Looking for bionics cases
Flies and spaceships
The annoying flies seem to have nothing to do with the grand aerospace industry, but bionics has closely linked them.
Flies are notorious as "stinky hunters", and they can be found in any smelly and dirty place. Flies have a particularly sensitive sense of smell and can detect odors thousands of meters away. But a fly does not have a "nose", so how does it rely on its sense of smell? It turns out that the fly's "nose" - olfactory receptors are distributed on a pair of antennae on the head.
Each "nose" has only one "nostril" connected to the outside world, which contains hundreds of olfactory nerve cells. If an odor enters the "nostrils", these nerves immediately convert the odor stimulation into nerve electrical impulses and send them to the brain. The brain can distinguish different odor substances based on the differences in the nerve electrical impulses generated by different odor substances. Therefore, the fly's antennae act like a sensitive gas analyzer.
Bionics scientists were inspired by this and imitated a very peculiar small gas analyzer based on the structure and function of the fly's olfactory organ. The "probe" of this instrument is not a metal but a live fly. It is to insert very thin microelectrodes into the olfactory nerves of flies, and amplify the electrical nerve signals guided by electronic circuits and send them to the analyzer; once the analyzer detects the signal of odorous substances, it can sound an alarm. This instrument has been installed in the cockpit of the spacecraft to detect the composition of the gas inside the cabin.
This small gas analyzer can also measure harmful gases in submarines and mines. Using this principle, it can also be used to improve the input device of the computer and the structural principles of the gas chromatography analyzer.
From fireflies to artificial cold light
Since humans invented the electric light, life has become much more convenient and rich. However, electric lamps can only convert a small part of the electrical energy into visible light, and most of the rest is wasted in the form of heat energy, and the heat rays of electric lamps are harmful to human eyes. So, is there a light source that only emits light but does not generate heat? Human beings have turned their attention to nature again.
In nature, there are many organisms that can emit light, such as bacteria, fungi, worms, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and fish, etc., and the light emitted by these animals does not produce heat, so it is It is called "cold light." Among the many luminous animals, fireflies are one of them. There are about 1,500 species of fireflies. The colors of the cold light they emit range from yellow-green to orange, and the brightness of the light also varies. The cold light emitted by fireflies not only has high luminous efficiency, but also the cold light emitted is generally very soft, which is very suitable for human eyes, and the light intensity is relatively high. Therefore, biolight is an ideal light for humans.
Scientists have discovered that fireflies’ light emitters are located on their abdomens. This light emitter consists of three parts: a luminescent layer, a transparent layer and a reflective layer. The luminescent layer contains thousands of luminescent cells, all of which contain luciferin and luciferase. Under the action of luciferase, luciferin combines with oxygen to emit fluorescence with the participation of intracellular water. The glow of fireflies is essentially the process of converting chemical energy into light energy.
As early as the 1940s, people created fluorescent lamps based on research on fireflies, which brought about great changes in human lighting sources. In recent years, scientists first isolated pure luciferin from the light emitters of fireflies, then isolated luciferase, and then used chemical methods to artificially synthesize luciferin. A biological light source mixed with luciferin, luciferase, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and water can be used as a flashlight in mines filled with explosive gas. Since this kind of light has no power source and does not generate a magnetic field, it can be used to clear magnetic mines under the illumination of biological light sources.
Now, people can obtain cold light similar to biological light by mixing certain chemical substances, which can be used as safety lighting.
Electric fish and volt batteries
There are many creatures in nature that can produce electricity, and there are more than 500 species of fish alone. People refer to these fish that can discharge electricity as "electric fish".
Various electric fish have different discharge capabilities. The ones with the strongest discharge ability are electric rays, electric catfish and electric eels. A medium-sized electric ray can produce about 70 volts, while the African electric ray can produce up to 220 volts; the African electric catfish can produce 350 volts; the electric eel can produce 500 volts, and there is a South American electric eel. It can produce voltages up to 880 volts, making it the electric shock champion. It is said that it can kill large animals like horses.
What is the secret of electric fish discharge? After anatomical research on electric fish, it was finally discovered that there is a strange power-generating organ in the body of electric fish. These generators are made of many translucent disc-shaped cells called electroplates or electrodisks. Because there are different types of electric fish, the shape, location, and number of electric panels of the generator are different. The electric eel's generator is prismatic and is located in the muscles on both sides of the tail spine; the electric ray's generator is shaped like a flat kidney, arranged on both sides of the body's midline, with a total of 2 million electric plates; the electric catfish's generator Originating from some kind of gland, located between the skin and muscles, there are about 5 million electrical plates. The voltage generated by a single electric plate is very weak, but because there are many electric plates, the voltage generated is very large.
The extraordinary ability of electric fish has aroused great interest among people. In the early 19th century, the Italian physicist Volta designed the world's earliest Voltaic battery using the electric fish's power-generating organ as a model. Because this battery is designed based on the natural generator of electric fish, it is called an "artificial electric organ." Research on electric fish has also given people this revelation: If the power-generating organ of electric fish can be successfully imitated, then the power problems of ships and submarines can be well solved.
Jellyfish's ears
In nature, jellyfish have been living in seawater as early as 500 million years ago. "But what does the jellyfish have to do with the ear?" People will definitely ask such a question. Because before a storm comes, jellyfish will swim to the sea in groups, which indicates that the storm is coming. But what does this have to do with "Shunfeng Ear"? It turns out that in the blue ocean, the infrasound waves (frequency 8 to 13 Hz) generated by the friction between air and waves are a warning before the storm is coming. This kind of infrasound wave cannot be heard by human ears, but it is easy for jellyfish. After research, scientists discovered that the jellyfish has a thin handle in its ear, a small ball on the handle, and a small listening stone inside the ball.
Scientists imitated the structure and function of jellyfish ears and designed the jellyfish ear storm predictor, which quite accurately simulates the jellyfish's organ that senses infrasound waves.
Skills Training Giraffes and Astronauts' Weightlessness
The reason why giraffes can transport blood to their heads through their long necks is because their blood pressure is very high. According to measurements, the blood pressure of giraffes is 2 times higher than normal human blood pressure. Why wouldn't such high blood pressure cause giraffes to suffer from cerebral hemorrhage and die? This has to do with the structure of the giraffe's body. First of all, the muscles around the giraffe's blood vessels are very developed, which can compress the blood vessels and control blood flow; at the same time, the skin and fascia of the giraffe's legs and body are very tight, which facilitates the upward return of blood in the lower limbs. Scientists were inspired by this and set up a special device when training astronauts, allowing astronauts to use this device to exercise for several hours a day to prevent the degeneration of the muscles around the astronauts' blood vessels; when the spacecraft was launched, scientists used giraffes to Based on the principle that tight skin can control blood vessel pressure, a flight suit - "anti-gravity suit" was developed. The anti-gravity suit is equipped with an inflatable device. As the speed of the spacecraft increases, a certain amount of gas can be filled into the anti-gravity suit, thereby exerting a certain pressure on the blood vessels and keeping the astronaut's blood pressure normal. At the same time, the lower part of the astronaut's abdomen is put into a sealing device that removes air. This can reduce the blood pressure in the astronaut's legs and facilitate the transportation of blood from the upper part of the body to the lower limbs.
Eggshell and thin-shell architecture
The eggshell is arched, has a large span, and includes many mechanical principles. Although it is only 2 mm thick, it is difficult to damage it by hitting it with a hammer. Architects imitated it in thin-shell building designs. This type of building has many advantages: less material, long span, strong and durable. Not all thin-shell buildings are arched. The world-famous Sydney Opera House is like a group of sails anchored in the harbor.
-- Structural components
For components, when the cross-sectional area is the same, it is an effective cross-sectional shape to place the material as far away from the neutral axis as possible. Interestingly, this conclusion is also reflected in the tissues of many animals and plants in nature. For example: "Blast Zhijin Grass", the stems of many plants that can withstand strong winds are vascular structures, and their cross-sections are hollow. The bones that support weight-bearing and movement have dense bones distributed around the cross-section, while soft marrow fills the inner cavity. Hollow floor slabs, box-shaped girders, I-shaped cross-section sheet beams, folded plate structures, spatial thin-walled structures, etc. that are often used in building structures are all derived from this conclusion.
-- Zebra
Zebras live on the African continent. Their appearance is no different from ordinary horses. The stripes on their bodies are protective colors evolved to adapt to the living environment. Of all the zebras, the Lesbian zebra is the largest and most beautiful. Its shoulder height is 140-160 cm, its ears are round and large, and its stripes are dense and numerous. Zebras often stay close to wildebeests, elands, gazelles and ostriches on the grasslands to defend themselves against natural enemies. The application of zebra stripes to military applications is a very successful example of bionics.
Insects and Bionics
Insects are small in size and have huge types and numbers. They account for more than 75% of existing animals and are found all over the world. They have their own unique survival skills, some of which even humans are inferior to. People are making more and more extensive use of natural resources, especially any achievement in bionics, which comes from certain characteristics of living things. This article briefly introduces insects and bionics. (On the right is the eye of a housefly)
Butterflies and bionic colorful butterflies are brilliant in color, such as the Double Moon Swallowtail, the Brown-veined Swallowtail, etc., especially the Fluorescent Swallowtail, whose hind wings Under the sun, it sometimes turns golden, sometimes emerald green, and sometimes changes from purple to blue. Scientists have brought great benefits to military defense through research on butterfly colors. During World War II, the German army surrounded Leningrad and attempted to destroy its military targets and other defenses with bombers. Based on people's lack of understanding of camouflage at the time, Soviet entomologist Schwanvich proposed using the colors of butterflies to be difficult to detect among flowers, and covered military facilities with butterfly-pattern camouflage. Therefore, despite the German army's efforts, the military base in Leningrad remained safe, laying a solid foundation for the final victory. Based on the same principle, people later produced camouflage uniforms, which greatly reduced casualties in battles.
The constant changes in the position of artificial satellites in space can cause sudden changes in temperature. Sometimes the temperature difference can be as high as two or three hundred degrees, seriously affecting the normal operation of many instruments. Inspired by the fact that the scales on butterflies automatically change angles to adjust body temperature according to the direction of sunlight, scientists designed the satellite's temperature control system into a blind style with greatly different radiation and heat dissipation capabilities on the front and back sides of the leaves. A temperature-sensitive metal wire is installed at the rotating position of the window. The opening and closing of the window can be adjusted as the temperature changes, thereby maintaining a constant temperature inside the satellite and solving a major problem in the aerospace industry.
Beetles and Bionics When the air-walking beetle defends itself, it can spray "cannonballs" of high-temperature liquid with a foul odor to confuse, stimulate and frighten enemies. After dissecting it, scientists found that there were three chambers in the beetle's body, which respectively stored dihydric phenol solution, hydrogen peroxide and biological enzymes. Dihydric phenol and hydrogen peroxide flow into the third chamber and mix with biological enzymes to cause a chemical reaction, which instantly turns into 100°C venom and is quickly ejected. This principle is currently used in military technology. During World War II, in order to meet the needs of the war, the German Nazis used this mechanism to create a new type of engine with extremely powerful power and safe and reliable performance. It was installed on the flying missile to make it fly faster, safer and more stable, and improve the hit rate. London, England, suffered heavy losses when it was bombed. American military experts were inspired by the spray principle of beetles to develop advanced binary weapons. This kind of weapon packs two or more chemical substances that can produce poisons into two separate containers. After the shell is fired, the diaphragm ruptures, and the two poison intermediates mix and occur within 8-10 seconds of the missile's flight. Reaction, generating deadly poison to kill the enemy the moment it reaches the target. They are easy to produce, store, transport, safe and not prone to failure. Fireflies can directly convert chemical energy into light energy with a conversion efficiency of 100%, while the luminous efficiency of ordinary electric lamps is only 6%. The cold light source made by imitating the luminous principle of fireflies can increase the luminous efficiency by more than ten times, greatly saving energy. In addition, an air-to-ground speedometer developed based on the beetle's optokinetic response mechanism has been successfully used in the aviation industry.
Dragonflies and bionics
Dragonflies can generate local unstable airflow that is different from the surrounding atmosphere through wing vibration, and use the vortices generated by the airflow to make themselves rise. The dragonfly can soar with very little thrust. It can not only fly forward, but also backward and left and right. Its forward flying speed can reach 72km/h. In addition, the dragonfly's flight behavior is simple, relying only on two pairs of wings to flap continuously. Scientists successfully developed a helicopter based on this structural basis. When an airplane flies at high speed, it often causes violent vibrations, and sometimes even breaks the wings, causing an airplane crash.
Dragonflies relied on weighted wing moles to fly safely at high speeds, so people followed the example of dragonflies and added counterweights to the wings of the aircraft to solve the thorny problem of vibration caused by high-speed flight.
Flies and Bionics Entomologists have discovered that the hind wings of flies degenerate into a pair of balancing rods. When it flies, the balance rod vibrates mechanically at a certain frequency, which can adjust the movement direction of the wings. It is a navigator that keeps the fly's body balanced. Based on this principle, scientists have developed a new generation of navigator - a vibration gyroscope, which greatly improves the flight performance of the aircraft. It can automatically stop the dangerous roll flight and automatically restore balance when the aircraft body tilts strongly, even if the aircraft is tilted. Even the most complex sharp turns are foolproof. The compound eye of a fly contains 4,000 single eyes that can image independently and can see almost 360 degrees. objects within range. Inspired by the fly's eye, people made a fly-eye camera composed of 1329 small lenses that can take 1329 high-resolution photos at a time. It is widely used in military, medicine, aviation, and aerospace. Flies have a particularly sensitive sense of smell and can quickly analyze dozens of odors and respond immediately. Based on the structure of the fly's olfactory organ, scientists convert various chemical reactions into electrical pulses to create a very sensitive small gas analyzer. It has been widely used in spacecrafts, submarines, mines and other places to detect gas components. The safety factor of scientific research and production is more accurate and reliable.
Bees and bionic hives are composed of neatly arranged hexagonal prism-shaped small hives. The bottom of each small hive is composed of three identical rhombuses. These structures are consistent with those accurately calculated by modern mathematicians - -The obtuse angle of the rhombus is 109.28', and the acute angle is 70.32', which is exactly the same. It is the most material-saving structure, has large capacity and is extremely strong, which has amazed many experts. People imitate its structure and use various materials to make honeycomb sandwich structural panels. It is strong, light in weight, and difficult to conduct sound and heat. It is an ideal material for construction and manufacturing of space shuttles, spacecrafts, artificial satellites, etc. Each single eye of a bee's compound eye is adjacently arranged with polarizers that are very sensitive to the direction of polarized light and can use the sun to accurately position. Based on this principle, scientists have successfully developed a polarized light navigator, which has been widely used in navigation.
Other insects and bionics
Flea's jumping ability is very strong, aviation experts have studied this
Biologists have created advanced Silk thread, tear-resistant high-strength cable for parachutes and temporary suspension bridges. Boats and submarines come from imitations of fish and dolphins.
Sidewinder missiles and other modern weapons developed by scientists imitate the snake's "hot eye" function and the natural infrared sensing ability of a camera-like device arranged on its tongue.
The rocket takes off using the recoil principle of jellyfish and cuttlefish.
Scientific researchers have developed a lot of military camouflage equipment for the troops by studying the color-changing ability of chameleons.
Scientists studied frog eyes and invented electronic frog eyes.
Termites not only use adhesive to build their mounds, but they can also spray adhesive at their enemies through small tubes on their heads. So people made a working weapon based on the same principle - a quick-drying glue cannonball.
The U.S. Air Force has developed a miniature thermal sensor through the "heat eye" function of the Viper.
Chinese textile technicians used the principles of bionics and the fur structure of land animals to design a KEG thermal insulation fabric that has windproof and moisture-conducting functions.
Based on the principle that a sidewinder's cheek pit can feel a temperature change of 0.001°C, humans invented the sidewinder missile that tracks and pursues. Humans also designed a toad ram using the principle of leaping frog. Humans imitate the highly sensitive sense of smell of police dogs to create "electronic police dogs" for detection. Scientists made the world's first gas masks based on the unique ability of wild boars' noses to detect poison.
Bionics is a method that humans have always used, such as the "dolphin skin swimsuit" constructed to imitate dolphin skin. When scientists studied the skin of whales, they found that it had a grooved structure, so a scientist According to the structure of whale skin, a thin film is formed on the surface of the aircraft. According to experiments, it can save 3% of energy. If all aircraft across the country are covered with such a surface, billions can be saved every year.
Another example is when scientists study spiders and find that spiders have no muscles in their legs. Animals with legs can walk mainly by the contraction of muscles. Why can spiders walk now without muscles? It has been studied that spiders do not walk by muscle contraction, but by the "hydraulic" structure in them. Based on this, people invented the hydraulic walking machine... In short, get inspiration from nature and imitate its structure to invent and create. This It's bionics. This is an aspect of learning from nature.