Scaling: Why is Animal Size so Important? - Softcover

Schmidt-Nielsen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521319870 ISBN 13: 9780521319874

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2008

Synopsis

This book is about the importance of animal size. We tend to think of animal function in chemical terms and talk of water, salts, proteins, enzymes, oxygen, energy, and so on. We should not forget, however, that physical laws are equally important, for they determine rates of diffusion and heat transfer, transfer of force and momentum, the strength of structures, the dynamics of locomotion, and other aspects of the functioning of animal bodies. Physical laws provide possibilities and opportunities for an organism, yet they also impose constraints, setting limits to what is physically possible. This book aims to give an understanding of these rules because of their profound implications when we deal with animals of widely different size and scale. The reader will find that the book raises many questions. Remarkable and puzzling information makes it read a little like a detective story, but the last chapter, instead of giving the final solution, neither answers all questions nor provides one great unifying principle.

About this title

Review:

..."a must for teachers who like to add thought-provoking material to lectures or class discussions." The Science Teacher

From the Back Cover:

This book is about importance of animal size. We tend to think of animal function in chemical terms and talk of water, salts, proteins, enzymes, oxygen, energy, and so on. We should not forget, however, that physical laws are equally important, for they determine rates of diffusion and heat transfer, transfer of force and momentum, the strength of structures, the dynamics of locomotion, and other aspects of the functioning of animal bodies. This book aims to give an understanding of these rules because of their implications when we deal with animals of widely different size and scale.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0521319870
• ISBN 13: 9780521319874
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256