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Mountain Shadows

By Guest Editorial Writer James Heth

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Copied Nature
 

We have often copied nature in the development of ideas and products. During WWII the Germans copied the bombardier beetle and came up with the 'Buzz' bomb. 

 

The beetle mixes hydrogen peroxide with volatile enzymes and then presto facto you have an explosion that blasts its enemies with a face full of caustic chemicals while the buzz bomb does about the same thing propelling it across the English Channel in short bursts to then fall down upon London and explode.

 

            More recently an engineer in Detroit noticed the Gannett bird would fly about a hundred feet above the ocean and then when spotting a fish below would go into a dive and hit the water at speeds above ninety miles an hour. Upon investigation as to how the bird manages to do this without harm it was discovered that the bird has air sacs just beneath its skin that it inflates a moment before hitting the water.  And so now we have airbags in automobiles.

 

That nature rewards us with beauty and inspires us to create new and worthwhile products are simply a two of the many gifts from the natural world around us...


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Sunday July 13, 2008

Sierra Sun Times