13 year old looks at trees, makes solar power breakthrough in science
130 replies, posted
[b]Source:[/b] [url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/08/13-year-old-looks-trees-makes-solar-power-breakthrough/41486/]Linkage[/url]
[quote]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.
[img]http://cdn.theatlanticwire.com/img/upload/2011/08/19/solartree.08192011.jpg[/img][/quote]
What a fucking winner
It took a 13 year-old kid to figure this out?
Nice, now to finally use me 300 year old oak.
[editline]19th August 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=Sanius;31825673]It took a 13 year-old kid to figure this out?[/QUOTE]
No shit, Sherlock.
[QUOTE=Sanius;31825673]It took a 13 year-old kid to figure this out?[/QUOTE]
Breakthroughs have always been unpredictable.
I'm not particularly surprised by this.
Give this man a government contract and a team of scientists. He shall rule.
That is pretty clever.
Holy fuck. Give that kid a medal.
Actually, scratch that. Imagine if somebody calls him a nerd:
"Hah, you fucking nerd."
"I created a better reason to use solar energy, potentially saving the world. When I was thirteen."
"Brb suicide."
That's a reward in itself.
You would think that they would have looked at plants which get a lot of photosynthesising done early on in figuring out optimal positioning of solar panels.
I mean, it's not like trees have been perfecting the process for millions of years or anything.
Well done to the kid.
Holy shit.
Sometimes the most obvious things are the most obscure.
This is why I will always come to my young children in the future about ideas I come up with for any job I'm apart of. Their minds are so creative, full of imagination and give the most honest answers.
It looks like modern art v:v:v
He did this on his own too, no help from school what-so-ever. The kid has natural talent learning the Fibonacci Sequence at that age on his own.
It seems so obvious now that he's pointed it out!
[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;31825803]He did this on his own too, no help from school what-so-ever. The kid has natural talent learning the Fibonacci Sequence at that age on his own.[/QUOTE]
The Fibbonacci sequence isn't exactly mind-crushingly complex, and 13 is not a very young age.
[QUOTE=Zombii;31825829]The Fibbonacci sequence isn't exactly mind-crushingly complex, and 13 is not a very young age.[/QUOTE]
Less than 8% of the entire worlds population even knows of it and the majority of kids in the US & UK couldn't give two shits about learning something like that. It takes someone who's dedicated, no matter how easy it is.
High fives to that kid.
I assume he also got a good monetary award for college. Minds like his should receive the best education, which is unfortunately expensive these days.
clever kid but he'll probably end up developing weapons.
[QUOTE=jaykray;31826070]clever kid but he'll probably end up developing weapons.[/QUOTE]
WMD's to be exact
[QUOTE=jaykray;31826070]clever kid but he'll probably end up developing weapons.[/QUOTE]
How does creating renewable energy for the world lead to designing things to kill people with?
Besides, guns are a lot more about engineering. This kids sounds more like the chemistry/physics/genetics type.
[QUOTE=Cone;31826168]How does creating renewable energy for the world lead to designing things to kill people with?
Besides, guns are a lot more about engineering. This kids sounds more like the chemistry/physics/genetics type.[/QUOTE]
well then again this is totally engineering
not saying they kid isn't the chemistry/physics/ecologist type, but this specific project (optimizing the efficiency of solar panels) is a total engineering and design task
I wonder if this could be adapted to the cactus cell towers we got here in Arizona.
[img]http://www.paradisevalleyaz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/fake+cactus+cell+towers.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;31826206]well then again this is totally engineering
not saying they kid isn't the chemistry/physics/ecologist type, but this specific project (optimizing the efficiency of solar panels) is a total engineering and design task[/QUOTE]
Well the kid didn't actually design the solar panels, did he? He just noted what worked and what didn't. That's logical to improve something, no matter the task.
[QUOTE=Cone;31826168]How does creating renewable energy for the world lead to designing things to kill people with?
Besides, guns are a lot more about engineering. This kids sounds more like the chemistry/physics/genetics type.[/QUOTE]
He'll create chemical weapons. He has James Bond villain written all over him.
He's a smart kid, but I can see that there's a way this could be improved on.
The spiral is a mysterious thing, proven to be useful for solar power at least.
Also, what improvement do you speak of Mr Rapist?
[QUOTE=Cone;31826234]Well the kid didn't actually design the solar panels, did he? He just noted what worked and what didn't. That's logical to improve something, no matter the task.[/QUOTE]
and improving something is more engineering than science
science is more about discovering something new
engineering is about applying knowledge and improving things
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;31826256]and improving something is more engineering than science
science is more about discovering something new
engineering is about applying knowledge and improving things[/QUOTE]
Knowledge and improving things is what makes people human. It's applied to literally everything man has ever made.
[QUOTE=jaykray;31826244]He'll create chemical weapons. He has James Bond villain written all over him.[/QUOTE]
Yes, someone who's actively helping civilization grow and combat the energy crisis sounds exactly like the kind of person we need to send an MI6 agent to assassinate.
[QUOTE=Cone;31826291]Knowledge and improving things is what makes people human. It's applied to literally everything man has ever made.[/QUOTE]
so we all are engineers
great
[QUOTE=trotskygrad;31826308]so we all are engineers
great[/QUOTE]
Improving and seeing fault is not specific to the task of engineering.
Why u no see dis?
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