Page 21 - Biomimetics: Technology Imitates Nature

urrently, many scientists are studying the structure
of natural materials and using them as models in
their own research, simply because these struc-
tures possess such sought-after properties as
strength, lightness and elasticity. For example, the
inner shell of the abalone is twice as resistant as the ceramics that
even advanced technology can produce. Spider silk is five times
stronger than steel, and the adhesive that mussels use to moor
themselves to rocks maintains its properties even underwater. 16
Gulgun Akbaba, a member of the Turkish Bilim ve Teknik
(Science and Technology) Magazine research and publication
group, speaks of the superior characteristics of natural materials
and the ways in which we can make use of them:
Traditional ceramic and glass materials have become unable to adapt
to technology, which improves almost with every passing day.
Scientists are [now] working to fill this gap. The architectural secrets
in the structures in nature have slowly begun to be revealed… In the
same way that a mussel shell can repair itself or a wounded shark can
repair damage to its skin, the materials used in technology will also
be able to renew them-
selves.
Abalone
These materials which
are harder, stronger,
more resistant and have
superior physical, me-
chanical, chemical and
electromagnetic proper-