Austria 25 Euro Silver Niobium Coin 2012 Bionics
As eye-catching, innovative and informative as its predecessors, Bionik, the exquisite purple 2012 addition to 25 euro Silver Niobium series, pays fitting tribute to how evolution in the natural world acts as a prototype for technology.
Evolutionary pressure typically forces living organisms to become highly optimised and efficient. A prime example is the water-repellent nature of the lotus flower and of shark skin, a phenomenon fundamental in the development of paint. By the same token, the chambered shell of the nautilus has influenced architectural design and the mechanics of bird flight have clearly inspired aviation. All four of these examples feature on the coin’s obverse, while its reverse focuses on the use of bionics in architecture. A radiolarian, the plankton that inspired Spanish modernist architect Antoni Gaudí, is depicted in the foreground, while the reverse’s background shows an interior view of Munich’s Olympic Stadium, the roof of which was based on findings in bionics.
With a maximum mintage of 65,000 pieces in Special Uncirculated quality only, the coin contains 9 grammes of 900 fine silver in its outer ring nearly 7 grammes of 998 pure niobium.
quality: special uncirculated
collection: Silver-Niobium
occasion: general
face value: 25 Euro
date of issue: 22.02.2012
coin design: Thomas Pesendorfer & Herbert Wähner
diameter: 34.00 mm; alloy: Silber-Niobium; ring: Silber Ag 900;
pill: Niob Nb 99,8; fine weight: 9.00 g; total weight: 16.50 g.
Bionics (also known as bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.
The word bionic was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958, possibly originating from the technical term bion (pronounced BEE-on; from Ancient Greek: βίος), meaning 'unit of life' and the suffix -ic, meaning 'like' or 'in the manner of', hence 'like life'. Some dictionaries, however, explain the word as being formed as a portmanteau from biology and electronics. It was popularized by the 1970s television series The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, which were based upon the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, which was influenced by Steele's work, and feature humans given superhuman powers by electromechanical implants
The transfer of technology between lifeforms and manufactures is, according to proponents of bionic technology, desirable because evolutionary pressure typically forces living organisms, including fauna and flora, to become highly optimized and efficient. A classical example is the development of dirt- and water-repellent paint (coating) from the observation that the surface of the lotus flower plant is practically unsticky for anything (the lotus effect).
Ekso Bionics is currently developing and manufacturing intelligently powered exoskeleton bionic devices that can be strapped on as wearable robots to enhance the strength, mobility, and endurance of soldiers and paraplegics.
The term "biomimetic" is preferred when reference is made to chemical reactions. In that domain, biomimetic chemistry refers to reactions that, in nature, involve biological macromolecules (for example, enzymes or nucleic acids) whose chemistry can be replicated using much smaller molecules in vitro.
Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins; sonar, radar, and medical ultrasound imaging imitating the echolocation of bats.
In the field of computer science, the study of bionics has produced artificial neurons, artificial neural networks, and swarm intelligence. Evolutionary computation was also motivated by bionics ideas but it took the idea further by simulating evolution in silico and producing well-optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature.