Plants exhibit a wide range of mechanical properties, engineers find
Tuesday, August 14, 2012 - 04:00
in Biology & Nature
From an engineers perspective, plants such as palm trees, bamboo, maples and even potatoes are examples of precise engineering on a microscopic scale. Like wooden beams reinforcing a house, cell walls make up the structural supports of all plants. Depending on how the cell walls are arranged, and what they are made of, a plant can be as flimsy as a reed, or as sturdy as an oak.