You're right, Rob. Beth has pointed out that biomimicry is very prevalent these days in several technology design areas. Materials seems like an obvious place to get inspiration from nature, since there are so many successful ones that have been "invented" which are there for the observing.
You are so right. The (if you will pardon the crude expression) machine we call nature is amazing and quite often has the most efficient process for doing what needs to be done. If you subscribe to the theroy of an original creator, look at the mechanics of people and insects how all the joints work.
I am sure that the first engineer to try and create an artifical knee or hip found that it is not as easy as it looks. The human knee when climbing stairs can be exposed to stress of up to five times the persons weight, and for most of us keep doing that for a very long time. But I digress.
Where applicable we should mimic nature as much as possible. Like the research into creating materials from spider web or silk material. Which is much stronger than the materials we are trying to replace.
That is a good analysis of what is likely to happen. I find it fastenating that there is another fish that can live with the Piranha. Piranha fish eat anything in site.
The item I find interesting is that the fibers are stacked criss-cross and yet the skin stays flexible enough to let the fish swim. I am sure that at this point the people that make bulistic resistant garments are starting to research how this will help them make better products. (I mention this because one of the local law enforcement agenicies had a problem with some of their balistic armor).
I wonder whether the corrugation of the scale surface is a factor for its puncture resistance, aside from helping to keep the scale surface flexible. A piranha tooth (or knife, or anything sharp) penetrates by concentrating force on a small area. When you try to puncture a flexible material with a hard, corrugated surface, the sharp edge slides into the corrugation troughs. Maybe the hard surface cracks there. Then the material bends, causing adjacent corrugation ridges to clamp onto the sharp object, increasing the area in contact and effectively blunting the sharp edge. The tooth may find it harder to cut after penetrating the hard outer layer than before penetration.
I watched the video from your link, Ann. I was hoping to see an actual piranha try to bite down on the scales, but it's just a piranha tooth, not an entire piranha. If they put the piranha vs. arapaima matchup on the television show, River Monsters, they'd probably get some good ratings. I'd watch.
Ann, it's interesting how many of the newly developed materials in your coverage have their beginnings in observing -- then replicating -- what occurs in nature.
Thanks, Dave, for the author info and that book link. Meyers has indeed done several different biomimicry architecture projects. I ran across his work on abalone structure when I wrote the abalone-architecture story:
Alex, Do you know if those FEMA-compliant doors were solid wood, or made from plywood by any chance? The reason I ask is because plywood was used as a metaphor for the way the collagen fibers are stacked in the fish scale architecture. I've also seen it used as a metaphor in other composite architectures I've written about.
Re the moon base, notwithstanding the derision Newt Gingrich got for suggesting it, I would really like to see a return to manned space program. That was a seeder for a lot of technology as well as a lot of tech jobs. And it's intrinsically important stuff, to us engineers, anyway. As for the preppers stuff, yeah, you got it right.
Ohhh, I get it. Like how do you build your storm shelter to withstand a direct hit from a nuclear bomb and what supplies to you need to protect yourself from radiation, chemicals, and biological weapons for generations. until it is safe to come out and rebuild the world.
Interesting stuff. Sort of like the cold war concerns . . . updated.
I had a brother in law that was formerly in the military to protect the troops from biological weapons. His attitude was that, now as a civilian, if there was a major biological or chemical weapon like that released on the public he would not use plastic sheets or duct tape for his house. He said he would walk outside and breathe deeply; so that, he would would expire quickly with a minimum of suffering. His opinion was that a private person's counter-efforts would not save them, just have them die more slowly and painfully. Morbid, but probably correct.
Sounds like the only solution is to keep the event from happening or be far enough away from the action . . . perhaps on a moon base?
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Researchers at MIT and Sandia National Labs have observed a reaction in lithium-air batteries that could help improve the design of these cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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