John Dabiri Uses Biomimicry to Design Cheaper, More Efficient Wind Farms Inspired by Schools of Fish

Wind turbine designs have improved significantly in recent years, but wind farms are still pretty inefficient. That’s because traditional wind turbines — the ones with three huge blades — interfere with each other. Putting two or more large turbines in close proximity produces wind blocks and vortices that decrease the efficiency of the overall wind farm. But CalTech biophysicist and MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” winner John Dabiri discovered a solution to that problem by studying the movement of schools fish . He found that vertical-axis wind turbines with blades that resemble fins can work together to more efficiently harness wind energy. Read the rest of John Dabiri Uses Biomimicry to Design Cheaper, More Efficient Wind Farms Inspired by Schools of Fish Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: “wind power” , bioinspiration , biomimicry , John Dabiri , renewable energy , VAWTs , vertical axis wind turbines , wind energy , Wind Farms , wind turbines , windmills        

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John Dabiri Uses Biomimicry to Design Cheaper, More Efficient Wind Farms Inspired by Schools of Fish

Mitchell Joachim Wants to 3D Print Cities Using ‘Smart Trash’ From the World’s Overflowing Landfills

The world’s landfills are literally overflowing. According to 2008 figures (and we’ve added a few people since then), America alone produces a whopping 1.35 billion pounds of garbage every day – and that’s with many of us recycling and reusing more than ever. Many see waste as an unfortunate consequence of our consumer society, but designer Mitchell Joachim sees it as an untapped resource that could be used to create affordable shelters for booming global populations. Read the rest of Mitchell Joachim Wants to 3D Print Cities Using ‘Smart Trash’ From the World’s Overflowing Landfills Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: 3D printing , cities , Green Building , green materials , landfill , mitchell joachim , recycling , Smart Trash , trash , upcycling , Waste        

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Mitchell Joachim Wants to 3D Print Cities Using ‘Smart Trash’ From the World’s Overflowing Landfills