Plants And Mechanical Motion

"Beginning with the basics of plant motion, this book explains technologies for translating plant-like movements to new adaptive materials, with explicit reference to helicopter and aeronautic applications."--Publisher description.

Beginning with the basics of plant motion, this book explains technologies for translating plant-like movements to new adaptive materials, with explicit reference to helicopter and aeronautic applications. It intends to assist materials scientists and engineers to initiate research and design in the field of nastic materials and structures.

This text explores the means, processes and mechanisms by which plants change the orientation and juxtapositions of various organs in order to optimize their harvest of energy, and examines the major stumuli which provokes such responses. These interactions are re-described for higher plants through to ferns, fungi and algae, and the text constantly emphasizes the functional significance of particular growth movements to plants in their natural surroundings.

In 1978, when the book Living Systems was published, it contained the prediction that the sciences that were concerned with the biological and social sciences would, in the future, be stated as rigorously as the “hard sciences” that study such nonliving phenomena as temperature, distance, and the interaction of chemical elements. Principles of Quantitative Living Systems Science, the first of a planned series of three books, begins an attempt to fulfill that prediction. The view that living things are similar to other parts of the physical world, differing only in their complexity, was explicitly stated in the early years of the twentieth century by the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy. His ideas could not be published until the end of the war in Europe in the 1940s. Von Bertalanffy was strongly opposed to vitalism, the theory current among biologists at the time that life could only be explained by recourse to a “vital principle” or God. He c- sidered living things to be a part of the natural order, “systems” like atoms and molecules and planetary systems. Systems were described as being made up of a number of interrelated and interdependent parts, but because of the interrelations, the total system became more than the sum of those parts. These ideas led to the development of systems movements, in both Europe and the United States, that included not only biologists but scientists in other fields as well. Systems societies were formed on both continents.

In this book, the Commission of the European Communities presents the proceedings of the Workshop on Solar Central Receiver Projects, held in Varese, I taly , in June 1984. This Workshop was supported by all operators of solar tower power plants around the world and, as a result, these proceedings provide a comprehensive overview of the technology in its current state of development. The Workshop was organized by the Commission of the European Communities in the frame of the second solar energy R&D programme under the responsibility of its Di rectorate-General (X 11) for Science, Research and Development in Brussels. The meeting place, Varese, in Italy, was selected because of its neighbourhood to the Ispra Establishment of the Commission's Joint Research Centre who cooperated in the organization of the Workshop. Solar power plants of the central receiving type have two conflicting characteristics: they employ very simple and classical components but as a system they are of tremendous complexity. It was the hope for rapid progress by using available components that guided the decisions taken in the late seventies to build six large experimental plants: four in Europe, one in Japan and one in the United States. At that time, this technology enjoyed high priority in solar energy R&D around the world. Once the plants were completed, however, it became clear that the technical complexity combined with difficult meteorological conditions at most construction sites made the yields less favourable than anticipated.

One of the most critical requirements for safe and reliable nuclear power plant operations is the availability of competent maintenance personnel. However, just as the nuclear power industry is experiencing a renaissance, it is also experiencing an exodus of seasoned maintenance professionals due to retirement. The perfect guide for engineers just entering the field or experienced maintenance supervisors who need to keep abreast of the latest industry best practices, Nuclear Power Plant Maintenance: Mechanical Systems, Equipment and Safety covers the most common issues faced in day-to-day operations and provides practical, technically proven solutions. The book also explains how to navigate the various maintenance codes, standards and regulations for the nuclear power industry. Discusses 50 common issues faced by engineers in the nuclear power plant field Provides advice for complying with international codes and standards (including ASME) Describes safety classification for systems and components Includes case studies to clearly explain the lessons learned over decades in the nuclear power industry

Chemical reactions and interactions between molecules are commonly considered the basis of life, and thus the biochemical nature of cells and organisms is relatively well recognized. Research conducted in recent years, however, increasingly indicates that physical forces profoundly affect the functioning of life at all levels of its organization. To detect and to respond to such forces, plant cells and plants need to be structured mechanically. This volume focuses on mechanical aspects of plant life. It starts with a consideration of the mechanical integration of supracellular structures and mechanical properties of cellular building blocks to show how the structural integrity of plant cells is achieved and maintained during growth and development. The following chapters reveal how the functioning of integrated plant cells contributes to the mechanical integration of plants, and how the latter are able to detect physical stimuli and to reorganize their own cells in response to them. The mechanical aspects of plant responses to stresses are also presented. Finally, all these aspects are placed in an evolutionary context.