Evolution is a brilliant engineer #1,324

Via TechCrunch:

When it comes to renewable energy solutions, sometimes nature has the best ideas. That was 13-year-old Aidan Dwyer’s conclusion after a wintry hike in New York’s Catskill Mountains, a trip that inspired him to build a unique and effective solar array design.

...

Dwyer observed patterns in the trees and, after further research and contemplation, realized the branches matched up with the Fibonacci sequence, a mathematical pattern found throughout nature, such as in falcon flight paths, nautilus shells and ratios within the human body.

So he built his solar array based on the Fibonacci sequence.

The design generated up to 50% more power than the model of a traditional solar installation during periods of low sunlight. The individual solar panels’ various angles help the array capture light even when the sun is very low in the sky. And, since they don’t lie flat, many of the panels are also less affected by shade and snow.

 

The full article is here, with pictures.

Comments

I read this article this

Submitted by Carson on Mon, 08/22/2011 - 17:45.

I read this article this morning commenting on the viability of the kid's design:"Some poor 13-year-old kid is all over the news as having made a "solar breakthrough". The news is to blame. All the usual suspects -- popular environment blogs, tech magazines -- blindly parrot the words of this very misinformed (not to blame him, he's an unguided 13 year old) kid."Basically when you work out the math, his design doesn't work. It's not his failure, (again, he's a kid), it's a failure by lazy journalists.

Erm, unfortunately not so

Submitted by tai haku on Mon, 08/22/2011 - 16:35.

Erm, unfortunately not so much: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/08/blog-debunks-13-year-o...