Chalk is super easy to break (as any fourth grade can attest to), yet a shell, made of the same material, stays largely in tact when dropped from around five feet up (enjoy the slow motion video from the high speed camera we brought along below).
So why doesn’t it just crack? Turns out there are some crazy nanostructures at work … Here’s a peak at what’s under the surface (at the nano level):
And here’s a bit more information from the GE nano site:
Seashells are naturally self-assembled structures, growing gradually over the lifetime of the creatures that live inside them. By studying this behavior at the nano-scale, we can one day develop high-strength ceramics that are light yet also durable, and enhance the performance of our products, such as gas turbine blades.
It’s really interesting to take learnings directly from nature and apply it. I love how Gaudi used sea structures as the inspiration for his work, including La Sagrada Familia (if you haven’t seen it and are ever in Barcelona, you have to go, whoever is reading this), for example. I’d certainly like to know more.
What has GE invented that was inspired from nature? An interactive list of some kind would be cool.
[...] We explained why shells don’t break when they’re dropped [...]