Evenhippo27slikeChemicalReactionEngineering(打印).docVIP

From: /~cre/web_mod/hippo/index.htm Modeling the Digestive System of a Hippopotamus* Matthew Robertson, Fredrik Persson, Brian Vicente, Professor H. Scott Fogler Even hippos like Chemical Reaction Engineering. Introduction Chemical engineering is broad in scope and has implications that are far reaching. The theories that underlie reaction engineering are capable of modeling systems beyond industrial processes. One such system that we shall look at, which can be modeled through the use of chemical reactor design equations and some simplifying assumptions, is the animal digestive system. Specifically the properties of a hippopotamus digestive tract will be explored. Facts Sheet Hippopotamus means river horse in Greek. Male hippos can be up to 15 feet long, 5 feet high, and 8,000 pounds in weight, making them one of the largest terrestrial mammals. Only elephants and some white rhinos are larger. At birth a hippopotamus weighs 30 - 60 kg, and it takes 4 to 5 years to reach maturity and a weight of 3600 kg. Hippo lips are about 2 feet wide. Hippos can turn each ear in a different direction at the same time. A bull hippos bellow has been measured at 115 decibels. Hippos cannot float because their heavy muscles weigh them down and cause them to sink. This does not present a problem, since they can either paddle to stay afloat or simply walk along the river bottom. Feeding always occurs on land. However, courtship, birth and nursing takes place underwater. Adult hippos can stay underwater for five to six minutes. However, baby hippos can only stay underwater for twenty seconds. Few animals can open their mouths as wide as hippos can. They use this ability to scare away other animals. Around the turn of the eighteenth century, hippo tusks were used to make artificial teeth. When hippos fight each other, they use their teeth, toss water at each other, accost each other with a variety of sounds and swing their massive heads together. Although all hippos are herb