Biomimetics

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http://www.harunyahya.com/articles/70biomimetics.html

 

Biomimetics: Drawing Inspiration From the Design in Living Things

HARUN YAHYA

 

There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies,

from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for

drinkers to swallow. (Qur’an, 16:66)

 

And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to

drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you

benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed on them

and on ships as well. (Qur’an, 23:21-22)

 

Before scientists and research and development experts embark on new

projects, they usually look for models in living things and imitate their

systems and designs. In other words, they see and study the designs created

in nature by Allah and, inspired by these, go on to develop their own new

technologies.

 

This approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science that

seeks to imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of science has

come to be widely applied in the world of technology. The use of the word

“ibratan,” (to learn from, advice, importance, important thing, or model) in

the above verses is most wise in this regard.

 

Biomimetics refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms, and

systems that people produce in order to imitate the systems present in

nature. The scientific community currently feels a great need for the use of

such equipment, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology, robot

technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, and the military.

 

Biomimicry was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and

scientific observer from Montana. This concept was later analysed by many

other people and began to find applications. Some of the comments made

regarding biomimicry are as follows:

 

The theme of "biomimicry" is that we have much to learn from the natural

world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in common

is a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use them to solve

human problems. 1

 

David Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that uses

nature to increasing product quality and productivity, says:

 

Nature is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of life.

Nature's system has worked for millions of years ¬ Biomimicry is a way of

learning from nature. 2

 

Scientists who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated their

studies by using nature’s incomparable and flawless designs as models. These

designs represent models for technological research, for they provide the

maximum productivity for the least amount of materials and energy, and are

self-maintaining, environmentally friendly, silent, aesthetically

attractive, resistant, and long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper

described biomimetics as “a scientific movement” and made the following

comment:

 

By using natural systems as models, we can create technologies that are more

sustainable than those in use today. 3

 

Janine M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be imitated,

gave the following examples in her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by

Nature (Perennial: 2002):

 

• Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one tenth of

an ounce) of fuel,

• Dragonflies outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,

• Heating and air-conditioning systems in termite mounds are superior in

terms of equipment and energy consumption to those made by human beings,

• A bat’s high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive than

our own radar systems,

• Light-emitting algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,

• Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having

protected their organs from ice damage,

• Chameleons and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend

instantly with their surroundings,

• Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and

• Whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.

 

These astonishing mechanisms and designs in nature, of which we have cited

only a few, have the potential to enrich technology in a wide range of

fields. This potential is becoming ever more obvious as our accumulated

knowledge and technological means increase.

 

All animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have the

ideal hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water, and others

employ senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these are features

that researchers have encountered for the first time, or, rather, that they

have only recently discovered. On occasion, it is necessary to bring

together prominent scientists from such fields as computer technology,

mechanical engineering, electronics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and

biology in order to imitate just one feature of a living thing.

 

Scientists are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures and

systems they are discovering with every passing day, and use that amazement

to inspire themselves to produce new technologies for humanity’s benefit.

Realising that the existing perfect systems and extraordinary techniques

applied in nature are far superior to their own knowledge and intellect,

they became aware of these matchless solutions to existing problems and are

now resorting to the designs in nature to resolve problems that have eluded

them for years. As a result, they will perhaps achieve success in a very

short time. Moreover, by imitating nature, scientists are making very

important gains with regard to time and labour and also to the targeted use

of material resources.

 

Today we see the developing technology gradually discovering the miracles of

creation and using the extraordinary designs in living things, as in the

case of biomimetics, in the service of humanity. Benyus has stated that

“‘Doing it nature's way’ has the potential to change the way we grow food,

make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and

conduct business.” 4 The following are just a few of the many scientific

papers to have considered such subjects:

 

“Science is Imitating Nature,” 5

“Life's Lessons in Design,” 6

“Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” 7

“Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature,” 8

“Biomimicry: Genius That Surrounds Us,” 9

“Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints,” 10 and

“Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice.” 11

 

In the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic terms.

Artists and architects of that time were influenced by nature and used

examples of the structures’ external appearances in their works. Yet the

realisation of nature’s extraordinary designs and that these could be used

to benefit human beings only began in the twentieth century with the study

of natural mechanisms at the molecular level. Scientists today are learning

from living things, as revealed in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago.

 

“To purchase the works of Harun Yahya, please visit www.bookglobal.net.”

 

1- Frederick Pratter, “Stories from the Field Offer Clues on Physics and

Nature,” Christian Science Monitor, www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.

2- “Biomimicry,” www.bfi.org/Trimtab/spring01/biomimicry.htm.

3- Michelle Nijhuis, High Country News, 6 July 1998, vol. 30, no. 13,

www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.

4- “Biomimicry Explained: A Conversation with Janine Benyus,”

www.biomimicry.org/faq.html.

5- Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi (Journal of Science and Technology) (August

1994): 43.

6- Philip Ball, “Life's lessons in design,” Nature 409 (2001): 413-16,

www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v409/n6818/full/409

413a0_fs.html&filetype=&_UserReference=C0A804EF465069D8A41132467E093F0EDE99.

7- “Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,” NBL (New Bottom Line) 6, no.

22, 17 November 1997, www.natlogic.com/resources/nbl/v06/n22.html.

8- Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (New York:

William Morrow and Company, Inc.: 1998),

www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.

9- Ed Hunt, “Biomimicry: Genius that Surrounds Us,” Tidepool editor,

www.biomimicry.org/reviews_text.html.

10- Robin Eisner, “Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's

Blueprints,” The Scientist, 8 July 1991,

www.the-scientist.com/yr1991/july/research_910708.html.

11- Jim Robbins, “Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice,” New York Times,

11 December 2001.