LESSON 2.3: DESIGN STUDIO
Image courtesy of Flickr CC, Cala Lily
The Ubiquitous 3D Spiral
- Swaying kelp to nautilus shells
- Pine cones to sunflowers
- Skin pores to hurricanes
- DNA to galaxies
Nautilus shells, swaying kelp and skin pores all share a fundamental spiral geometry that moves fluids more efficiently than the rotors and impellers humans have been designing for centuries. The pervasive logarithmic spiral pattern (the Golden Ratio) found throughout the natural world is an optimal flow form, allowing fluids to travel as fast as possible without transitioning from smooth, low-friction flow (called “laminar flow”) to rough and high-friction flow (called “turbulent flow”). Jay Harmon (learn more about him below) calls these the "geometry of whirlpools".
Image courtesy and with permission of Pax Scientific. Above: The PAX Lily Mixing Impeller inspired by the Cala Lily
The PAX Water Mixer (shown above; size: fits in your hand) uses efficiencies of fluid flow to provide efficient mixing of drinking water in storage tanks. Jay Harmon designed this mixer and it is currently manufactured by his company, PAX Scientific Links to an external site.. This eliminates stratification, keeps disinfectant residuals actively working to maintain drinking water safety, and prevents conditions favorable to nitrification.
Logarithmic spiral-shaped rotary devices (such as fans, impellers, turbines, etc.) reduce energy requirements from 15 to 30% and noise up to 75% over conventional rotors, and have a wide number of applications across design, engineering and architecture fields.
The PAX pump (another Pax Scientific product) is completely scalable. The pump can be made so tiny that it fits into a heart pacemaker! This incredible design moves blood through the heart by creating a 3D vortex rather than "slicing" and pushing fluids as traditional pumps and fans work. This has an added benefit of keeping blood cells damage-free.
Watch the video below to learn about why Jay Harmon
Links to an external site., Founder and CEO of Pax Scientific
Links to an external site., is considered a premier biomimetic designer. The Nature of Innovation published by Bioneers in 2014 (~22mins).
Transcript of this video. Download Transcript of this video.