06 February 2009

The scales on butterfly wings are solar collectors


Butterflies cannot fly until ambient temperatures rise above a critical minimum, but they are aided in this regard by their wings, which they use as solar collectors. Anyone who has watched butterflies has seen them orient themselves according to the position of the sun and lower their wings to capture the light.

It has now been discovered that the scales on the wings not only function as solar collectors, but that the technology involved can be utilized in the manufacture of photoelectric cells.
The results show that the calcined photoanodes with butterfly wings’ structures, which comprised arranged ridges and ribs consisting of nanoparticles, were fully crystallined. Analysis of absorption spectra measurements under visible light wavelength indicates that the light-harvesting efficiencies of the QHS photoanode were higher than the normal titania photoanode without biotemplates because of the special microstructures

5 comments:

  1. Fascinating. Thank you.

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  2. Wow, something else randomly created by blind chance...

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  3. Anonymous, what is it with you Jesus freaks that whenever something beautifully complex is demonstrated, you imply that it must be that way because god made it that way. You imply that the only alternative to your intelligent design is "blind chance." Put some minerals in water, let them precipitate out as complex crystals, and you say "god did that" or "it was blind chance."

    Give it a rest. Go ahead and follow your narrow mind-set if that makes you compfortable in life, but leave your theology off the blogs comments.

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  4. You'll notice that the second "Anonymous" has nothing to say but insults. That must be because people who believe that the world is full of beautifully complex things created by chance have no reason to believe so except insults.

    When Darwin was alive and the cell seemed to be a simple structure full of jellylike "protoplasm", atheistic evolution was respectable. Now that we know that the simplest cell is far more complex than New York City, it's just a religion. A totally irrational religion, believed because the alternative is unacceptable.

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  5. I am completely not against religion, I think it's a great way to deal with what are fundamentally unanswerable questions we have. I hope it gives you great comfort, and makes your life much easier to take. However, I just can't abide circumscribing human thought within it.

    I don't understand why you find the theory of evolution to be such a threat. Is it not possible that god is much more subtle than you imagine? Why did he have to literally clap his hands and have it work?

    The reason science does not acknowledge God is because, as of yet, it has not entered into consideration. It hasn't had an observable effect. Most religions say that god refuses to reveal himself to humans, does it not make sense that he'd retreat, just out of reach of our logic when we threaten to expose him? Also, if god gave us natural curiosity, why would it be forbidden to use it? Only because you're afraid of what might be found?

    It's totally not incompatible with your beliefs. The bible (And other texts) have had to be reinterpreted countless times over the centuries. I really hope it happens again, and soon, before it derails human progress.

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