Conceptual inspiration

Conceptual inspiration, as understood by the Author, can be described thus  

Conceptual inspiration in inventive conceptual designing is a process of acquiring knowledge from nature and transforming it into abstract knowledge useful for a large class of inventive problem. 

The previous section confirmed once again that knowledge (or understanding) is the key to inventive designing, and that biomimicry, although 

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As a result of all these experimental and analytical studies, a good understanding of batoid fishes has been developed, as it is a requirement for the successful use of conceptual inspiration. Recently, this inspiration in the form of acquired natural knowledge has been used to develop two BAUVs, appropriately called MantaBots (Fish 2014). The first MantaBot was developed by a group of students at Princeton University and the second one at the University of Virginia. 

Both designs were used to build experimental BAUVs. They were tested and compared in a competition organized in 2011. Both BAUVs could swim and perform complex maneuvers, but the propulsive movements of the pectoral fins were merely similar to those of manta ray, not identical. This was the main reason why their performance was worse than the real fish. Nevertheless, this was a successful demonstration of the power of conceptual inspiration and a confirmation that natural knowledge can be acquired and transformed into useful engineering knowledge, ready for design purposes. 

These historical implications lead straight back to the theories of conceptual change. Especially the well-known theory by Posner et al. (1982) is much inspired by epistemological considerations. Posner et al. themselves characterise their theory of conceptual change as... 

The PSSC concept provides a conceptually new principle to inspire compound library design for chemical biology and medicinal chemistry... 

Inspired by these Surface Science studies at the gas-solid interface, the field of electrochemical Surface Science ( Surface Electrochemistry ) has developed similar conceptual and experimental approaches to characterize electrochemical surface processes on the molecular level. Single-crystal electrode surfaces inside liquid electrolytes provide electrochemical interfaces of well-controlled structure and composition [2-9]. In addition, novel in situ surface characterization techniques, such as optical spectroscopies, X-ray scattering, and local probe imaging techniques, have become available and helped to understand electrochemical interfaces at the atomic or molecular level [10-18]. Today, Surface electrochemistry represents an important field of research that has recognized the study of chemical bonding at electrochemical interfaces as the basis for an understanding of structure-reactivity relationships and mechanistic reaction pathways. 

Let us assume the availability of a useful body of quantitative data for rates of decay of excited states to give new species. How do we generalize this information in terms of chemical structure so as to gain some predictive insight For reasons explained earlier, I prefer to look to the theory of radiationless transitions, rather than to the theory of thermal rate processes, for inspiration. Radiationless decay has been discussed recently by a number of authors.16-22 In this volume, Jortner, Rice, and Hochstrasser 23 have presented a detailed theoretical analysis of the problem, with special attention to the consequences of the failure of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. They arrive at a number of conclusions with which I concur. Perhaps the most important is, "... the theory of photochemical processes outlined is at a preliminary stage of development. Extension of that theory should be of both conceptual and practical value. The term electronic relaxation has been applied to the process of radiationless decay. 

The field of marine chemical ecology has been gaining momentum. Over the past decade, a number of excellent review articles and at least one book have been published on this topic. However, a field so diverse and interdisciplinary requires, from time to time, a conceptual synthesis. There has been, to date, no single source that provides this synthetic overview. This book is such an attempt. In four topical sections, this work spans aspects of marine chemical ecology from molecular to community levels, bridging these diverse disciplines. The authors have contributed their considerable experiences, resulting in a collective effort that will hopefully stimulate new ideas and inspire a new generation of researchers. 

This first example inspired the design of many other similar systems, most famously those investigated in the 1970s and 1980s by Mislow and Iwamura [19]. Later, the structurally complex but conceptually similar molecular turnstiles 3-5 (Fig. 2) were introduced by Moore [20]. Variable temperature XH NMR studies on the methylene protons, ffa and H, showed that the central aromatic ring of 4 spins rapidly on the NMR timescale at room temperature, while spindle rotation does not occur in turnstile 5 even at 85 °C due to steric constraints. 

Figure 5.1.2 Going from natural to artificial leaves requires use a radical different system design taking inspiration from nature, but developing conceptually new and robust devices that overcome the limits of natural leaves.

Key conceptual influence on nanotechnology can be traced back over 30 years ago to physicist and Nobel laureate R. Feynman [183]. Like many contemporary nanotechnologists such as Drexler [207] and others, Feynman credited his inspiration to the molecular-scale devices and information systems observed in the biological world. 

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