13 year old researcher finds tree inspired solar collection more efficient
(PhysOrg.com) -- Aidan Dwyer, a 13 year old Junior High School student from New York state, noticed that the phyllotaxy of the leaves on trees he was observing while hiking through the Catskill Mountains, did so in the form of a Fibonacci sequence. Wondering if there was a reason for it, he deduced that it might be because such an arrangement provides the most efficient means of solar power collection for the trees. To find out if this was the case, he built a small solar tree from PVC pipe and small solar panels, then built another in a normal flat panel array, attached voltage readers to both, and lo and behold, discovered the tree model array was indeed more efficient, at least during times of low or indirect sunlight. Dwyer won a Young Naturist Award for his efforts after writing and submitting his essay, The Secret of the Fibonacci...