Pictures: Nature Yields New Ideas for Energy and Efficiency [View all]
Drawing inspiration from schools of fish, termite mounds, and the photosynthesis of leaves, new technologies seek to produce cleaner, more efficient energy through biomimicry.
Long strands of bull kelp ripple beneath the surface of churning coastal waters, drawing fuel from the sun and, perhaps, pointing out a better way for humanity to capture and use energy.
Seaweed is just one of the innovations of nature from which engineers are drawing inspiration as they seek to design energy systems that are cleaner and more efficient. In plants—the engines of photosynthesis—and in creatures as small as insects and as large as whales, advocates of "biomimicry" are looking for systems that can help humanity better meet the challenge of fueling civilization sustainably.
Biomimicry simply means using designs inspired by nature to solve human problems. The idea is that over 3.8 billion years of evolution, nature itself has solved many of the problems that humanity finds itself grappling with today. Since energy is one of the greatest challenges facing the world, with much of the research aimed at designing systems that would work in greater harmony with the planet, it is not surprising that science would look to nature for answers.
More: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/04/pictures/120419-biomimicry-for-energy/
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