Often, the design of moving systems is much more challenging to designers than stationary structural systems. For instance, the problems encountered in the design of a hand-drill are much more numerous than in that of a jug. This is because the former is based on functionality but the latter on form, and function oriented designs are more complicated. Each component of design should serve a purpose for a specific goal. Absence or malfunction of a single component renders the system useless.
Designs with such errors are doomed to failure. Mechanical systems designed by humans generally have more flaws than commonly believed. Many of these systems have been designed by trial and error. Although some defects are eliminated during the prototyping phase prior to the product's introduction to the market, not every defect can be prevented.
The same argument cannot be made for mechanical systems in nature. All the mechanical systems in all creatures are perfect. Allah has created all creatures flawlessly. Let us take a closer look at some of the examples of this perfect creation.
The Skull of Woodpecker
Woodpeckers feed on insects and larva, laid inside tree trunks that they uncover by pecking. They carve their nests in living healthy trees, which takes carving skills just as great as those of carpenters.The great spotted woodpecker can make up to nine or ten strikes per second. This number increases to fifteen to twenty in smaller species of woodpeckers, one of which is the green woodpecker.
While the green woodpecker drills for a nest, the working speed of its beak can exceed 62 mph (100 km/h). This does not affect its brain in any way, which is the size of a cherry. The time lag between two consecutive strikes is less then one thousandth of a second. When it starts pecking, head and beak line up perfectly on a straight line, but the smallest deviation could cause severe ruptures in the brain.
In the upper beak movement of a woodpecker, when the beak hits the tree, the bird experiences a tremendous impact. However, there are two mechanisms created to absorb this impact. The first is the spongy connective tissue between the skull and the beak, which softens the impact greatly. The second mechanism is the tongue of the woodpecker. The tongue circles around inside the skull to attach to the top of the woodpecker's head. This arrangement of the tongue muscle is a bit like a sling and may reduce the shock of each beak-to-tree impact. Therefore, the impact (softened by the spongy tissue) is almost reduced to nothing. |