structural color
41. Hydraulic action creates structural rigidity: human
"Two major branches of engineering mechanics are fluid mechanics and structural mechanics, with many practical problems involving the effect of the first on the second. An example is the design of an aircraft's wings to b...
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42. Arches provide structural support: termites
"The basic building step in many termites involves gluing fecal pellets to make arches; the arches, supporting a network of other arches, provide most of the structural strength needed to support specialized chambers, ventilation shafts, and insul...
43. Thickness stabilizes tall trees: baobob
"The adaptive significance of building a stem out of weak, low density wood is not immediately apparent, particularly as extensive use of stored water does not appear possible under this strategy. Baobab trees, however, have very thick bark, a des...
44. Melanin acts as chemical and structural stabilizing agent.
"Considering their low degree of mineralization, Glycera jaws have been shown to be extraordinarily resistant to abrasion based on the metric hardness3/Young's modulus2. The jaws also exhibit an impressive chemical inertness withstanding boiling c...
45. Microstructures produce iridescent colors: hummingbird
"To summarize, hummingbird iridescence is due to interference colors produced by a stack of about three films whose optical thickness is one-half the peak wave length. Each film is a mosaic of platelets of elliptical form. Each platelet is a...
46. Microscopic holes deter fractures: starfish
"Use 'foamy' materials in which any threatening crack will be in short order run into a hole. Not only does this reduce the chance of cracking, but it saves material--less can be more…The little hard bits of echinoderms, the ossicles, devel...
47. Branches provide support: Russian thistle
"The tumbleweed is a complex growth of branches with wildly irregular, sometimes temporary triangulation-like, connections on the inside of the plant, creating massive interlocking structural relationships that are held together by barbs (they hoo...
48. Layers produce iridescence: giant wasp
"We have shown that the iridescence of the wings of Megascolia procer javanensis can be reasonably well understood as resulting from the interference of light in a thin optical chitin layer covering a chitin-melanin absorbing structure...The black...
49. Keratin produces iridescence: rock pigeon
"We found that both green and purple barbules are composed of an outer keratin cortex layer surrounding a medullary layer. The thickness of the keratin cortex layer shows a distinct difference between green and purple barbules. Green barbules vary...
50. Water-repellent ship coatings
Structural design of water fern leaf surfaces may be mimicked to create superhydrophobic coatings for ships and other technological surfaces. Such coatings could significantly reduce friction and drag forces on ships, thus decreasing fuel consumpt...
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