Page 189 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

Harun Yahya

Electric cables are designed to protect from injury those who touch
them and also to avoid any loss of power due to electricity leakage. Tough
and durable plastics are used for this purpose.

Prairie Dogs’ Ventilation Technology

Many animals build underground shelters that require special fea-
tures to defend them from predators.
In such shelters, the tunnels need to be at a specific distance from the
surface and parallel to the ground, or else they may easily be flooded. If
the tunnels are dug at a sharp angle, that poses a risk of collapse. Another
problem in tunnel construction is meeting the need for air and ventilation.
Prairie dogs are social ani-
mals, living in large groups in
burrows they construct under-
ground. As their population
grows, they dig new burrows,
joining them up with tunnels.
The space that such complexes
occupy can sometimes equal
the size of a small city, and thus
ventilation assumes a vital im-
portance. Therefore prairie
dogs build aboveground tow-
ers where their tunnels emerge,
rather like volcanoes, which let
air be drawn into the city be-
low.
Air travels from regions of
high pressure to areas of low.

187