Discussion: Vital Circuits: On Pumps, Pipes, and the Workings of Circulatory Systems

Author: Steven Vogel

Description: Vogel, a biologist and engineer, investigates how living organisms move fluids—blood, air, water—through their bodies. He compares biological circulatory systems with human-made technologies like pumps and plumbing, showing how physics constrains and shapes evolution. The book explains why hearts are structured the way they are, how insects use tracheae, and how trees move water without pumps. Vogel’s style blends clear explanation with humor, aiming at general readers. His core theme is that engineering principles—pressure, resistance, flow—apply universally, whether in veins, arteries, or pipelines. By exploring these analogies, he reveals both the ingenuity of evolution and the practical challenges organisms solve to survive.

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