Life's Devices: The Physical World of Animals and Plants - Paperback

by Steven Vogel (Author), Rob Dunn (Foreword by)

An entertaining and informative book that explores how living things contend with nonbiological reality

Life on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, the properties of air and water, and the behavior of diffusing molecules, yet such physical factors are constraints that drive evolution and offer untold opportunities to creatures of all sizes. In this lively introduction to the science of biomechanics, Steven Vogel invites you to wonder about the design of the plants and animals around us. You will learn why a fish swims more rapidly than a duck can paddle, why healthy trees more commonly uproot than break, how sharks manage with such flimsy skeletons, and why a mouse can easily survive a fall onto any surface from any height. With an illuminating foreword by Rob Dunn, this Princeton Science Library edition of Life's Devices includes examples from every major group of animals and plants along with illustrative problems and suggestions for experiments that require only common household materials.

Author Biography

Steven Vogel (1940-2015) was the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Biology at Duke University. His books include Comparative Biomechanics and Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds (both Princeton). Rob Dunn is the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University. His books include Delicious (Princeton) and Never Home Alone.