Invention and Evolution
Design in Nature and Engineering
2nd Edition
Published on 15. September 1994
Book
Paperback/Softback
388 pages
978-0-521-46911-1 (ISBN)
Description
This textbook for engineering students provides an introduction to design for function, using many examples of manufactured artefacts and living organisms to demonstrate common themes and fundamental principles. Examples forcefully illustrate the importance of the basic design principles related to materials, energy and information. The author also discusses the relation of aesthetic and functional design, the crucial relation of design to production in artefacts, and reproduction in organisms. The book concludes with a brief summary of the role and requirements of designers and inventors. This second edition has been extensively revised, with more examples and a new chapter with actual design case studies to illustrate key ideas. In addition, many exercises have been added to help reinforce important points in the text.
Reviews / Votes
Review of the first edition: 'This book is strongly recommended for students and practitioner alike. It is studded with gems of information and fascinating comparisons well illustrated both in the diagrams and the text.' Engineering Design Education and Training Review of the first edition: 'Indeed it deserves the same wide audience as J. E. Gordon's brilliant popular classic: The Science of Strong Materials and Structures. It deals largely with different aspects of design but it resembles them in its clarity, wisdom, humour, and in its astonishing range of examples.' The Times Higher Education SupplementMore details
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 170 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
668 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-46911-1 (9780521469111)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
09/1994
2nd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€80.47
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition
Book
09/1994
2nd Edition
Cambridge University Press
€80.47
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Michael French is an adventurer and a calculated risk-taker with a live-life-to-its fullest attitude and roll-with-the punches spirit. After a distinguished military career and retirement from the United States Air Force, Mike served in the State Department as a foreign service officer. The combination of experiences that colored his younger years in the military, the events of his second career, and the fortitude gained from his adrenaline-pumping hobbies have made him into who he is today. Now spending much of his time on the water, and with the energy of a teenager, Mike maintains and sails his beloved Ericson sailboat on the waters of Southern California and beyond, days, weeks and sometimes months at a time. When not at sea or at the marina, Mike resides in the coastal town of Encinitas with his wife, Patty, who indulges Mike's desire to explore and push limits, understanding and accepting that Mike hasn't yet "got it out of his system." Insta; sv_PeregrineHeart
Content
'Preface to the second edition; Preface to the first edition; Acknowledgements; 1. The designed world; 2. Energy; 3. Materials; 4. Mechanism; 5. Structures; 6. Systems; 7. The practice, principles and philosophy of design; 8. Economy, form and beauty; 9. Production, reproduction, evolution and design; 10. Designing and inventing; 11. Some case studies; Questions; Answers; Suggestions for further reading; Index.