Back to School..Who's Your Teacher This Year?

Our youngsters are, once again, back at their studies furthering their education. This summer was filled with electronic inventions including smart phones and many I-products, all of which are well used and easily understood by these young minds. What else are they going to learn!? Perhaps they have something to teach us..If we're listening!

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A 13-yr old New York boy named Adan Dwyer was on a winter hike in the Catskills when he paused to look at the trees around him. All the leaves had long gone and he noticed that the branches seemed to have a spiral pattern.

He wondered if the pattern had anything to do with how tree-leaves collected sunlight, as sun is the key to the tree's survival. He did some research and came up with an interesting discovery.

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Man-made solar panels are always in a flat line ,while the tree branches are in a mathematical sequence!! In the year 1209, a mathematician named Fibonacci discovered a repeating pattern that is even seen in many trees. This was re-discovered by a naturalist in 1754. Young Dwyer had an idea!...

Dwyer constructed a tree with branches of "leaf solar panels" using this formula and begin measuring the sunlight with meters from October to December when the sun was at it's lowest. Comparing his findings with that of a typical flat "Man-made solar-system", he arranged his "leaf" panels in this spiral pattern and found his tree design increased efficiency from 20-50%. Shade and bad weather did not affect the tree-design efficiency as it did to the "Flat-array" design. The tree design would take less room and would be able to work in urban areas where the sunlight would be hard to find! Googling "FIBONACCI" reveals some very interesting facts! Flowers have specific numbers of petals ..The Nautilus Shell uses the Fibonacci formula.......

Young Dwyer took a lesson from Mother Nature.........................

As a result of this project, the American Museum of Natural History has bestowed Adan Dwyers with a Young Naturalist Award. Perhaps, Mother Nature is still trying to tell us some of her secrets.. through a 13-yr old..If we're listening!!