13-year-old uncovers nature's secret

He discovered that tree-branch patterns followed the Fibonacci mathematical principle, which helped gather more sunlight.

NEW  YORK - A 13-year-old has uncovered nature's secret, in particular, how trees gather more sunlight - even in the dark winter months - using a mathemathical principle known as the Fibonacci sequence.
Aidan Dawyer stumbled upon the discovery during a winter hike. Mesmerized by the spiral pattern of the tree branches, he sought to investigate why.

His investigative path led him to a mathematical formula called the "divine number", which applies to many things in nature, Dawyer wrote, in an article on the American Museum of Natural History's website.
Briefly, the Fibonacci sequence starts with the numbers 0 and 1, each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two – 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13…. These numbers, when put in ratios, happen to show up in the patterns of branches and leaves on trees.

After establishing that the tree patterns were not random, Dawyer then applied that knowledge to solar panel arrangements.

Dawyer built his own "solar tree", right in his own backyard. His experiment managed to prove that a "tree-branch" arrangement increased the amount of solar power harnessed as compared to when panels are laid flat.

Dawyer himself wrote: “The tree design takes up less room than flat-panel arrays and works in spots that don’t have a full southern view. It collects more sunlight in winter. Shade and bad weather like snow don’t hurt it because the panels are not flat. It even looks nicer because it looks like a tree. A design like this may work better in urban areas where space and direct sunlight can be hard to find.”

For his breakthrough, Dawyer earned himself a Young Naturalist award for 2011 at the American Museum of Natural History.

Not only that, he also got a provisional US patent and interest from "entities" eager to commercialize his innovation, reported the Northport Patch.