Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds

2009-08-24 Science

Author : Steven Vogel
Release : 2009-08-24
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 868/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds by : Steven Vogel

Download or read book Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds written by Steven Vogel. This book was released on 2009-08-24. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

The Soul of All Living Creatures

2014-07-08 Pets

Author : Vint Virga, D.V.M.
Release : 2014-07-08
Genre : Pets
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 875/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Soul of All Living Creatures by : Vint Virga, D.V.M.

Download or read book The Soul of All Living Creatures written by Vint Virga, D.V.M.. This book was released on 2014-07-08. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As profiled in the New York Times Magazine… Based on the author’s twenty-five years of experience as a veterinarian and veterinary behaviorist, The Soul of All Living Creatures delves into the inner lives of animals – from whales, wolves, and leopards to mice, dogs, and cats – and explores the relationships we forge with them. As an emergency room clinician four years out of veterinary school, Dr. Vint Virga had a life-changing experience: he witnessed the power of simple human contact and compassion to affect the recovery of a dog struggling to survive after being hit by a car. Observing firsthand the remarkably strong connection between humans and animals inspired him to explore the world from the viewpoint of animals and taught him to respect the kinship that connects us. With The Soul of All Living Creatures, Virga draws from his decades in veterinary practice to reveal how, by striving to perceive the world as animals do, we can enrich our own appreciation of life, enhance our character, nurture our relationships, improve our communication with others, reorder our values, and deepen our grasp of spirituality. Virga discerningly illuminates basic traits shared by both humans and animals and makes animal behavior meaningful, relevant, and easy to understand. Insightful and eloquent, The Soul of All Living Creatures offers an intimate journey into the lives of our fellow creatures and a thought-provoking promise of what we can learn from spending time with them.

The Life of a Leaf

2012-10-17 Nature

Author : Steven Vogel
Release : 2012-10-17
Genre : Nature
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 398/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Life of a Leaf by : Steven Vogel

Download or read book The Life of a Leaf written by Steven Vogel. This book was released on 2012-10-17. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

Comparative Biomechanics

2013-06-17 Science

Author : Steven Vogel
Release : 2013-06-17
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 826/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Comparative Biomechanics by : Steven Vogel

Download or read book Comparative Biomechanics written by Steven Vogel. This book was released on 2013-06-17. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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

Christianity Exposed

2023-04-06 Religion

Author : G. A. Hedtke
Release : 2023-04-06
Genre : Religion
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 291/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Christianity Exposed by : G. A. Hedtke

Download or read book Christianity Exposed written by G. A. Hedtke. This book was released on 2023-04-06. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity Exposed presents an overall picture of God’s work, plan, and the marrow of Christianity, supported by the Bible without religion’s interference. Perspectives of disharmony and love may touch a reader’s emotions, and they can empathize with story situations, social problems, and world problems. Perceptions about how the world operates are enhanced. This book traces mankind’s development and how God uses nature and evil for his purpose. It questions why God allows evil and pain in this world from numerous outlooks, intending to explain away confusing arguments people may hear that could hinder their understanding or belief. It doesn’t dwell on the specific problems of the world but explains why they exist, to see why the world is as it is. The author presents biblical observations and new descriptions for understanding Christianity. He discusses the spiritual world. The book describes how religion affects Christians’ lives and how they live toward their beliefs. Readers will gain a solid understanding of doctrine and have common questions answered. They will deepen their understanding of how Christianity is a relationship. This is a well-documented, fresh work for Christians that also lets outsiders see what the religion is.

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Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds

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