Aug 14, 2007 3:58 PM

To Build a Better Bridge, Make Like a Conch

Complexity guru Stephen Wolfram says that the future of bridge design is in structures generated through the reiteration of a few simple rules. It’s a pretty cool idea, though Wolfram might have been a little too simplistic in his own starting rules. "Even biology — with its iterative process of natural selection — probably can’t […]

Complexity guru Stephen Wolfram says that the future of bridge design is in structures generated through the reiteration of a few simple rules.

It's a pretty cool idea, though Wolfram might have been a little too simplistic in his own starting rules. "Even biology -- with its iterative process of natural selection -- probably can't find structures as good -- and irregular -- as the ones I expect are out there," he wrote.

But it's never good to underestimate nature, and as the burgeoning field of biomimetics has shown, the natural world can teach us a lot about structural and material science. And when I read the following American Scientist abstract, my thoughts went straight to Wolfram and his bridges:

The queen conch is a marine snail that grazes seagrass beds in shallow Caribbean waters. It does so openly, and with little fear of natural predators: Unmolested by human fishers, an adult conch may live 20 years. This prodigious lifespan for an invertebrate is possible because of the conch's amazing shell, a defensive adaptation that represents the pinnacle of molluskan evolution. In conch shell, slender crystallites of calcium carbonate are bound by a proteinaceous glue into planks, sheets, and layers, and at each level of organization, adjacent elements are oriented at right angles. This architecture dissipates the force that might otherwise fracture the shell through a system of noncatastrophic microcracks. Breaking into a conch shell requires a crack to travel a tortuous path of false starts and switchbacks as it wends from sheet to sheet and layer to layer. In addition to such estimable toughness, the shell microstructure self-assembles and is self-healing, providing a lofty target that human engineers are beginning to match.

So how about it, bridgebuilders of the future: why not try to reverse-engineer the simple rules by which conch shells are generated?
Might be a few good recipes in there....
Secrets in the Shell [American Scientist]

Related Wired biomimetics coverage: lots!

Image: Ernst Haeckel*

Brandon is a Wired Science reporter and freelance journalist. Based in Brooklyn, New York and Bangor, Maine, he's fascinated with science, culture, history and nature. ... Read More

Reporter

Topicsanimals Architecture engineering

Physicists Create a Thermometer for Measuring ‘Quantumness’

“Anomalous” heat flow, which at first appears to violate the second law of thermodynamics, gives physicists a way to detect quantum entanglement without destroying it.

Climate Change Made Hurricane Melissa 4 Times More Likely, Study Suggests

Unusually warm ocean temperatures fueled one of the worst hurricanes on record. New research finds climate change increased the storm’s likelihood.

How Genes Have Harnessed Physics to Grow Living Things

The same pulling force that causes “tears” in a glass of wine also shapes embryos. It’s another example of how genes exploit mechanical forces for growth and development.

In Orbit You Have to Slow Down to Speed Up

Driving a spacecraft around a planet isn’t anything like driving on a planet. A physicist explains orbital navigation.

Hurricane Melissa Has Meteorologists Terrified

The storm, which is set to make landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, has stunned meteorologists with its intensity and the speed at which it built.

An Invasive Disease-Carrying Mosquito Has Spread to the Rocky Mountains

The Aedes aegypti mosquito that can carry dengue, yellow fever, and Zika was thought to be too reliant on a hot and wet climate to survive in the Mountain West. But now, a population is thriving in Western Colorado.

Unpicking How to Measure the Complexity of Knots

Two mathematicians have proved that a straightforward question—how hard is it to untie a knot?—has a complicated answer.

The ‘10 Martini’ Proof Connects Quantum Mechanics With Infinitely Intricate Mathematical Structures

The proof, known to be so hard that a mathematician once offered 10 martinis to whoever could figure it out, uses number theory to explain quantum fractals.

How Do Metal Detectors Work?

What sneaky invisible forces enable these instruments to locate buried treasure?

The Hidden Math of Ocean Waves

The math behind even the simplest ocean waves is notoriously uncooperative. A team of Italian mathematicians has made major advances toward understanding it.

The First Radio Signal From Comet 3I/Atlas Ends the Debate About Its Nature

An observatory detected the first radio signal from the interstellar object 3I/Atlas. Here’s what it means.

Resistant Bacteria Are Advancing Faster Than Antibiotics

One in six laboratory-confirmed bacteria in 2023 proved resistant to antibiotic treatment, according to the World Health Organization—all related to a variety of common diseases globally.