Sunflower geometry inspires better solar power plant design

MIT mechanical engineer Alexander Mitsos and colleagues were seeking an improved layout for solar power plants, and found inspiration in the concentric spirals of the sunflower. (via @pourmecoffee)

• [chellberty]

  for more cool biomimicry 
  http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/michael_pawlyn_using_nature_s_genius_in_architecture.html

• [el dueno]

  Good observation the the sunflower plant is already a solar powered plant converting solar energy into useful products.

• [Jay Converse]

  This was an “ah-ha” moment should have been labeled a “duh” moment.

• [Tim Westbrook]

  Hmm , this guy did something similar right, i mean in the sense, what things exist already that are good at collecting light.
  http://inhabitat.com/13-year-old-makes-solar-power-breakthrough-by-harnessing-the-fibonacci-sequence/

• [Cowicide]

  That’s a Fibonacci sequence, isn’t it?

  • [Guest]

    its a fibonacci sequence combined with efficient packing