Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. ix, 111 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

1. This book invites biologists to look at their science from the point of view of Newtonian physics. Because biology occupies that range of scale over which Newton's mechanics can account for physical processes to a level of precision appreciably higher than that to which biologists are accustomed, this is an exercise that can yield new insights and a fuller understanding of biological processes. Writing in a clear, accessible style, the author demonstrates the operation of physical laws at all levels, from cellular structures to entire ecosystems. In fact, although ecology might seem an unpromising field for a mechanical approach, it is here that considerations of such Newtonian concepts as mass and rates of flow are most valuable, yielding new information on the constraints to the dynamics and development of integrated systems, including those that contain human populations.
2. Modern biologists, the author contends, see little relationship between physics and biology. In this small, accessible book, Pennycuick (well known for his application of biomechanics to bird flight) challenges them to think about a Newtonian approach to biology. His inspiration was the work of animal physiologist A.V. Hall who, in 1938, advanced the concept that organisms and parts of organisms obey Newtonian mechanics. In six chapters the author demonstrates how physical laws operate at all levels from cells to ecosystems. He introduces and employs the units of Syst`eme Internationale (SI), involving three fundamental quantities of mass, length, and time, in which, for example, the kilogram is a unit of mass, not weight. Using this system, Pennycuick discusses scaling and muscles as engines, provides an enlightening introduction to fractal geometry (important to landscape ecology), and employs a biomechanical approach to ecosystem dynamics that certainly should intrigue ecologists. Like other unorthodox books, this one may be dismissed by ecologists and biologists as irrelevant to their interests. That would be a mistake. They will miss an opportunity to add a new dimension to their thinking about biological and ecological systems. Advanced undergraduate through faculty. R.L. Smith; West Virginia University--Choice Reviews.

Subject

1. Biomechanics
2. Biophysics
3. Animal mechanics
4. Ecology
5. Physiology
6. Veterinary physiology
7. Animal Population Groups > physiology
8. Biomechanical Phenomena
9. Biophysics
10. Environment
11. Physiology
12. Ecology
13. physiology
14. ecology
15. environment (earth sciences concept)
16. Veterinary physiology
17. Animal mechanics
18. Biomechanics
19. Biomechanik
20. Biophysik
21. Afmetingen
22. Gravitatie
23. Biomassa
24. Biophysique
25. Biomécanique
26. Écologie

Contents

1. Newton still rules -- Gravity, frequency, and the method of dimensions -- Muscles as engines -- Scaling -- Fractal objects -- The functioning of ecosystems -- Ecosystems modified by human activities.

Owning institution

1. Princeton University Library

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references (p. [106]-108) and index.