Overview

From Galileo, who used the hollow stalks of grass to demonstrate the idea that peripherally located construction materials provide most of the resistance to bending forces, to Leonardo da Vinci, whose illustrations of the parachute are alleged to be based on his study of the dandelion's pappus and the maple tree's samara, many of our greatest physicists, mathematicians, and engineers have learned much from studying plants. A symbiotic relationship between botany and the fields of physics, mathematics, engineering, and chemistry continues today, as is revealed in Plant Physics. The result of a long-term collaboration between plant evolutionary biologist Karl J. Niklas and physicist Hanns-Christof Spatz, Plant Physics presents a detailed account of the principles of classical physics, evolutionary theory, and plant biology in order to explain the complex interrelationships among plant form, function, environment, and evolutionary history. Covering a wide range of topics - from the development and evolution of the basic plant body and the ecology of aquatic unicellular plants to mathematical treatments of light attenuation through tree canopies and the movement of water through plants' roots, stems, and leaves - Plant Physics is destined to inspire students and professionals alike to traverse disciplinary membranes.

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9780226150819

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Reviews

Karl J. Niklas and Hanns-Christof Spatz have written a remarkable book, unique in the field of biomechanics. Starting from basic physical principles, it explains a wide range of phenomena in plants, from fluid transport to the dispersal of seeds in air and water to structural behavior. The experimental and theoretical tools described provide a useful primer. A valuable reference for researchers interested in how plants work from a physical perspective. --Lorna Gibson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Author Information

Karl J. Niklas is the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Biology in the Department of Plant Biology at Cornell University. He is the author of Plant Biomechanics, Plant Allometry, and The Evolutionary Biology of Plants, all published by the University of Chicago Press. Hanns-Christof Spatz is professor emeritus of biophysics in the Faculty of Biology at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg in Germany.

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