The paper, “The evolution of airplanes,”created a media stir earlier this year when it was published online by the Journal of Applied Physics. The authors contend that the  similarities seen across aircraft designs are a manifestation of the same law that drives the evolution of biological creatures and terrain features like river basins.

Lead author Adrian Bejanof Duke University describes the methodology behind the paper and the predictive value of the constructal law, the theory he developed 19 years ago to explain the “oneness” he sees in the evolution of living and non-living systems.

• A. Bejan, The evolution of airplanes, Aerospace America, November 2014