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The physics of life : the evolution of everything / Adrian Bejan.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York : St. Martins Press, 2016Edition: First editionDescription: x, 261 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250078827
  • 1250078822
Subject(s):
Contents:
The life question -- What all the world desires -- Wealth as movement with purpose -- Technology evolution -- Sports evolution -- City evolution -- Growth -- Politics, science, and design change -- The arrow of time -- The death question -- Life and evolution as physics.
Summary: "The Physics of Life illuminates the meaning of evolution in its broadest scientific sense and empowers the reader with a new view of the intertwined movement of all life -- evolution is more than biological. The same physical effect is present in all patterns and flows -- from population growth, to air traffic, to government expansion, to the urge for better ideas. Evolution is everywhere, and the same elegant principles of physics apply to all things. Every animal and human wants power. From power comes movement: body movement, internal flow (pumping blood, and air), external flow (locomotion, migration), and safety such as warmth, drinkable water, health and the construction of highways and steel beams that do not break when we walk or drive on them. The growth and spread of civilization is the flow of more power to more individuals, for greater movement. And everyone wants more power. That desire to improve, to organize, to join, to convince others and to affect change is a trait we all share, and the freedom to change is what makes all evolution not only possible but mandatory"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 576.8 B423 Available 33111008401529
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The Physics of Life explores the roots of the big question by examining the deepest urges and properties of living things, both animate and inanimate: how to live longer, with food, warmth, power, movement and free access to other people and surroundings. Bejan explores controversial and relevant issues such as sustainability, water and food supply, fuel, and economy, to critique the state in which the world understands positions of power and freedom. Breaking down concepts such as desire and power, sports health and culture, the state of economy, water and energy, politics and distribution, Bejan uses the language of physics to explain how each system works in order to clarify the meaning of evolution in its broadest scientific sense, moving the reader towards a better understanding of the world's systems and the natural evolution of cultural and political development.

The Physics of Life argues that the evolution phenomenon is much broader and older than the evolutionary designs that constitute the biosphere, empowering readers with a new view of the globe and the future, revealing that the urge to have better ideas has the same physical effect as the urge to have better laws and better government. This is evolution explained loudly but also elegantly, forging a path that flows sustainability.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The life question -- What all the world desires -- Wealth as movement with purpose -- Technology evolution -- Sports evolution -- City evolution -- Growth -- Politics, science, and design change -- The arrow of time -- The death question -- Life and evolution as physics.

"The Physics of Life illuminates the meaning of evolution in its broadest scientific sense and empowers the reader with a new view of the intertwined movement of all life -- evolution is more than biological. The same physical effect is present in all patterns and flows -- from population growth, to air traffic, to government expansion, to the urge for better ideas. Evolution is everywhere, and the same elegant principles of physics apply to all things. Every animal and human wants power. From power comes movement: body movement, internal flow (pumping blood, and air), external flow (locomotion, migration), and safety such as warmth, drinkable water, health and the construction of highways and steel beams that do not break when we walk or drive on them. The growth and spread of civilization is the flow of more power to more individuals, for greater movement. And everyone wants more power. That desire to improve, to organize, to join, to convince others and to affect change is a trait we all share, and the freedom to change is what makes all evolution not only possible but mandatory"-- Provided by publisher.

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