Energy storage has remained a topic of interest for the last decade. But why is there a sudden need for energy storage? Finite amount of fossil fuels and environmental concerns have forced us to look for more renewable sources of energy. As the world has begun its slow transition from fossil fuels, it is important...
Continue reading...
The topic of energy storage is more up-to-date than ever. Electric mobility solutions are in need of high-capacity batteries to operate over large distances. The demand for renewable energy sources like wind or solar energy is growing – but those resources are not continuously available. Practical solutions to store energy, available during storms or sunshine...
Continue reading...
I was thinking to write an article including a specific technology about the possibilities of energy storage for wind and solar power. These two are the most commonly used renewable energy sources and I was mind-bending to find a solution of storing wind and solar power in a Biomimetic way. Then I thought that this...
Continue reading...
Dear readers, we are starting a new theme session, which will be dedicated to “energy storage”. Our focus will be on presenting different strategies in living organisms that nature developed in order to store energy. Types of energy, their purpose and working mechanisms are topics you can expect to read about in the next weeks, based...
Continue reading...
In a month about wood, there is certainly one topic which must not be neglected: trees. I would like to close our theme session with this article, which will hopefully answer your most frequently asked questions about trees. What is a tree? Even though almost everyone knows what a tree looks like and probably...
Continue reading...
In my last article about surfaces, I gave you an overview about natural fibers, why some of them can be itchy and how they are structured. I chose the position of “pro natural fibers” to explain you, why they are my favorites for most of my clothes. In this article, I hold the opinion “pro...
Continue reading...
For the theme session of WOOD, we will discuss the properties of tree wood and factors which influence these properties. Wood is a natural composite that exhibits a remarkable combination of strength, stiffness and toughness [1]. At the same time being a natural/organic product, it is a structure of infinite variation of detail and design. It is...
Continue reading...
For the theme session of WOOD, I will take a closer look at the microstructure of trees and write about the structure, function and optimization of vessels and tracheids. It is well known that trees suck up the water by their roots und transfer it up to the leaves. When trees are freshly cut, it is interesting to...
Continue reading...
Today I have the honour to introduce our new theme session and write the editorial for the next four weeks, which are going to be all about: WOOD. I am very excited about this theme session. All our previous theme sessions (LIGHT, ICE, SURFACES) had a physical background. Even if not all of our articles...
Continue reading...
While perhaps far from mainstream science, biological surfaces have received a lot of attention in recent decades, especially by the biomimetic community. In fact, many studies surrounding surfaces have become the prime examples of Bionics/Biomimetics, such as the self-cleaning lotus leaves, the super adhesive gecko pads, etc. In this post, I will be focusing on the...
Continue reading...
