Download or read book Concepts of functional engineering and constructional morphology biomechanical approaches on fossil and recent organisms written by Mathias Gutmann and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Concepts of Functional Engineering and Constructional Morphology written by Sven Baszio and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do living organisms have the designs (and especially the skeletons) that they actually possess? Is it possible, and legitimate, to infer from the fossilised remains of a long-dead creature how it functioned as a living system, with all the components operating together in harmony? Some 40 years ago there was an often stated view that studies of functional morphology in fossil animals could never be more than clever speculation. Yet as time went by, it became increasingly clear that functional interpretations, when carried out in the right way, were indeed a proper field for study in palaeontology, and that animal skeletons, of almost any kind, could yield definitive information about how their bearers had lived. We need first to consider the origins of animal skeletons. There are two important factors here. The first is contingency, in other words the 'accidents of history'', which established suites of body plans which could subsequently be modified in different ways. Yet as ROGER THOMAS and WOLF-ERNST REIF pointed out in their 'Skeleton-Space'' model (1993), there are confining physico-chemical constratints which thereafter determine evolutionary pathways. There are, in fact, only a limited number of ways in which a skeleton can be functional, as determined by the properties of the material of which it is constructed, constraints upon growth and development, and the requirement for its component parts to function in terms of the whole organism. In consequence "the discovery of 'good'' designs  those that are viable and that can be constructed with available materials  was inevitable, and in principle predictable ... the recurring designs we observed are attractors, orderly and stable configurations of matter that must necessarily emerge in the course of evolution" (THOMAS & REIF 1993). Where then, with this in mind, do we proceed from here? Amongst compendia regarding form and function in fossils, we have the recent Functional Morphology of the Invertebrate Skeleton (1999), a fine collection of 43 papers edited by ENRICO SAVAZZI. Here one finds both specialised case histories and encompassing reviews, dealing with many kinds of invertebrate, and very useful it is regarding the various ways in which invertebrate palaeontologists study their fossils as living organisms. But the present volume is something different, for it encapsulates the refreshingly individual approach which has emerged in Germany over the last several years, most vigorously articulated by MICHAEL GUDO and his colleagues at the Senckeneberg Institute, Frankfurt am Main. Their basic concept is that the structural and functional constraints on living organisms can best be interpreted in terms of engineering analogues. Mechanical engineering, after all is about how machines are constructed and how they work, and there are simple analogues all around us. Consider, for a moment the evident correspondence between the claw of a crab and a pair of pincers, or an arthropod limb and the arm of a mechanical digger. There are surely many useful insights to be derived from an understanding of engineering principles, and the research papers collected in the present volume are a testament to the vigour of this approach. For herein we find not only concepts, but also tools and techniques in common use in engineering applied to biomechanics; computer-aided design and tomography, landmark analysis, Finite Element Analysis, and CAT-scans. Such tools give a much greater objectivity to analysis of function, for it is true enough, as Carpenter comments in this volume, that 'theoretical models are often tainted with preconcieved ideas''. There are thirty papers in five sections, each of which consists of several papers, and at the beginning of each section is an explanatory introduction and summary. Section 1, Functional morphology and biomechanics. Following introductory comments by GUDO et al., there are six papers all concerned with vertebrates, and especially dinosaurs. T
Download or read book Constructional Morphology and Evolution written by Norbert Schmidt-Kittler and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Constructional morphology explains features of organisms from a constructional and functional point of view. By means of physical analysis it explains the operational aspects of organic structures - how they can perform the activities organisms are expected to fulfil in order to survive in their environment. Constructional morphology also explains options and constraints during the evolution determined by internal constructional needs, ontogenetic demands, inherited organizational preconditions and environmental clues.
Download or read book Concepts and Values in Biodiversity written by Dirk Lanzerath and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-01-23 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biodiversity may refer to the diversity of genes, species or ecosystems in general. These varying concepts of biodiversity occasionally lead to conflicts among researchers and policy makers, as each of them require a customized type of protection strategy. This book addresses the questions surrounding the merits of conserving an existing situation, evolutionary development or the intentional substitution of one genome, species or ecosystem for another. Any practical steps towards the protection of biodiversity demand a definition of that which is to be protected and, in turn, the motivations for protecting biodiversity. Is biodiversity a necessary model which is also useful, or does it carry intrinsic value? Debates like this are particularly complex when interested parties address it from different conceptual and moral perspectives. Comprised of three parts, each complemented by a short introductory paragraph, this collection presents a variety of approaches to this challenge. The chapters cover the perspectives of environmental scientists with expertise in evolutionary, environmental biology, systematic zoology and botany, as well as those of researchers with expertise in philosophy, ethics, politics, law and economics. This combination facilitates a truly interdisciplinary debate by highlighting hitherto unacknowledged implications that inform current academic and political debates on biodiversity and its protection. The book should be of interest to students and researchers of environment studies, biodiversity, environmental philosophy, ethics and management.
Download or read book Robo and Informationethics written by Michael Decker and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2012 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robo- and Informationethics is a new field of applied ethics, which currently undergoes some fascinating and fundamental transformations: the emergence of new types of robotic technologies, such as autonomous systems and artificial agents, which generate serious threats to the understanding of human beings as the only strictly autonomously acting entities. This book focuses on some of the most pressing methodological, ethical, and technique-philosophical questions that are connected with the concept of artificial autonomous systems. (Series: Hermeneutics and Anthropology / Hermeneutik und Anthropologie - Vol. 3)
Download or read book Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from the Western Interior written by Spencer G. Lucas and published by New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 427 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Anthology of Structural Morphology written by Rene Motro and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2009 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The structural morphology working group of the International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures, founded in 1991, has helped to launch several international seminars, newsletters and specific sessions of international conferences devoted to structural morphology. This book contains papers that have been selected either for their fundamental contribution to structural morphology or for their actual pertinence in the field. Polyhedral geometry, double-curved surfaces, biological structures, foldable systems, form-finding techniques, and free form design are some of the topics included in the contents of this book. The work presented in this book is the result of more than 15 years of study by researchers, engineers, mathematicians, and architects, who thought that conceptual design would benefit from the association of separate fields (geometry, biology, and mechanics) in a holistic process. Every aspect of structural morphology is illustrated by one or more chapters of the book. As far as we know, there are few books OCo perhaps none OCo that gather all aspects of structural morphology, even if, for instance, there are many books on the geometry of polyhedra. Furthermore, readers will have access to a large list of selected references, which will open the scope of their bibliography. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: The First 13 Years of Structural Morphology Group OCo A Personal View (2,623 KB). Contents: The First 13 Years of Structural Morphology Group OCo A Personal View (T Wester); An Approach to Structural Morphology (R Motro); The Structural Morphology of Curved Diaphragms OCo Or the Structural Behavior of Floral Polyhedra (T Wester); Polyhedroids (P Huybers); Novational Transformations (H Nooshin et al.); Some Structural-Morphological Aspects of Deployable Structures for Space Enclosures (A Hanaor); Phantasy in Space: On Human Feeling Between the Shapes of the World and How to Look on Natural Structures (M Balz); An Expandable Dodecahedron (K Flriin & T Tabor); Examples of Geometrical Reverse Engineering: Designing from Models and/or Under Geometrical Constraints (K Linkwitz); Crystalline Architecture (A L Loeb); Flat Grids Designs Employing the Swivel Diaphragm (C Rodriguez et al.); Form Optimizing in Biological Structures OCo The Morphology of Sea Shells (E Stach); Expandable OCyBlobOCO Structures (F Jensen & S Pellegrino). Readership: Advanced undergraduates and graduate students in mechanics, civil engineering, architecture and design; architects; engineers."
Download or read book Theoretical Morphology written by George R. McGhee and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: McGhee describes the steps involved in defining the geometric parameters (theoretical morphospaces) for an organic form in order to generate a spectrum of other possible forms that have never actually appeared. The book also addresses the simulation of actual processes of morphogenesis, with the goal of attaining a more nuanced comprehension of how evolutionary processes work. The book covers theoretical morphospaces, including those for univalved, bivalved, discrete, and branching growth systems.
Download or read book Design Nature V written by Angelo Carpi and published by WIT Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 625 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the onward march of science and technology, and the continuing quest for improvement, there is a growing curiosity about the world around us. Close examination of structures in nature can be rewarding and surprising Nature has shown an extraordinary capacity to develop dynamic structures and systems over many millions of years and there is still much to be learnt. Aimed at providing researchers in this subject with fresh impetus and inspiration, this book consists of papers presented at the Fifth International Conference on Design and Nature. The contributions reflect the rich variety of work currently taking place around the world and cover the following topics: Nature and Architecture; Mechanics in Nature; Natural Materials and Processing; Solutions from Nature; Biomimetics; Biomimetics and Bioinspiration; Biocapacity; Education in Design and Nature, and Helical Design in Nature.
Download or read book Introduction to Design Engineering written by W. Ernst Eder and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2010-04-14 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designing engineering products technical systems and/or transformation processes requires a range of information, know-how, experience, and engineering analysis, to find an optimal solution. Creativity and open-mindedness can be greatly assisted by systematic design engineering, which will ultimately lead to improved outcomes, documentatio
Download or read book Design Engineering written by W. Ernst Eder and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2007-07-09 with total page 630 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As with any art, science, or discipline, natural talent is only part of the equation. Consistent success stems from honing your skills, cultivating good techniques, and hard work. Design engineering, a field often considered an intuitive process not amenable to scientific investigation, is no exception. Providing descriptive theory, broad context,
Download or read book Senckenbergiana biologica written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Biodental Engineering V written by Jorge Belinha and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2019-02-13 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dentistry is a branch of medicine with its own particularities and very different fields of action, and is generally regarded as an interdisciplinary field. The use of new technologies is currently the main driving force for the series of international conferences on Biodental Engineering (BIODENTAL). BIODENTAL ENGINEERING V contains the full papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Biodental Engineering (BIODENTAL 2018, Porto, Portugal, 22-23 June 2018). The conference had two workshops, one of them dealing with computational imaging combined with finite element method, the other dealing with bone tissue remodelling models. Additionally, the conference had three special sessions and sixty contributed presentations. The topics discussed in BIODENTAL ENGINEERING V include: Aesthetics Bioengineering Biomaterials Biomechanical disorders Biomedical devices Computational bio- imaging and visualization Computational methods Dental medicine Experimental mechanics Signal processing and analysis Implantology Minimally invasive devices and techniques Orthodontics Prosthesis and orthosis Simulation Software development Telemedicine Tissue engineering Virtual reality The purpose of the series of BIODENTAL Conferences on Biodental Engineering, initiated in 2009, is to perpetuate knowledge on bioengineering applied to dentistry, by promoting a comprehensive forum for discussion on recent advances in related fields in order to identify potential collaboration between researchers and end-users from different sciences.
Download or read book Biomimetic Research for Architecture and Building Construction written by Jan Knippers and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-12-19 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book comprises a first survey of the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 ‘Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture’, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft since October 2014. The SFB-TRR 141 provides a collaborative framework for architects and engineers from the University of Stuttgart, biologists and physicists from the University of Freiburg and geoscientists and evolutionary biologists from the University of Tübingen. The programm is conceptualized as a dialogue between the disciplines and is based on the belief that that biomimetic research has the potential to lead everyone involved to new findings far beyond his individual reach. During the last few decades, computational methods have been introduced into all fields of science and technology. In architecture, they enable the geometric differentiation of building components and allow the fabrication of porous or fibre-based materials with locally adjusted physical and chemical properties. Recent developments in simulation technologies focus on multi-scale models and the interplay of mechanical phenomena at various hierarchical levels. In the natural sciences, a multitude of quantitative methods covering diverse hierarchical levels have been introduced. These advances in computational methods have opened a new era in biomimetics: local differentiation at various scales, the main feature of natural constructions, can for the first time not only be analysed, but to a certain extent also be transferred to building construction. Computational methodologies enable the direct exchange of information between fields of science that, until now, have been widely separated. As a result they lead to a new approach to biomimetic research, which, hopefully, contributes to a more sustainable development in architecture and building construction.
Download or read book Building Construction Design From Principle to Detail written by José Luis Moro and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 1264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Organisms Genes and Evolution written by Dieter Stefan Peters and published by Franz Steiner Verlag. This book was released on 2000 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aus dem Inhalt: Peter Janich: Where does biology get its objects from? Mathias Gutmann: The status of organism: Towards a constructivist theory of organism Walter Bock: Explanations in a historical science Christine Hertler: Organism and morphology: Methodological differences between functional and constructional morphology Dominique G. Homberger: Similarities and differences: The distinctive approaches of systematics and comparative anatomy towards homology and analogy Raphael Falk: The organism as a necessary entity of evolution Franz M. Wuketits: The organism's place in evolution: Darwin's views and contemporary organismic theories Christian Kummer: The development of organismic structure and the philosophy behind Guiseppe Sermonti: The butterfly and the lion Harald Riedl: Organism - Ecosystem - Biosphere: Some comments on the organismic concept Sievert Lorenzen: How to advance from the theory of natural selection towards the General Theory of Self-Organization Antonio Lima-de-Faria: The evolutionary periodicity of flight Hans-Rainer Duncker: The evolution of avian ontogenies: Determination of molecular evolution by integrated complex functional systems and ecological conditions Winfried Stefan Peters & Bernd Herkner: An outline of a theory of the constructional constraints governing early organismic evolution Werner E. G. Mueller e.a.: Monophyly of Metazoa: Phylogenetic analyses of genes encoding SerThr-kinases and a receptor Tyr-kinase from Porifera [sponges] Karl Edlinger: The evolution of the mollusc construction: Living organisms as energy-transforming systems Michael Gudo: A structural-functional approach to the soft bodies of rugose corals.
Download or read book The Triassic Jurassic Terrestrial Transition written by Jerry D. Harris and published by New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 614 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
