Lesson 7 Observe

Discover from Nature Natural Air Conditioning

Termites are simple creatures, but when they work

Do you remember your mom taking you to a
together, they can build incredible natural structures.
doctor's office? The doctor decided to give you some
Some termite mounds can reach 7 meters in height.
medicine. She rolled up your sleeves, and gave you a
They even go 3 meters underground. There is
shot in the upper arm. Ouch! That hurt, didn't it?
another amazing fact about termite mounds: even
What if a shot given in the arm didn't hurt? Well,
though the temperature outside can vary from 40
maybe in the future, it won't. Some scientists have
degrees Celsius during the day to 1 degree Celsius
been studying how the lowly mosquito is able to
at night, it is always about 30 degrees Celsius inside.
bite us without us knowing. When they figure out
Termite mounds are built in a way that hot air rises
the secrets, the doctor's shot might become a
out and cool air comes in through the bottom.
painless procedure. This is what "biomimetics" is
Inspired by termite mounds, Mike Pearce, an African
about.
architect, constructed a building in Zimbabwe and
People who study biomimetics look to solve human
another in Australia using the same passive cooling
problems by copying how nature does it. It might
techniques. These buildings were 10% cheaper to
sound complicated, but it is much easier once you
build because less money was spent on air moving
understand. Let's look at some examples of
equipment, and this design reduced cooling energy
biomimetics we see today or will see in the near
costs by 35%. Now that's a cool idea!
future.
Airplane Winglets Sea Urchins

If you look at an airplane's wings, you can Sea urchins may be eaten in some parts of the

sometimes see that the tips are turned upwards. world, but they can also damage parts of the sea

These are called "winglets" and they may look neat, environment with their bony mouths. A sea urchin

but they have measurable benefits. When engineers mouth looks a lot like a five-fingered claw you might

studied birds, they observed that birds' wings have see while trying to pick up prizes at the arcade. This

tips that turned up in flight. They found that the tips design is surprisingly efficient at grabbing and

smooth the flow of air, which helps them conserve grinding. The efficiency of this natural design is now

energy when flying. The engineers thought that if it being tested for incorporation into missions in space.

worked for birds, why not for airplanes? The end When small robots are sent to another planet to

result is that the airplane winglets help keep planes collect soil samples, the standard method is to use

smaller, saving about 10% in fuel costs. This is something inefficient like a small shovel. By copying

beneficial not just for the environment but for the design of a sea urchin mouth, scientists believe it

passengers' wallets, too. will be easier to collect samples. Amazingly, a design

developed naturally in the deep sea may soon be

seen in deep space.

When we observe nature, we can be amazed by its

beauty and its grand scale. We should remember

that nature has had millions of years to experiment.

Now, as we observe nature on all levels big and

small, we have the technology and the means to

copy what nature has perfected. Because there is still

so much we do not know about nature, there is still

much left to discover. Maybe one day you will be

inspired by nature to invent a product that will

change the world.

Read More
Can Mold Draw a Map? In an experiment, scientists put a slime mold where

Tokyo would be on a map of Japan. They put food

Cars, trains, and planes make travel very easy. where major cities were located on the map. After a

Unfortunately, when many people travel, pollution few days, the slime mold created a design similar to

and wasted time have measurable side effects. What the actual rail system around Tokyo. If it works for

if a traffic network were more efficient? A seemingly rail networks, could it work for other networks, too?

unintelligent slime mold may hold some answers and

more. Researchers are now looking into whether slime

molds can help create better communication

Slime molds are not quite an animal or a plant. networks. During natural disasters, people try to

They feed on dead plant material, so they can be contact friends and family, so cell phone use

found on grass, on trees, and even in air increases a lot. A smarter and more efficient network

conditioners! Slime molds find food by sending out may keep service up, so loved ones can stay in

"arms" that reach out like a web. When an arm finds touch. One day, the simple slime mold may become

food, it grows to transport the food, and other arms a designer for other networks of the future.

that do not find food become smaller, saving energy.

If this process goes on, inefficient paths are

eliminated and efficient paths are made stronger. By

nature, slime molds are able to find the best way to

join two or more areas together.