13-Year-Old Looks at Trees, Makes Solar Power Breakthrough - Technology - The Atlantic Wire
Aidan Dwyer did a much better job on his 7th grade science project than any of us. While on a wintertime hike in the Catskills, he noticed the branches of trees held a spiral pattern as they ascended. He wondered if that could possibly serve some purpose, looked into it, and learned about the Fibonacci sequence, which is a mathematical way of describing a spiral. Then he studied tree branches more closely and found their leaves adhered to the sequence. Then he figured out that if he arranged solar panels the way an oak tree arranged its leaves, they were 20 to 50 percent more efficient than the standard straight-line solar arrays. That is why the American Museum of Natural History gave him a Young Naturalist award, and published his findings on its website. His write-up concludes:
The tree design takes up less room than flat-panel arrays and works in spots that don't have a full southern view. It collects more sunlight in winter. Shade and bad weather like snow don't hurt it because the panels are not flat. It even looks nicer because it looks like a tree. A design like this may work better in urban areas where space and direct sunlight can be hard to find.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Save your food - Stop the BRAI Bill
Save your food - Stop the BRAI Bill
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill can be tabled anytime in this monsoon session of the Parliament. The bill will form a body which will single-handedly clear cultivation of GM crops in the country.
By being secretive, the government is only creating more suspicionabout the intention of the bill. Public opposition made the Karnataka government ban field trials of GM crops in the state recently. Now we need to get the national government to stop this bill.
You should ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop this bill.
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) bill can be tabled anytime in this monsoon session of the Parliament. The bill will form a body which will single-handedly clear cultivation of GM crops in the country.
By being secretive, the government is only creating more suspicionabout the intention of the bill. Public opposition made the Karnataka government ban field trials of GM crops in the state recently. Now we need to get the national government to stop this bill.
You should ask Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop this bill.
Friday, August 12, 2011
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