#TIL: Beak-a-boom: Mimicking nature to bring the Shinkansen back on track
By Yash Narain
In 1989, Japan’s much acclaimed Shinkansen “Bullet” train was pushing upwards of 160mph but for a train running through dense residential neighbourhoods, it was loud. Seriously loud. Sonic booms could be heard upto 400 metres away whenever the train exited a tunnel.
The noise was majorly attributed to the power collection apparatus on top of the train (pantographs) and the sudden release of compressed air at tunnel exits. Bird watching hobbyist, engineer Eiji Nakatsu, redesigned the pantograph keeping the quiet predatory swoop of the owl in mind. The curved primary feathers of owls have serrations which break the flow of air into micro-turbulences thereby reducing noise.
Similarly, the smooth, spindle-shaped body of the Adélie penguin allows it to swim and slide effortlessly. It was mimicked to lower the wind resistance for the pantograph’s supporting shaft. Most famously, Nakatsu copied the design of the Kingfisher’s beak for the nose of the train. Kingfishers have the remarkable ability to dive into the water with precision while barely making a splash. When the redesigned Shinkansen debuted in 1997, it was 10% faster, consumed 15% less electricity and stayed below the 70db noise limit for residential areas.
Taking design cues from nature in this manner is called biomimicry. From ant swarms teaching a lesson about coordination to AVs to modelling a car after the yellow boxfish, the possibilities for learning from nature are endless. All one needs to do is look around.
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