Have you considered the bud of a beech tree?
This tiny bud, less than one inch long, opens to produce a leaf which is six inches across. How can such a big leaf come from such a tiny bud? It is folded in a precise way to allow maximum packing efficiency, without the folds interfering with each other during opening.
This is what Japanese scientist Koryo Miura copied when challenged to send a solar panel into space. Miura folded a massive 80 foot long solar array with a surface area of 620 square feet, which was stored in a rocket and sent into space. Upon arrival, the solar array unfolded easily without damage. This type of folding is now used everywhere from Tokyo subway maps, to heart stents used to clear blocked arteries.
God takes joy in our use of His designs to solve problems, especially when we acknowledge Him as the Great Designer.
(Source: Inspired Evidence – Don DeYoung, Space Age Leaves, Answers Magazine, 2010 January pp.30)
0 Comments