This isn't the first time that principles from oragami have been used in engineering. But up until now, most of the focus has been on much smaller scales. The challenge of scaling it up is that at the smaller scale, gravity doesn't really matter. And if you want to see these orogamy structures in action, we have you covered. Check out the show notes for a link to a video all about the paper.
The self-supporting structures that snap into place, and how a ban on fossil-fuel funding could entrench poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
In this episode:
00:45 Self-supporting, foldable structures
Drawing inspiration from the art of origami, a team of researchers have demonstrated a way to design self-supporting structures that lock into place after being inflated. The team hope that this technique could be used to create arches and emergency shelters that can be quickly unfolded from flat with minimal input.
Nocturnal fluctuations cause scientists to underestimate rivers’ carbon emissions, and the ‘island rule’ of animal size-change is seen around the world.
09:55 Banning fossil-fuel funding will not alleviate poverty
A ban by wealthy nations on the funding of overseas fossil-fuel projects would do little to reduce the world’s climate emissions and much to entrench poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, argues economist Vijaya Ramachandran.
We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, the first powered flight on another world, and estimating how many Tyrannosaurus rex ever lived.