close this window
Flowers and Solar Panels
MIT students use the concept of phototropism to design a sun-tracking solar panel that requires no motor or electronic control system.
Spend a day observing a field of sunflowers and you’ll get a good feeling for phototropism, a plant’s method for maximizing sunlight exposure by following old sol as it moves across the sky. Earlier this year, a team of MIT students used the concept to design a sun-tracking solar panel, which, unlike the electro-mechanical ones currently on the 
market, requires no motor or energy-sapping electronic control system to function. The innovation involves mounting the 
solar panels on top of metal arches, which react to the sun’s heating by curving in the direction of the sun’s rays. Though still in the concept phase, the Heliotrope, which won first prize in the school’s Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest, is significant because solar cells that align with the sun’s rays have been found to be 38 percent more efficient than standard stationary panels.
word on the street
more in this section
Gender Wage Gap Skewed By Survey Flaws
‘Orcas as Slaves’ Argument Sinks
The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor
Prop Planes: The Future of Eco-Friendly Aviation?
House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire
A Perennial Epicenter, Now for Same-Sex Marriage
Prop 8 May Be Same-Sex Couples’ Least Worry
EarthScope: A Seismic Shift in Data Gathering
Pressure to Conform Can Inspire Creativity
Learning to Read When a School System Falters
also by this author
Arnie CooperArnie Cooper, a freelance writer based in Santa Barbara, Calif., covers food, travel and popular culture, as well as architecture and the sustainabili...
Conservation’s Earnest Message Could Use LevityLions, gorillas, and wolves, oh my! Two on-the-ground proponents of saving the tropics think a great way to both engage and enlighten the West is to deploy a dollop of satire.
Simon Johnson Critiques Democracy vs. FinancializationThe former chief economist for the IMF discusses the unfairness of the existing American financial infrastructure and the complex policy prescriptions that seek a remedy.
Obamacare: No Friends in Free-Market, Single-Payer CampsIt’s the president of the free-market-minded Galen Institute versus a pediatrician/activist for a single-payer system in spirited debate on improving American health care.
Solutions to Water Supply Issues Surface in the WestIn the quarter-century since Marc Reisner issued a grim prognosis for water in the American West, various entities have made efforts to reverse what once seemed inevitable.
Water Shortages Threaten the American West LifestyleWhile not every dire prediction has come true, amid swimming pools and thirsty crops, the hard truth remains that the American West cannot maintain its spendthrift ways of using fresh water.
Receive 1 year (6 issues) of our print magazine for just $14.95. Miller-McCune features polished, in-depth reports on research and solutions across the policy spectrum — from health care, education and energy to international affairs, poverty and the global economy. It's a must read for well-informed and solutions-driven individuals.
follow us on:
join our newsletter:
from the source
A lot of people say they watch the Super Bowl mostly for the ads. But it turns out a good game surrounding those ads makes them seem better.
After decades of obstacles hindering the voting process, new laws will allow overseas and military voters to submit their votes in time for the 2012 election.
World health leaders announce coordinated push to eradicate or control neglected tropical diseases.
A survey of award-winning children’s picture books from 1938 to 2008 suggests our increasing estrangement from the natural environment.
Rather than moaning about too many cars on the road, the Ridesharing Institute says the real key to battling traffic congestion and pollution is filling empty passenger seats.
