Flies and spaceships

Flies have made great contributions to mankind. Nasty flies seem to have nothing to do with the grand space cause, but bionics closely connects them. Flies are notorious "smelly things". They can be seen everywhere and have a bad smell. Flies have a particularly sensitive sense of smell, and can smell the smell thousands of meters away. But flies don't have noses. What does it rely on to act as a sense of smell? It turns out that the "nose" of flies-olfactory receptors are distributed on a pair of antennae on the head. Each "nose" has only one "nostril" communicating with the outside world, which contains hundreds of olfactory nerve cells. If the smell enters the nostrils, these nerves will immediately convert the smell stimulus into nerve electrical impulses and send them to the brain. The brain can distinguish substances with different smells according to different nerve electrical impulses generated by substances with different smells. Therefore, the fly's antenna is like a sensitive gas analyzer. Inspired by this, bionic scientists copied a very strange small gas analyzer according to the structure and function of the olfactory organs of flies. The probe of this instrument is not metal, but a live fly. A very fine microelectrode is inserted into the olfactory nerve of the fly, and the guided neuroelectric signal is amplified by an electronic circuit and sent to an analyzer; The analyzer can give an alarm as soon as it finds the signal of odorous substances. This instrument has been installed in the cockpit of the spacecraft to detect the composition of the gas in the cabin. This small gas analyzer can also measure harmful gases in submarines and mines. This principle can also be used to improve the input device of computer and the structural principle of gas chromatography analyzer. In addition, the fly's wing (also called balance bar) is a "natural navigator", and people imitate it to make a "vibrating gyroscope". At present, this instrument has been applied to rockets and high-speed aircraft, realizing automatic driving. From Fireflies to Artificial Luminescence

From Fireflies to Artificial Luminescence

Since the invention of electric light, life has become more convenient and rich. But electric lamps can only convert a small part of electric energy into visible light, and most of the rest is wasted in the form of heat energy. The heat rays of electric lamps are harmful to people's eyes. So, is there a light source that only emits light without heating? Humans have turned their attention to nature again. In nature, many creatures can emit light, such as bacteria, fungi, worms, mollusks, crustaceans, insects and fish. The light emitted by these animals does not produce heat, so it is also called "cold light". Fireflies are one of many luminous animals. There are about 65,438+0,500 species of fireflies. Their luminescent colors are yellow-green, orange, and their brightness is different. Fireflies emit cold light, which not only has high luminous efficiency, but also is generally soft, suitable for human eyes, and the light intensity is relatively high. Therefore, bioluminescence is an ideal light source for human beings. Scientists found that the luminous device of fireflies is located in the abdomen. This light emitter consists of three parts: light emitting layer, transparent layer and reflecting layer. There are thousands of luminescent cells in the luminescent layer, all of which contain fluorescein and luciferase. Under the action of luciferase, fluorescein combines with oxidation to emit fluorescence with the participation of intracellular water. The luminescence of fireflies is essentially a process in which chemical energy is converted into light energy. As early as 1940s, people created fluorescent lamps on the basis of studying fireflies, which greatly changed the lighting sources of human beings. In recent years, scientists first isolated pure fluorescein from fireflies, then isolated luciferase, and then synthesized fluorescein artificially by chemical methods. Biological light source composed of fluorescein, luciferase, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and water can be used as a flash lamp in mines filled with explosive gas. Because this lamp has no power supply and does not produce magnetic field, it can be used to clear magnetic mines under the irradiation of biological light source. Now, people can get cold light similar to biological light by mixing some chemicals for safe lighting.

Electric fish and volt battery

Many creatures in nature can generate electricity, and there are more than 500 kinds of fish alone. People call these discharging fish "electric fish". All kinds of electric fish have different discharge skills. Electric ray, electric catfish and electric eel have the strongest discharge ability. Medium-sized torpedoes can generate about 70 volts, while African torpedoes can generate up to 220 volts; African electric catfish can generate 350 volts; Electric eels can generate 500 volts. There is a South American electric eel that can generate up to 880 volts, and it is called the champion of electric shock. It is said that it can kill big animals like horses. Where is the mystery of electric fish discharge? After the anatomical study of the electric fish, it is finally found that there is a strange power generation organ in the electric fish. These power generating organs are composed of many translucent discoid cells, which are called electric plates or disks. Due to the different types of electric fish, the shape, position and quantity of the electric plates of the generator are also different. The generator of electric eel is prismatic and located in the muscles on both sides of the caudate spine. The torpedo generator is shaped like a flat kidney, arranged on both sides of the body midline, with 2 million electric plates. The generator of electric catfish originated from some kind of gland, located between skin and muscle, with about 5 million electric plates. The voltage generated by a single plate is very weak, but because there are many plates, the voltage generated is very large. The extraordinary skills of electric fish have aroused great interest. /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, Italian physicist Volt designed the world's earliest Volt battery based on the electric fish power generation organ. Because this kind of battery is designed according to the natural generator of electric fish, the research of electric fish called "artificial electric officer" also gives people such enlightenment: if the power generation organ of electric fish can be successfully imitated, then the power problem of ships and submarines can be solved well.

Jellyfish windward ears

In nature, jellyfish lived in seawater as early as 500 million years ago. "But what's the relationship between jellyfish and windward ears?" People will definitely ask such questions. Because, before the storm warning, jellyfish will swim to the sea in droves, which indicates that the storm is coming. However, what does this have to do with "hearing the wind"? It turns out that infrasound (frequency 8 ~ 13 Hz) generated by the friction between air and waves in the blue ocean is a forecast before the storm warning. This kind of infrasound is inaudible to human ears, but it is a piece of cake for jellyfish. After research, scientists found that jellyfish has a thin handle on its ear, a small ball on the handle, and a small listening stone in the ball. Scientists modeled the structure and function of jellyfish ears and designed a storm predictor for jellyfish ears, which accurately simulated the organs where jellyfish felt infrasound.

Skills training giraffes and astronauts lost their image.

The reason why giraffes can send blood to their heads through their long necks is that giraffes have high blood pressure. According to the measurement, giraffe's blood pressure is twice as high as human normal blood pressure. Why can't such a high blood pressure cause giraffe to die of cerebral hemorrhage? This is related to the giraffe's body structure. First of all, the muscles around the giraffe's blood vessels are very developed, which can compress blood vessels and control blood flow; At the same time, the skin and fascia of giraffe's legs and whole body are very tight, which is beneficial to the upward return of blood in lower limbs. Inspired by this, scientists set up a special instrument to train astronauts, so that astronauts can use this instrument to exercise for several hours every day to prevent the muscles around astronauts from degenerating; When the spacecraft was launched, scientists developed a flight suit-"anti-load suit" based on the principle that giraffes can control vascular pressure with tight skin. The anti-load suit is equipped with an inflator. With the increase of spacecraft speed, the anti-load suit can be filled with a certain amount of gas, thus exerting a certain pressure on blood vessels and keeping the blood pressure of astronauts normal. At the same time, the lower part of the astronaut's abdomen is covered with a sealing device to expel air, which can reduce the blood pressure of the astronaut's leg and facilitate the blood transmission from the upper part of the body to the lower limbs.

Eggshell and thin shell architecture

The eggshell is arched and has a large span, including many mechanical principles. Although it is only 2 mm thick, it is difficult to break with a hammer. Architects imitate it to design thin-shell buildings. This kind of building has many advantages: less materials, large span and durability. Not all thin-shell buildings are arched. The world-famous Sydney Opera House is like a set of sails moored in the harbor.

component part

For members with the same cross-sectional area, 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, the stems of many plants that can resist strong winds are tubular structures with hollow sections. The skeleton that supports people's load-bearing and exercise has dense bone around its cross section, while soft bone marrow fills the cavity. Hollow floor slab, box girder, I-beam, folded plate structure and space thin-walled structure commonly used in building structures are all based on this conclusion.

zebra

Zebras live on the African continent, and their appearance is no different from that of ordinary horses. The stripes on their bodies are protective colors derived to adapt to the living environment. Of all zebras, zebra is the biggest and most beautiful. Its shoulder height is 140- 160 cm, its ears are round and big, and its stripes are thin and numerous. Zebras often stay away from wildebeests, wildebeests, gazelles and ostriches on the grassland to resist natural enemies. The application of zebra stripes in military affairs is a successful example of bionics.

Insects and bionics

Insects are small in size, huge in species and quantity, accounting for more than 75% of existing animals, and spread all over the world. They have their own survival skills, some of which are not as good as human beings. People use natural resources more and more widely, especially any achievement of bionics comes from some characteristics of organisms. This paper briefly introduces insects and bionics. (On the right is the eye of a housefly) Butterfly and bionics.

Butterfly and Bionics

Colorful butterflies, such as those with double moon patterns, those with brown veins, especially those with fluorescent wings, have golden wings, green wings and blue wings in the sun. Scientists have brought great benefits to military defense by studying the color of butterflies. During World War II, the Germans surrounded Leningrad in an attempt to destroy its military targets and other defense facilities with bombers. Schwarzenegger, an entomologist in the Soviet Union, put forward the principle that the color of butterflies is not easy to be found in flowers, and covered military facilities with butterfly-like camouflage. Therefore, although the Germans went all out, the military base in Leningrad remained undisturbed, which laid a solid foundation for winning the final victory. According to the same principle, people later produced camouflage uniforms, which greatly reduced the casualties in the battle. Because the position of the satellite in space is constantly changing, the temperature will suddenly change, sometimes the temperature difference can be as high as two or three hundred degrees, which seriously affects the normal work of many instruments. Inspired by the fact that the scales on butterflies automatically change their angles with the direction of sunlight to adjust their body temperature, scientists have made the satellite's temperature control system into a louver style with great differences in radiation and heat dissipation ability between the front and back of the blades. The rotating position of each window is equipped with a temperature-sensitive metal wire, which can adjust the opening and closing of the window with the change of temperature, so as to keep the internal temperature of the satellite constant and solve a major problem in the aerospace industry.

Beetles and bionics

In self-defense, the stepping beetle can spray high-temperature liquid "shells" with stench to confuse, stimulate and intimidate the enemy. After dissection, scientists found that there are three chambers in the beetle body, which store dihydric phenol solution, hydrogen peroxide and biological enzyme respectively. Diphenol and hydrogen peroxide flow into the third chamber and mix with biological enzyme to have a chemical reaction, which instantly becomes venom at 100℃ and is quickly ejected. This principle has been applied to military technology at present. During World War II, the German Nazis made a new engine with huge power and safe and reliable performance according to this mechanism, which was installed on cruise missiles, making it fly faster, safer and more stable, and improving the hit rate. London, England suffered heavy losses when it was bombed. American military experts have developed advanced binary weapons inspired by the principle of beetle spraying. This weapon contains two or more chemicals that can produce toxins in two separate containers. After the projectile was launched, the diaphragm broke, and the two poison intermediates mixed and reacted within 8- 10 seconds of the projectile's flight, producing deadly venom at the moment when it reached the target and killed the enemy. They are easy to produce, store and transport, safe and not easy to fail. Fireflies can directly convert chemical energy into light energy, and the conversion efficiency reaches 100%, while the luminous efficiency of ordinary electric lamps is only 6%. The cold light source made by people imitating the luminous principle of fireflies can improve luminous efficiency by more than ten times and save energy greatly. In addition, the air-to-ground speedometer based on beetle optokinetic response mechanism has been successfully applied to aviation.

Dragonflies and Bionics

Dragonflies can generate local unstable airflow different from the surrounding atmosphere through the vibration of their wings, while Wells uses the vortex generated by the airflow to lift himself up. Dragonflies can soar under a small thrust, not only forward, but also backward and left and right, and its forward flight speed can reach 72 km/h. In addition, the flight behavior of dragonflies is simple, with only two pairs of wings flapping constantly. Scientists have successfully developed a helicopter based on this structural foundation. When an airplane flies at high speed, it often causes violent vibration, and sometimes even breaks its wings, causing the airplane to crash. Dragonflies rely on aggravated wing moles to fly safely at high speed, so people follow the example of dragonflies and add weights to the two wings of the plane to solve the thorny problem of vibration caused by high-speed flight.

Flies and Bionics

Entomologists found that the back wings of flies degenerated into a pair of balance bars. When it flies, the balance bar vibrates mechanically at a certain frequency, which can adjust the movement direction of wings. It is a navigator to keep the balance of flies. Based on this principle, scientists have developed a new generation of navigator-vibrating gyroscope, which greatly improves the flight performance LlJ of the aircraft, enables the aircraft to automatically stop the dangerous rollover flight, and automatically restore the balance when the body is strongly inclined, even when the aircraft is in the most complicated sharp turn. The fly's compound eye contains 4000 single eyes that can be imaged independently, and almost 360 can be seen clearly. Objects within range. Inspired by the fly's eye, people made a fly's eye camera consisting of 1329 small lenses, which can take 1329 high-resolution photos at one time. It is widely used in military, medical, aviation and aerospace fields. Flies have a particularly sensitive sense of smell and can quickly analyze dozens of smells and respond immediately. According to the structure of flies' olfactory organs, scientists have converted various chemical reactions into electric pulses, and made a very sensitive small gas analyzer, which is widely used in spacecraft, submarines, mines and other gas components, making the safety factor of scientific research and production more accurate and reliable. Bees and bionic beehives are composed of hexagonal small beehives arranged in order, and the bottom of each small beehive is composed of three identical diamonds. These structures are accurately calculated by modern mathematicians-rhombic obtuse angle 109. 28', acute angle 70. 32' is exactly the same, it is the most material-saving structure, and it has a large capacity and is extremely strong, which makes many experts admire it. People imitate its structure and make honeycomb sandwich structural plates with various materials. This structural plate has high strength, light weight and is not easy to conduct sound and heat. They are ideal materials for making space shuttles, spaceships and artificial satellites. Polarizers sensitive to the direction of polarized light are arranged adjacent to each eye of the compound eye of bees, which can be accurately positioned by the sun. Based on this principle, scientists have successfully developed a polarized light navigator, which has been widely used in navigation.

Other insects and bionics

Fleas have a high jumping ability, and aviation experts have done it. Biologists have made high-grade silk threads, tear-resistant parachutes and high-strength cables for temporary suspension bridges through the study of spider silk. Ships and submarines are modeled after fish and dolphins. Rattlesnake missiles are modern weapons developed by scientists imitating the "hot eye" function of snakes and their tongues are arranged with a natural infrared sensing ability like a camera. The rocket takes off by using the recoil principle of jellyfish and squid. Researchers have developed many military camouflage equipment for the army by studying the chameleon's color-changing ability. Scientists studied frog eyes and invented electronic frog eyes. Termites not only use adhesive to build their anthills, but also spray adhesive on their enemies through small tubes in their heads. So people made a working weapon-a dry rubber shell according to the same principle. The US Air Force has developed a miniature thermal sensor through the "hot eye" function of poisonous snakes. Drawing lessons from the bionics principle and the fur structure of terrestrial animals, Chinese textile scientists have designed a small barrel warm fabric with the functions of wind resistance and moisture conduction. According to the principle that the rattlesnake's buccal fossa can feel the temperature change of 0.00 1℃, human beings invented the tracking and chasing rattlesnake missile. Humans also used the principle of leapfrog to design a toad rammer. Humans imitate the highly sensitive sense of smell of police dogs and create "electronic police dogs" for investigation. Scientists have made the first batch of gas masks in the world according to the unique drug detection ability of wild boar nose. Bionics is a method that human beings have been using, such as "dolphin skin swimsuit" which imitates the structure of dolphin skin. When scientists were studying whale skin, they found grooves and sinks on it, so a scientist imitated the structure of whale skin and covered the surface of the plane with a film. According to experiments, it can save 3% energy. If planes all over the country are covered with such surfaces, billions can be saved every year. For another example, some scientists have studied spiders and found that spiders have no muscles on their legs. Animals with feet can walk mainly by muscle contraction. Why do spiders walk without muscles? After research, spiders walk not by muscle contraction, but by "hydraulic" structure, so people invented hydraulic walking machines ... in short, they were inspired by nature and invented by imitating their structures. This is bionics. This is one aspect that we learn from nature.