|
|
|
Before scientists embark on new
projects, they usually look for models in living things and imitate their
systems and designs
|
[There
is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their bellies, from
between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to drink, easy for drinkers
to swallow.]
(Qur’an,
16:66)
[And
there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you to
drink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which you
benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed on them and
on ships as well.]
(Qur’an, 23:21-22)
Before
scientists and research and development experts embark on new projects, they
usually look for models in living things and imitate their systems and designs.
In other words, they see and study the designs created in nature by Allah and,
inspired by these, go on to develop their own new technologies.
This
approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science that seeks to
imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of science has come to be
widely applied in the world of technology. The use of the word “ibratan,”
(to learn from, advice, importance, important thing, or model) in the above
verses is most wise in this regard.
Biomimetics
refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms, and systems that people
produce in order to imitate the systems present in nature. The scientific
community currently feels a great need for the use of such equipment,
particularly in the fields of nanotechnology, robot technology, artificial
intelligence, medicine, and the military.
Biomimicry
was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and scientific observer from
Montana. This concept was later analysed by many other people and began to find
applications. Some of the comments made regarding biomimicry are as follows:
The
theme of “biomimicry” is that we have much to learn from the natural
world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in common is
a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use them to solve
human problems.1
David
Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that uses nature to
increasing product quality and productivity, says:
Nature
is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of life. Nature’s
system has worked for millions of years … Biomimicry is a way of learning
from nature.2
Scientists
who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated their studies by
using nature’s incomparable and flawless designs as models. These designs
represent models for technological research, for they provide the maximum
productivity for the least amount of materials and energy, and are
self-maintaining, environmentally friendly, silent, aesthetically attractive,
resistant, and long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper described
biomimetics as “a scientific movement” and made the following comment:
By
using natural systems as models, we can create technologies that are more
sustainable than those in use today.3
|
|
|
Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of
Mexico on less one tenth of an ounce of fuel
|
Janine
M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be imitated, gave the following
examples in her book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature (Perennial:
2002):
-
Hummingbirds
cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one tenth of an ounce) of
fuel,
-
Dragonflies
outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,
-
Heating
and air-conditioning systems in termite mounds are superior in terms of
equipment and energy consumption to those made by human beings,
-
A
bat’s high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive than
our own radar systems,
-
Light-emitting
algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,
-
Arctic
fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having protected
their organs from ice damage,
-
Chameleons
and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend instantly with
their surroundings,
-
Bees,
turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and
-
Whales
and penguins dive without scuba gear.
These
astonishing mechanisms and designs in nature, of which we have cited only a few,
have the potential to enrich technology in a wide range of fields. This
potential is becoming ever more obvious as our accumulated knowledge and
technological means increase.
All
animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have the ideal
hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water, and others employ
senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these are features that
researchers have encountered for the first time, or, rather, that they have only
recently discovered. On occasion, it is necessary to bring together prominent
scientists from such fields as computer technology, mechanical engineering,
electronics, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology in order to imitate
just one feature of a living thing.
|
|
|
Scientists are amazed when
confronted with the incomparable structures and systems
|
Scientists
are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures and systems
they are discovering with every passing day, and use that amazement to inspire
themselves to produce new technologies for humanity’s benefit. Realising that
the existing perfect systems and extraordinary techniques applied in nature are
far superior to their own knowledge and intellect, they became aware of these
matchless solutions to existing problems and are now resorting to the designs in
nature to resolve problems that have eluded them for years. As a result, they
will perhaps achieve success in a very short time. Moreover, by imitating
nature, scientists are making very important gains with regard to time and
labour and also to the targeted use of material resources.
Today
we see the developing technology gradually discovering the miracles of creation
and using the extraordinary designs in living things, as in the case of
biomimetics, in the service of humanity. Benyus has stated that “‘Doing it
nature’s way’ has the potential to change the way we grow food, make
materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct
business.”4
The following are just a few of the many scientific papers to have considered
such subjects:
“Science
is Imitating Nature,”5
“Life’s
Lessons in Design,”6
“Biomimicry:
Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight,”7
“Biomimicry:
Innovation Inspired by Nature,”8
“Biomimicry:
Genius That Surrounds Us,”9
“Biomimetics:
Creating Materials from Nature’s Blueprints,”
and10
“Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice.”11
In
the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic terms. Artists and
architects of that time were influenced by nature and used examples of the
structures’ external appearances in their works. Yet the realisation of
nature’s extraordinary designs and that these could be used to benefit human
beings only began in the twentieth century with the study of natural mechanisms
at the molecular level. Scientists today are learning from living things, as
revealed in the Qur’an 1,400 years ago.
The
author, who
writes under the pen-name Harun Yahya, has published many books on
political, faith-related and scientific issues. Some of the books of the
author have been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, Albanian, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Bosnian, Indonesian, Turkish,
Tatar, Urdu and Malay and published in the countries concerned. Visit his
website at www.harunyahya.com
or contact him at info@harunyahya.com
Read
Also:
1-
Frederick Pratter, “Stories from the Field Offer Clues on Physics and
Nature,” Christian Science Monitor.
2-
“Biomimicry,”
3-
Michelle Nijhuis, High
Country News, 6 July 1998, vol. 30, no. 13.
4-
“Biomimicry
Explained: A Conversation with Janine Benyus,”.
5-
Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi (Journal
of Science and Technology) (August 1994): 43.
6-
Philip Ball, “Life's
lessons in design,” Nature
409 (2001): 413-16.
7-
“Biomimicry: Secrets
Hiding in Plain Sight,” NBL
(New Bottom Line) 6, no. 22, 17 November 1997.
8-
Janine M. Benyus, Biomimicry:
Innovation Inspired by Nature (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.:
1998).
9-
Ed Hunt, “Biomimicry: Genius that Surrounds
Us,” Tidepool
editor.
10-
Robin Eisner, “Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's
Blueprints,” The
Scientist, 8 July 1991.
11-
Jim Robbins, “Engineers Ask Nature for Design
Advice,” New
York Times,
11 December 2001.
|
