[JACK AYLMER]
CLAMS.
THEY ARE GOOD TO EAT.
AND FOR FILTERING POLLUTANTS OUT OF OUR BAYS AND RIVERS.
BUT NOW – THE RESEARCHERS HAVE THEIR OPINIONS GIVEN BY THESE JUMPERS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.
SOLAR POWER.
LET ME SHOW A LITTLE OF THE SUBJECT.
GIANT CLAMS USE PHOTOSYNTHESIS TO OBTAIN ENERGY FROM SYMBIOTIC ALGAE THAT LIVE IN THEIR CELLS.
AND OVER THE CENTURIES – THEY DEVELOPED WAYS TO MAXIMIZE THE AMOUNT OF SUNLIGHT THEY RECEIVED-
SOMETIMES ADJUST THE SPACING OF ALGAE CLUSTERS AS LIGHT CONDITIONS CHANGE.
THIS IS A PROCESS TEACHED BY YALE UNIVERSITY.
THE RESEARCHERS WANT TO SEE IF THEY CAN TRANSLATE THEIR FINDINGS INTO MORE BETTER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SOLAR ENERGY.
[ALISON SWEENEY]
One of its main issues is how troublesome it’s to make photosynthesis area environment friendly and the clam fully bodily solves that downside.
[JACK AYLMER]
LARGE SOLAR FARMS TODAY CAN TAKE ABOUT 25 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL ENERGY AVAILABLE FROM THE SUN AT ANY GIVEN TIME.
BUT BY USING THE THEORETICAL MODEL FROM THEIR FINDINGS-
THE YALE TEAM BELIEVES THESE CREATURES HAVE A SOLAR EFFICIENCY RATE OF 67 PERCENT.
A DISCOVERY THEY HOPE SOLAR MANUFACTURERS WILL ONE DAY DEPLOY.
GIANT CLAMS CAN GET A LOT OF STUFF IN THE DAY BECAUSE OF WHAT RESEARCHERS DESCRIBED AS AN OPTIMIZED GEOMETRY.
THEY ARRANGE THE ALGAE WITHIN THEM IN NARROW ARROWS-
WHICH ALLOWS EACH ALGAL CELL TO EXPERIENCE NEARLY THE SAME LIGHT INTENSITY-
SO THEY ALL WORK TO GET THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SOLAR ENERGY AT THE SAME TIME.
THE SPACING BETWEEN THESE ROWS CAN THEN BE CHANGED BY THE CLAM BASED ON THE SEVERAL SANA OF THE DAY.
IF THERE IS A LOT OF LIGHT THE COLUMNS WILL BE LARGER TO PRODUCE MORE ENERGY.
AND IF THE LIGHT IS NOT A LOT, THE CLAM CAN POSITION THE COLUMNS SO THEY ALL WORK AT THE SAME CAPACITY TO GET WHAT IS AVAILABLE.
[ALISON SWEENEY]
The clams have this wonderful system that for any mild depth whereas the dawn and sundown give an ideal dose of sunshine to the algae in these columns.
[JACK AYLMER]
THIS SETUP IS 10 TIMES MORE EFFICIENT THAN OTHER PHOTOSYNTHETIC MODELS.
AND IT’S ONE THAT WILL HELP INFORM DECISIONS ABOUT HOW PEOPLE USE SOLAR POWER IN THE FUTURE.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NEW ENERGY SOLUTIONS LIKE THESE, DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP AND SIGN UP FOR ALERTS FROM ME – JACK AYLMER – SO I CAN BRING YOU THE NEW.
