Mechanics of swimming and flying / Stephen Childress.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Childress, Stephen.

Series:

Cambridge studies in mathematical biology ; 2.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Animal flight--Mathematical models.

Animal flight.

Animal swimming--Mathematical models.

Animal swimming.

Fluid dynamics--Mathematical models.

Fluid dynamics.

Navier-Stokes equations.

Physical Description:

x, 155 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1981.

Summary:

This book provides a clear and concise summary of the fluid dynamics of the locomotion of living organisms. The biological phenomena described in detail range from the swimming of bacteria and fish to the flying of insects and birds. The breadth of treatment requires the study of two basic fluid-dynamical regimes. In the first case, that of small organisms, the viscosity of the fluid is paramount in deciding the most effective swimming strategy. However, for larger insects, birds, and most fish, the viscosity of the air or water may be treated as if it were zero, and resulting mechanisms of propulsion are very different. Both these types are studied, with emphasis on the unsteady characters of natural movements.

Written for the advanced student, this volume assumes familiarity with basic fluid mechanics, although some elementary topics are included. It will be readily accessible to students of applied mathematics and biologists who have engineering or physics backgrounds.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages 149-152.

ISBN:

0521236134

OCLC:

6708891