This book presents a physicist's view of life. The primary life functions of animals, such as eating, growing, reproducing and getting around all depend on motion: Motion of materials through the body, motion of limbs and motion of the entire body through water, air and on land. These activities are driven by internal information stored in the genes or in the brain and by external information transmitted by the senses. This book models these life functions with the tools of physics. It will appeal to all scientists, from the undergraduate level upwards, who are interested in the role played by physics in the animal kingdom.
Zoological Physics presents a physicist's view of life. The primary life functions of animals, such as eating, growing, reproducing and getting around all depend on motion: Motion of food into the organism, motion of materials through the body, motion of limbs and motion of the entire body through water, air, and on land.
These activities are controlled by internal information stored in the genes or generated in the brain and by external information gathered by the senses: predominantly eyes and ears. This book models these life functions with the tools of physics. It is aimed at students of life science, engineering and physics, but will also appeal to other readers with a general interest in animals.
Life: Information, Matter, and Energy.- Energy and Temperature.- Form and Forces.- Fluids in the Body.- Animals in Motion.- Locomotion.- Waves, the Carriers of Information.- Light, Abundant Information.- Sound.- Body Electronics and Magnetic Senses.- Better Physics: The Trifle of Difference.
