‘Office Hours’ March 22: Adrian Bejan Makes a Case for a New Law of Nature
Duke Professor Adrian Bejan has a theory that he says unites all such things under a single principle. In a live, online "Office Hours" conversation March 22, Bejan answered viewer questions about the science behind this constructual law of natur
Both the natural and human worlds are constantly in flux, from changing weather patterns to buzzing insects to information traveling on the Internet. Duke Professor Adrian Bejan has a theory that he says unites all such things under a single principle. His constructal law of nature explains why particles, animals and people evolve patterns -- such as riverbeds, wings and highways -- to move about the earth. In a live, online "Office Hours" conversation March 22, he will take viewer questions about the science behind this design in nature.
Watch the conversation live Thursday at noon on the Duke Ustream channel. Submit a question for Bejan via email to live@duke.edu, on Twitter with the hashtag #dukelive or by posting to the Duke University Facebook page.
In his new book "Design in Nature," Bejan writes, "The constructal law is revolutionary because it is a law of physics -- and not just of biology, hydrology, geology geophysics, or engineering. It governs any system, any time, anywhere.
"All designs arise and evolve according to the same law."
Bejan explains the constructal law at TEDxBucharest in 2010.
Working with colleagues, Bejan has used the constructal law to explain the design of the Eiffel Tower, animal locomotion, the layout of the Atlanta airport and many other observable patterns.
Bejan is one of the 100 most-cited scientists in engineering, with more than 540 peer-reviewed journal articles and 24 books. He is the J.A. Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering and oversees the Constructal Theory Web Portal.
