TABLE OF CONTENTS Scott J. Woltman, John W. McMurdy, Gregory P. Crawford and Suraj P. Gorkhali
Nature is the grandmaster when it comes to building extraordinary materials
Shuguang Zhang, Nature Biotechnology 21 (2003)
Biomimicking is the artificial replication of biological structures to reproduce their form and function. Liquid crystals present an interesting tool for biomimicking as a result of the ease of patterning and sensitivity to electric field, polarization and temperature modulation. Biological systems responsible for color, anti-reflection and lenses, amongst others, are key areas targeted in biomimicking applications of liquid crystals.
The brilliant biologist, the careful chemist, the exceptional engineer and the perfect physicist; nature has had a half billion years to toil and refine its advanced architectures. Comparatively, in only a few centuries, the advancements of humankind have stepped closer to the elegance of the natural world. In all of the sciences, physical and social, research and development has relied heavily upon observations of natural systems. Humanity has again and again mimicked its creator, fueling its evolutionary process.
Da Vinci built flying contraptions based on the flight of birds. Newton watched an apple fall and developed not only a theory of gravity, but also the field of calculus from his simple observations. Copernicus and Galileo carefully studied the motions of the stars in the sky and realized we are not at the center of the universe, or even our solar system. The history of science abounds with examples of humanity utilizing its powers of thought...
