
3 Size and Scale	43	(22)
4 More Tools	65	(26)
PART TWO Fluids	91	(208)
5 Gases and Liquids: Fluids at Rest	93	(24)
6 Viscosity and the Patterns of Flow	117	(22)
7 The Forces of Flow	139	(26)
8 Fluid Events near Surfaces	165	(22)
9 Where Flows Are Inside	187	(18)
10 More about Circulatory Systems	205	(22)
11 Flows in Small Worlds	227	(18)
12 About Lift	245	(22)
13 Thrust for Flying and Swimming	267	(18)
14 Moving at the Air-Water Interface	285	(14)
PART THREE Solids and Structures	299	(196)
15 A Matter of Materials	301	(24)
16 Biological Materials: Tuning Properties Properly	325	(28)
17 More Complex Materials: Viscoelasticity	353	(12)
18 Simple Structures: Beams, Columns, Shells	365	(24)
19 Less Simple Structural Matters	389	(18)
20 Hydrostatic Structures	407	(16)
21 Structural Systems	423	(20)
22 Achieving Motility	443	(20)
23 Using Muscle: Tuning and Transmissions	463	(14)
24 Getting Around on Land	477	(18)
PART FOUR The Contexts of Biomechanics	495	(24)
25 Loose Ends and Perspectives	497	(22)
List of Symbols	519	(2)
References and Index of Citations	521	(28)
Subject Index	549