Watch Nature Tech – 03 – Lifepower (2006) Documentary Online
Nature has to be efficient in the way it processes information and uses energy so when scientists began to look at nature with biomimetic eyes, it’s not surprising that they started to see entirely new visions for our future.
Nature’s power stations are everywhere — in the form of leaves. They run on sunlight and their main waste product is oxygen. Now scientists have succeeded in building an artificial leaf, which could produce hydrogen — the fuel of the future — powered by nothing but sunlight. And when we park out new non-polluting cars at home or work, what will the buildings be like? For that, scientists are looking at prairie dogs and termites.
In Namibia we watch scientists laboriously fill a 3 metre high termite mound with latex, then, under the burning sun, shave away a few millimetres of the mound at a time and photograph it. The end result is the first ever complete 3D model of a termite mound, and it reveals some remarkable stories of how the termites control temperature, carbon dioxide and humidity in the nest. Understanding this, there’s no reason why we can’t build our own tower blocks on the same principles.
- Manoj
