Slashdot Mirror
A Unified Theory of Animal Locomotion
Roland Piquepaille writes "You probably already know that there is a master equation for all life processes based on metabolism. Now, physicists from Duke University have applied the so-called 'constructal theory' to explain how running, flying and swimming modes of locomotion are similar even if they're apparently unrelated. This single unifying physics theory explains how fast animals get from one place to another and how rapidly and forcefully they step, flap or paddle in relation to their mass. In other words, these scientists argue that the characteristics of animal shape and locomotion are predictable from physics."
What about a liger?
It's pretty much my favorite animal.
...they've come up with A Unified Theory of Female Behavior. Meanwhile, back to yanking another one off.
Evolutionarily, one of the constraints on what features are successful is the physical ruleset. If the feature is to be successful, to some degree it must work reliably and efficiently within the rules of physics.
That said, we have discovered solutions for locomotion that take better advantage of physics principles than those developed by life. Rotary motion, almost entirely missing from biology, is the basis for some of our simplest and most efficient devices, such as the wheel and the screw. If such methods are better, why has no animal evolved them?