Comic books have warned us time and time again to keep villains away from radiation. It only makes them stronger. Researchers at University of Delaware have discovered that ultraviolet radiation from the sun increases the plant-destroying powers of the common reed, making it an invasive archnemesis to its wetland plant victims.
Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's heroic Hudson River landing was a good reminder that a twenty pound bird at 200 miles per hour is not so different from a bowling ball shot from a cannon. The results range from minor dents to Flight 1549's disabled engines to the damage below: double-lapped, 1/16” reinforced aluminum totally blown through, and feathers clear to the cockpit.
My elementary school art teacher used to discourage the use of rulers, claiming that “there are no straight lines in nature”. Mr. Dugan, your own cells are here to tell you it’s not true. Systems of taut fibers and light struts— as straight as the bars and chains of a swingset—are omnipresent in biological forms.These organic analogs to popsicle sticks and rubber bands often occur in interwoven networks reminiscent of the geodesic domes that Buckminster Fuller promoted in the 1950’s. Since form follows function, it’s hardly surprising that these natural geodesics offer the same benefits in nature that they do in architecture: high strength, dynamic stability, and material frugality.
