In this book Dr. Bejan propose a topic that has always been and always will be important. The basic idea that the constrained and purposeful optimizations that engineers perform routinely in the design of thermofluid flow systems can help all of us.
Better sense means a simpler, easier - to - understand, more compact, and general summary of explanations of what we see in nature. Such a summary is called a "Principle or Law".
Dr. Bejan shows that Geometric form (Shape and Structure) springs out of the struggle for better global performance subject to global and local constraints.
The thought that the same objective and constraints principle is also the mechanism that constructs geometry in natural flow systems is called "
Constructal theory".
Dr. Bejan says in the preface of the book that "There are three aspects of this idea that I pursue in this book:
- To start from principle and to arrive through a mental viewing in the powerful position of predicting geometric forms that appear in nature is to practice theory. The time arrow of theory , from principle to nature, runs against the time arrow of empiricism, which begins with nature - the unexplained observation. Empiricism has been the preferred method in the study of naturally organized systems, from river and lung morphology to turbulent eddies and fractal geometry.
- The Second aspect is useful to us as engineers. Engineering is the science of systems and processes with purpose. By identifying the principle that accounts for geometric form in natural flow we improve our pwn vision as designers, as creator. For example, nature impresses us with a multitude of tree-shaped flow: lungs, vascularized tissues, river basins and deltas, lighting. botanical trees, dendritic crystals, nervous systems, street patterns and urban growth, bacterial colonies, transportation, communication and economic networks, etc. Each tree flow connects an infinity of points (volume, or area). This is beautiful example of how, in the end, the theory returns the favor to the field that created it, to engineering .
- The third aspect has to do with the role of engineering in society. once a noble and revered science (think of Leonardo da Vinci, Sadi Carnot etc.), engineering is now taken for granted. Everywhere we look, from university campus politics to the noble prize, engineering rank either low or not at all on the ladder of respect. The scientist of all time wondering about our origin. This is why Dr. Bejan believes that engineers are destined to play a role in the quest for a rational basis - a principle - for the generation of geometric form in nature.
