Science looks to poplar trees for 'cool roof' technology
(PhysOrg.com) -- For as long as humans have been able to reason, they have mimicked nature in attempts to derive benefits for themselves; and just because weve become ultra-high tech in many ways, it doesnt mean weve stopped looking to nature to help us solve some of the problems that continue to arise in our paths. As one example Yanlin Song and others on a team doing research for the Chinese Academy of Science, as described in their paper "Highly reflective superhydrophobic white coating inspired by poplar leaf hairs toward an effective 'cool roof'" in Energy & Environmental Science, are copying the way poplar trees protect themselves from harsh sunlight and believe it might lead to new ways to help control the heat that is produced when sunlight beats down on a roof.