What can you learn from animals and plants? Presentation on the topic "What can you learn by spying on animals?" Learn from a cat - always know your worth
Almost everything that man invented already existed in nature. The dragonfly was before the helicopter, the fish before the submarines, the web before all materials, and the stems and trees before the skyscrapers. Today we will tell you how and what man learned from nature.
Swim like a fish
Explorer Malcolm McIver and his robot
Sea animals have inspired many inventions. Their streamlined shape served as a prototype for the creation of ships, submarines, and atomic bombs.
Shark skin, covered with small scales, has become the basis for the development of energy-saving coatings for airliners, ships and wind turbine blades. According to the calculations of German development scientists, if you cover airplanes and sea vessels with this material - a special paint that reduces flow resistance, you can save up to 4.5 million tons of fuel in flights and about 2000 tons per year in sea voyages.
Now scientists from Harvard University are trying to recreate the skin of a mako shark using 3D printing, their ultimate goal is to produce a high-tech diving suit that will reduce water resistance.
Another modern know-how: a reconnaissance robot resembling a black knifefish that lives in the bottom waters of the Amazon. The robot, developed by American engineers, borrowed from the knifeworm the unique ability to navigate in complete darkness. Researcher Malcolm McIver has been studying the sensory and motor systems of these fish for many years. He found out that for orientation, the knifebird sends a weak electrical impulse created by a special organ, and for movement it makes wave-like movements with its long lower fin. Both of these properties have been “donated” to new robotic divers who will be able to conduct reconnaissance in hard-to-reach and poorly lit places, such as sunken ships.
The tropical yellow spotted fish with its unusual shape inspired Mercedes-Benz to create the Bionic Car, which follows the shape of the fish and thanks to it moves with great efficiency.
Fly like a bird
Birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other insects have long inspired people to create a variety of aircraft. One of the pioneers of aviation, Leonardo da Vinci, sketched the flights of birds of different breeds and bats and tried to recreate their method of movement. In 1487 he developed the ornithopper, a flying machine based on bird flight. Another idea of da Vinci is retractable staircases, the prototype for which are the legs of a swift. And although the machines invented by da Vinci never flew, the ideas borrowed from nature were eventually implemented by other inventors of aircraft.
For example, the dragonfly became the prototype of the helicopter. Like an insect, a car takes off from a place without a preliminary run, “hangs” in the air, and lands without a run. Its amazing flying abilities inspired, in particular, the inventor Igor Sikorsky. One of his helicopters was an almost exact replica of a dragonfly: the scientist had at his disposal 2,000 computer-generated maneuvers of the dragonfly in the air.
Currently, French engineers are trying to bring the design of an aircraft wing as close as possible to the wings of large birds of prey. “This will increase the lift of the aircraft at low speeds, reduce air resistance, energy costs for flight, and perhaps even noise levels, affecting the level of turbulence of flows,” explains developer Marianne Braza, who presented the new wing this year. One of the know-hows is thin plates that vibrate and reduce turbulence; in birds, this task is performed by small feathers located on the trailing edge of the wings.
See like a cat
Pictured right: Percy Shaw and his colleague
Man learned to see in the dark from cats and owls. The principles of their vision were used in the development of night vision devices.
Cat's eyes formed the basis of another invention - the reflector. It was invented by the Englishman Percy Shaw when he saw the reflection of his car's headlights in the eyes of a cat on a dark highway. The cat's eye invention was patented in 1934 and soon appeared on UK roads, increasing their safety.
Catch ultrasound like a bat
Bats helped scientists discover echolocation - a method of determining the position of an object in space by the delay time of the return of the reflected wave. The discoverer was the Italian naturalist and physicist Lazzaro Spallanzani: at the end of the 18th century, he observed the movements of bats in a dark room and noticed that these animals were perfectly oriented. During the experiment, he blinded several individuals and found that they flew just as well as sighted ones. After the experience of his colleague, who covered the ears of bats with wax and stated that they bump into all objects, it became obvious that these animals navigate by hearing. This knowledge came in handy only in the 20th century, when ultrasound became known. Scientists have created a number of instruments, including sonar for underwater objects and the seabed. Not only bats are capable of echolocation, but also whales and dolphins, and to a lesser extent some birds (guajaros, swiftlets), shrews and the Madagascar tenrec hedgehog.
Recently, British engineers from the University of Southampton introduced a new type of radar that will allow skiers to be rescued from avalanches and miners from underground rubble. The author of the project, Timothy Liton, came up with this device after being surprised by the superpowers of dolphins: they navigate even in muddy water thanks to emitted impulses and accurately find food.
Change color like a chameleon
Many animals can change color and blend in with their environment. This ability was borrowed by the creators of camouflage. Developments in this area continue. For example, in January 2014, American scientists from Harvard University reported that they were studying the ability to change colors in cuttlefish - they hope that this research will help improve protective clothing for soldiers.
Later, a team of scientists from the universities of Houston and Illinois presented a material that analyzes the environment and automatically changes its own color, adjusting to the background color. The source for the development was cephalopods: octopuses, squids and cuttlefish.
Stick like a gecko
The “sticky” paws of the gecko formed the basis of know-how from scientists from Stanford University. They came up with special gloves with suction cups that anyone can use to climb a vertical wall. Silicone suction cups, like a gecko's paws, are covered with thousands of hairs, and thanks to intermolecular attraction (van der Waals forces), the material seems to stick to the surface. The tests took place this year and were similar to filming a Spider-Man movie.
Stick like a burdock
Burdock with its small hooks and hooks became the prototype of textile fastener - Velcro. It was invented by the Swiss naturalist and engineer Georges de Mistral, when he was cleaning his dog of burdocks after a walk in the mountains in 1948 and wondered why it was so difficult to peel these fruits of the plant from the fur.
Stick like clams
Weave webs like a spider
Spider thread is incredibly strong: it is five times stronger than steel. According to scientists' calculations, it could even stop an airliner if it were the thickness of a pencil. It is not surprising that people have long tried to recreate spider thread. And eventually they were able to produce equally durable materials, such as polyacrylonitrile. But scientists went even further: at the University of Utah, spider genes were added to the DNA of a goat, as a result, spider webs can be filtered out of milk. In 2011, Dutch scientists tried to go even further: they combined artificial leather with webbing obtained from the milk of genetically modified goats to create a bulletproof fabric that, in tests, repelled 5.56-caliber bullets. Their plans were to implant webs into human skin, but so far nothing is known about the appearance of Spider-Man.
Get light like fireflies
Recently, Korean engineers studied the nanostructure of the abdomen of fireflies and created super-bright and more efficient LEDs based on it: to do this, they changed the microstructure of the LED surface, increasing its transparency. About how else the properties of fireflies and other luminous animals are used.
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Since time immemorial, human thought has been looking for an answer to the question: can a person achieve the same thing that living nature has achieved? Will he be able, for example, to fly like a bird or swim underwater like a fish? At first, people could only dream about this, but soon inventors began to apply the organizational features of living organisms in their designs.
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BIONICS is the applied science of applying the principles, properties, functions and structures of living nature in technical devices and systems
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The relationship between nature and technology, people began to treat nature more carefully, trying to take a closer look at its methods in order to wisely use them in technology. These methods can serve as a model for the development of environmentally friendly industrial products. Nature as a standard is bionics. Understanding nature and taking it as a model does not mean copying. In the past, man's attitude towards nature was consumerist; technology exploited and destroyed natural resources. But gradually, however, nature can help us find the right technical solution to quite complex issues. Nature is like a huge engineering bureau, which always has the right way out of any situation.
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electronics, navigation, communications, maritime affairs and others. The idea of applying knowledge about wildlife to solve engineering problems came from Leonardo da Vinci, who tried to build an aircraft with flapping wings like birds: an ornithopter. Bionics is closely related to biology, physics, chemistry, cybernetics and engineering: In 1960, the first symposium on bionics was held in Daytona (USA), which formalized the birth of a new science.
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Architectural bionics
This is a new phenomenon in architectural science and practice. Here are the possibilities of searching for new, functionally justified architectural forms, distinguished by beauty and harmony, and the creation of new rational structures with the simultaneous use of the amazing properties of building materials of living nature, and the discovery of ways to realize the unity of design and creation of architectural means using the energy of the sun, wind, cosmic rays
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Architectural and construction bionics In architectural and construction bionics, much attention is paid to new construction technologies. For example, in the field of development of efficient and waste-free construction technologies, a promising direction is the creation of layered structures. The idea is borrowed from deep-sea mollusks. Their durable shells, such as those of the widespread abalone, consist of alternating hard and soft plates. When a hard plate cracks, the deformation is absorbed by the soft layer and the crack does not go further. This technology can also be used to cover cars.
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A striking example of Architectural and construction bionics is a complete analogy of the structure of cereal stems and modern high-rise buildings. The stems of cereal plants are able to withstand heavy loads without breaking under the weight of the inflorescence. If the wind bends them to the ground, they quickly restore their vertical position. What's the secret? It turns out that their structure is similar to the design of modern high-rise factory pipes - one of the latest achievements of engineering.
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Velcro fasteners The operating principle of burdock was borrowed by man to make Velcro fasteners. The first adhesive tapes appeared in the 50s of the XX century. With their help you can, for example, fasten sports shoes; In this case, laces are no longer needed. In addition, the length of the Velcro is easy to adjust - this is one of its advantages. In the first years after their invention, such fasteners were very popular. Today, everyone has become accustomed to a convenient fastener, and Velcro manufacturers now only make sure that the Velcro is well hidden under the flaps.
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The group, which included architects, engineers, designers, biologists and psychologists, developed the “Vertical Bionic Tower City” project. In 15 years, a tower city should appear in Shanghai (according to scientists, in 20 years the population of Shanghai could reach 30 million people). The tower city is designed for 100 thousand people, the project is based on the “principle of wood construction”.
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Suckers Octopus: The octopus has invented a sophisticated method of hunting its prey: it covers it with tentacles and sucks on hundreds, whole rows of which are on the tentacles. The suction cups also help it move on slippery surfaces without sliding down. Technical suction cups: if you shoot a suction arrow from a slingshot at the glass of a window, the arrow will attach and remain on it. The suction cup is slightly rounded and straightens when it collides with an obstacle. Then the elastic washer is tightened again; This is how a vacuum arises. And the suction cup attaches to the glass.
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Scientists from Stanford University have advanced the furthest in the direction of creating upright bipedal robots. They have been experimenting for almost three years with a miniature six-legged robot, a hexapod, based on the results of studying the locomotion system of a cockroach. The first hexapod was constructed on January 25, 2000. Now the design runs very quickly - at a speed of 55 cm (more than three of its own lengths) per second - and also successfully overcomes obstacles. Stanford has also developed a human-sized one-legged jumping monopod that is capable of maintaining an unstable balance while constantly jumping. As you know, a person moves by “falling” from one leg to another and spends most of the time on one leg. In the future, scientists from Stanford hope to create a bipedal robot with a human-like walking system.
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Roofs that repel water An important role in the construction of houses is played by the roof, which must protect the premises of the building from water ingress. Spider Egg Cocoon The spider makes a thin “cape” of waterproof material to protect the eggs it lays. This fist-sized cocoon is bell-shaped and opens from the bottom. It consists of the same material as the threads of the spider's web. Of course, it is not woven from separate threads, but represents a single shell. It perfectly protects the egg from bad weather and humidity. Raincoat When we go outside in the rain, we wear a waterproof raincoat or take an umbrella with us. Like a cocoon of a spider's egg with a protective film, water drains from the artificial material, as a result of which a person does not get wet.
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Researchers from Bell Labs (a Lucent corporation) recently discovered a high-quality optical fiber in the body of deep-sea sponges of the genus Euplectellas. According to the test results, it turned out that the material from the skeleton of these 20-centimeter sponges can transmit a digital signal no worse than modern communication cables, while natural optical fiber is much stronger than human fiber due to the presence of an organic shell. The skeleton of deep-sea sponges of the genus Euplectellas is built from high-quality fiber optics
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Gustav Eiffel drew a drawing of the Eiffel Tower in 1889. This structure is considered one of the earliest clear examples of the use of bionics in engineering. The design of the Eiffel Tower is based on the scientific work of Swiss anatomy professor Hermann Von Meyer. 40 years before the construction of the Parisian engineering miracle, the professor examined the bone structure of the head of the femur in the place where it bends and enters the joint at an angle. And yet for some reason the bone does not break under the weight of the body. The base of the Eiffel Tower resembles the bone structure of the head of the femur
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Von Meyer discovered that the head of the bone is covered with an intricate network of miniature bones, thanks to which the load is amazingly redistributed throughout the bone. This network had a strict geometric structure, which the professor documented. In 1866, Swiss engineer Carl Cullman provided a theoretical basis for von Meyer's discovery, and 20 years later natural load distribution using curved calipers was used by Eiffel. Bone structure of the femoral head
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Nature offers engineers and scientists endless opportunities to borrow technologies and ideas. Previously, people were not able to see what was literally in front of their noses, but modern technical means and computer modeling help us understand at least a little how the world around us works, and try to copy some details from it for our own needs.
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Valentina Vilchinskaya
Project “What Nature Teaches Us”
annotation
In the sayings of ancient and modern sages we often come across the advice: “Learn from nature.” What is meant? Maybe this is a poetic exaggeration? We can imagine how we can learn from people without much difficulty, but how can we learn from nature? Can fresh mountain air filled with prana give us anything other than health and vitality? Walking among the trees, contemplating the flow of the river, observing the change of seasons, can we gain new knowledge? How and what can nature teach us?
From nature, man has learned everything he can; many ideas for transforming the surrounding reality, changing it, have been gleaned by man from nature itself. Man himself, as a part of nature, changes and transforms it.
During the preparation of the project, the child had the opportunity to satisfy his curiosity, which allowed him to expand his understanding of how to learn from nature. Independently summarize received ideas and draw conclusions.
The work has a defined goal: to find out what nature teaches us.
A hypothesis has been put forward: children, having gained knowledge about environmental phenomena and the behavior of animals, will treat them more carefully.
When working on the project, the following research methods were used:
Theoretical
Literature analysis.
Comparisons and observations.
Empirical
Observation.
Practical
Making booklets
Conclusion: From this work we can conclude that cognitive research activities allow us to expand our understanding of the world around us, help children from an early age understand that they are part of nature, teach them to generalize received ideas and draw conclusions.
Introduction.
What nature teaches us
The sun teaches us not to regret,
River - don't sit still,
The star is to burn, the earth is to search,
The expanse of heaven - to take off from the ground.
The rains teach us purity,
Flowers - love, sunset - a dream,
Resistance - sails,
Forgiveness - mother's eyes.
One day Valentina Mikhailovna read us a poem by the poet Vladimir Natanovich Orlov:
Us at any time of the year
Wise nature teaches.
Birds teach singing
Spider - patience.
Bees in the field and garden
They teach us how to work.
And besides, in their work
Everything is fair.
Reflection in water
Teaches us truthfulness.
Snow teaches us purity,
The sun teaches kindness
And with all the enormity
Teaches modesty.
Nature has it all year round
You need to study.
We are trees of all species
All the great forest people,
Teaches strong friendship.
How can one learn from people, I can imagine without much difficulty, but how can one learn from nature? What can she teach us? I decided to find out what we can still learn from nature.
Purpose of the work: to find out what we can learn from nature.
The object of study was nature.
The subject of the study was natural phenomena and animal habits.
To achieve this goal, I solved the following tasks:
1. Study of natural phenomena, life and habits of animals;
2. Mastering ideas and concepts about living and inanimate nature;
3. The ability to find an answer to a pressing question using a variety of sources.
4. Developing an understanding of the relationships in nature and man’s place in it.
Description of work.
1-2 slide
Hello. My name is Razumov Vladislav. I go to the kindergarten “Yagodka” in the preparatory group.
3 slide
One day Valentina Mikhailovna read us a poem by the poet Vladimir Natanovich Orlov: “What nature teaches us.” And I began to wonder what else we can learn from nature. I talked with the teacher, read encyclopedias with my mother, and looked for information on the Internet. And today I want to talk about what I learned. I hope you find it as interesting as I do.
4 slide
There is a tree in front of us. It stands motionless.
5 slide
It endures everything: wind and cold, rain and snow. They cut the branch, it says nothing. The tree is very patient by nature. You can learn patience from him.
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What does a dog teach us? The dog is an attentive observer, surprisingly sensitive to the most diverse emotions and intentions of people. Once in a new team, the dog needs some time to understand how the roles are distributed here, who is the leader, who is the breadwinner, who will play and walk with it. And only after being oriented in the system of relations between people, the dog establishes its own special relationship with each member of the team individually. Her tact and ability to establish contact with people depending on their individual characteristics and preferences is worth learning from.
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When we see a dog, we see complete fidelity in the look. Why do people love dogs? Because they are loyal animals.
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If you compare dogs and wolves, then wolves are unfaithful, although they look like dogs. When we look into the eyes of a wolf (for example, in a zoo), he has a tense, suspicious look, he has no one he trusts. Although outwardly they are similar to a dog. Dogs are loyal, so they are close to a person. You can learn loyalty from a dog .
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Pay attention to the cat. The cat knows what it wants and unerringly chooses what really suits it best. That is why many tend to consider her cold and selfish. But this is not true: a cat is a very sensitive animal, and its attachment to its owner, although not as obvious as that of a dog, makes it a loyal friend, ready to support and calm through gentle touches. She is relaxed all the time. This means that in life you need to learn to accept everything like a cat: to be relaxed and calm. The cat gives us a wonderful lesson on how to maintain a balance between your own interests and the needs of others. The cat is unobtrusive in communication, she carefully doses the signs of her love and decides for herself what to do.
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Those who raise bees know how amazing this insect is, they know that the hive should not be placed too far from the flowers. She will simply wear out her wings and die on the road, and therefore the hives are placed closer so that the bees do not fly so far. So that you don’t get too tired, because the bees won’t take care of themselves. They will live until the last for this hive. A bee does not live for itself. You can learn collective thinking from a bee. Looking at the bees, we understand that in a team we need to do everything together.
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By watching a spider weave a web, man learned to weave webs.
12 slide
If a dolphin finds an injured dolphin, it helps it stay afloat. Dolphins teach us not to leave each other in trouble.
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Elephants never abandon the elderly. Elephants teach to respect elders.
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Some plants and mollusks told people how to make traps: mollusks close their shells, and plants close their valves when food gets into them.
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Watching how a chameleon, taking careful aim, shoots its long sticky tongue at its prey, a man came up with a harpoon.
16 slide
Claws, fangs and beaks - the hunting tools of animals - became an example for the manufacture of arrowheads and spears.
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Snakes and scorpions kill their victims with poison - this tells a person how to use a poisoned weapon.
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Even such a hunting technique as an ambush was suggested to people by animals. Observe the cat, how patiently she can sit, hiding and watching to see if the sparrows have lost their vigilance. Large cats - panthers, leopards, lynxes and jaguars - also watch for prey.
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Wolves were special teachers of people. In their hunt, all roles are strictly distributed: some lie in ambush, others drive the prey. In such a hunt, intelligence is already required. Maybe that’s why ancient people especially revered smart, brave and strong animals: bears, wolves, tigers.
As I finish my speech, I want to talk about 4 more things that animals can teach us:
Feeding and caring for the health of our pet teaches us responsibility.
Animals either love us or they don't. I think animals are capable of love. And they teach us this.
Caring for an animal teaches us patience.
Try throwing a ball to your dog, or play with a rope with your cat and you will understand that you can get pleasure from little things.
I also realized that we must share difficulties among ourselves, help each other and stick together. Such a law of nature. And we must live by this law.
Conclusion
While working on my project, I learned that man has learned from nature since ancient times. Nature is an inexhaustible source of knowledge and new discoveries. Nature must be loved, protected and very carefully observed and studied. And the main thing is to learn from her all my life, and then many new discoveries await us.
Did you know that flowers love to be caressed and talked to? This is not nonsense, and not children's fairy tales... Plants, like all living beings, are not alien to the world of feelings. Pioneers in the study of plants Linnaeus, Darwin, Fechner paid attention to this - but they were ridiculed.
Today's ordinary person pays little attention to plants. This is already a natural product, as a matter of course. Human greed is doing everything to destroy the living green robe of our mother nature, thereby destroying our livelihood.
Without plants we could not breathe. Each individual leaf is engaged in the process of photosynthesis every day to produce oxygen for us. What are these principles that act in plants? Where does the mathematical precision in their design and ability to make everything happen at the right time come from? Do plants have perception, perhaps even memory?
In 1966, American experimenter Cleve Backster spontaneously came up with the idea of connecting polygraph (lie detector) electrodes to the leaves of a common houseplant known as. He wanted to check whether the plant would have any reaction to watering. When the dracaena absorbed water with its roots, the lie detector curve deviated downward, which was a complete surprise, since the electrical conductivity of the tissues of the moistened plant increased, therefore, the detector curve should have risen upward. This meant that dracaena, like a person, experiences emotions! Baxter was amazed. He wanted to be absolutely sure. Having extensive experience with lie detectors, Baxter knew that a threat was a sure way to provoke a strong reaction from the subject being tested. He decided to test this belief on a plant by dipping its leaf in hot tea. There was no reaction. Then the researcher thought: “I’ll cauterize the leaves attached to the electrode.” As soon as this thought occurred to him, before he reached for the matches, the lie detector pen drew a curve, similar to the one that the device draws when interrogating a very agitated person.
Baxter left the room. When he returned with the matches, the polygraph registered a stronger peak. Everything indicated that the plant recognized his intentions and was wary of them. When the researcher pretended to set the leaves on fire, the plant barely reacted. This meant that the plant was able to distinguish genuine intentions from imitation, that is, plants could think!
In subsequent years, Baxter conducted experiments using other plants and devices. The results remained the same and indicated that plants are not just a purposeful collection of cells, but are living beings with a “soul” and emotions.
Can plants think?
A group of Soviet researchers proved that plants are able to remember their impressions for a long time. So they conducted an experiment with. One person constantly subjected the plant to torture: he pierced the leaves with a needle, poured acid on it, or set it on fire. However, another treated the geranium with love: he took care of it, watered it, loosened the soil, and treated its wounds. At the end of this shock therapy, the plant was connected to sensors. So what happened? When the offender approached the plant, the device showed that the tested object was in severe panic. As soon as the offender left, the device's curve indicated that the object had calmed down.
Experiments of Dr. Marcel Vogel
It has been established that not everyone is able to enter into negotiations with plants. A significant role is played by the so-called “psychic energy” inherent in all nature. In this regard, successful experiments were carried out by the chemist Marcel Vogel, who wanted to establish the exact moment in time when, for example, a philodendron would form a close relationship with the experimenter.
He connected the plant to the polygraph sensors. Normally, the recorder would draw a straight line, but when Vogel put his hand close to a plant, thinking of the plant as his best friend, the recorder would begin to draw curved lines. The scientist felt a distinct flow of energy flowing from the plant. After repeating the experiment five minutes later, the plant did not react at all. This reaction of the philodendron was very reminiscent of the reaction of two loving people whose passions first become intense, then a noticeable decline, until new energy accumulates. Vogel explained it this way:
“People can communicate with plants - and that's a fact. Plants are living creatures that, like people, can be blind, deaf and dumb. But there is no doubt that they are very sensitive and pick up any human emotions. They emit positive energy that a person can feel.”
Dr. Vogel was able to record conversations that took place near plants, namely “diagrams of wordless thoughts.” If one day it becomes possible to decipher these diagrams, it will be possible to read the reasoning of plants in text format. It is quite tempting for certain individuals to receive the thoughts of their loved ones, who are under direct control.
Noise makes plants cry
Those who love their houseplants should never yell at their green pets or expose them to any other noise because they may cry a lot, according to research from a group of scientists from Drexel University in Philadelphia. The experiment was carried out on .
One plant was in a room with a high noise level of 100 background (which corresponds to the noise of a passing train). Within a week and a half, the plant died. During another experiment, a decrease in plant growth rate by 47% was found. Upon closer examination, scientists found that the plant was suffering from water loss: its leaves were “crying”!
Music stimulates plant growth
The fact that plants grow and bear fruit better if they are periodically “irrigated” with music was proven by the Indian scientist T.T.N. Singh. He made careful observations of the effects of sound waves on plants. After 8 weeks of listening to music for half an hour every day, the houseplants produced 22% more leaves and 52% more flowers compared to plants that grew in silence.
Studies have found that the maximum effect is achieved by playing music for 30 minutes; longer “listening” to music by indoor plants does not produce any effect. The type of music that is offered to plants plays a big role. If classical music has a beneficial effect and accelerates the processes of growth and development of plants, then to the sounds of jazz and western these processes slow down, and from rock and roll the plants may even die. This allows us to draw interesting conclusions about the influence of various types of music on the human body.
Are plants capable of learning?
One of the most successful researchers who loved to talk to his plants as if they were good friends was the American plant breeder Luther Burbank. He managed to “persuad” the cactus to remove its needles. He confessed to the famous yogi Paramahansa Yogananda that he often talked to his cacti to create an atmosphere of love around them. “Don’t be afraid, you don’t need needles, I will protect you.” A few years later, Burbank got the cactus to remove its needles.
A black youth from the United States who became a famous scientist and explorer, George Washington Carver (1864-1943), since childhood had an amazing ability to nurse sick plants. He claimed to be able to talk to plants and receive important information from them.
It took Carver a lot of time and effort to convince cotton farmers that the practice of growing one crop would inevitably lead to their bankruptcy. He explained that, for example, from 100 kg of peanuts, which at that time was used only as feed for pigs, you can get 35 kg of oil, while from 100 liters of milk only 10 kg of oil comes out.
When World War I broke out, there was a shortage of dyes. Carver turned to his plants for help, asking which of them could help solve the dye problem. From the leaves, roots, stems and fruits of 82 green “volunteers”, he created 536 types of dyes for dyeing wool, cotton, flax, and silk! From the nutmeg vine (Vitis rotundifolia) alone he was able to obtain 49 different dyes.
Carver patented only a few of his ideas and refused financial rewards. He could have become a billionaire and an influential man, but he did not accept offers even from Henry Ford. Shortly before his death, Carver explained to one of his visitors, touching a flower on his table: “When I touch this flower, I touch eternity, because flowers appeared long before people appeared. Through them I gain access to infinity."
Translation: Lesya V.
especially for the Internet portal
garden center "Your Garden"
“If you can start your day without caffeine, if you can always be cheerful and ignore aches and pains, if you can refrain from complaining and not bore people with your problems, if you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for this, if you can understand your loved one when he does not have enough time for you, if you can ignore the accusations from your loved one when everything goes wrong through no fault of yours, if you can calmly take criticism, if you can treat your poor friend the same as your rich friend, if you can do without lies and deceit, if you can deal with stress without drugs, if you can relax without drinking, if you can sleep without pills, if you If you can sincerely say that you have no prejudice against skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or politics, then you have reached the level of development of your dog." Winston Churchill
It would seem that everything is obvious in the relationship between a person and pets. We are in charge, we take responsibility, we care, we train, we educate, we punish for wrongdoing. But I challenge you to look at this relationship from a new angle and think about what we can learn from our pets.
It’s difficult for me to compete with Churchill in eloquence, but still I was able to compile a list of the 10 most important, in my opinion, things that we can learn from our pets.
1. Unconditional love
Unfortunately, in the modern world, unconditional love, devoid of any reciprocal benefits, is not such a common occurrence. The animal loves you, despite the size of your salary, your ability to look good or cook delicious borscht. It just loves you. The most famous examples are White Bim Black Ear and Hachiko.
2. Responsibility
“We are forever responsible for those we have tamed” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The point, of course, is not so much about adopting a sense of responsibility from animals (although, say, animal mothers do not abandon their cubs, unlike some human ones), but rather about the sense of responsibility that develops thanks to them. We learn to be disciplined, manage our time better, and take control of our own lives. A striking example here is a book that I recently read and recommend to everyone - “A Street Cat Named Bob.” About a street musician and drug addict who one day meets a stray sick cat, nurses it, and how caring for the cat helps him return his own life to normal.
3. Optimism
Do you feel that your life is a series of identical days and there is no reason for joy in it? Learn love of life from your pets! They jump with happiness simply because you came home from work, because seeing your loved one is not a reason for joy? Are you not happy with all the wonders and variety of leisure options that modern society offers? Your animals are immensely happy to play with the same ball or old dirty toy. There are many simple and yet funny things in life, and to remember how to enjoy the little things, just watch your pets!
4. Ability to cope with loss
Of course, the loss of a loved one is not the same as the death of an animal, even the most beloved. Still, this experience can help us understand the cyclical nature of life, and provides an example of how we can cope with the loss of someone who meant a lot to us. This also teaches children a good lesson, in a sense preparing them for the fact that death is an inevitable part of life.
5. Patience
Having an animal in the house requires a lot of patience. In a sense, this may be preparation for the future child. You will have to come to terms with the fact that fur will appear on your perfectly clean floors at cosmic speed, an animal returning from a walk can gallop from the door straight to the sofa along with all the dirt on its paws, it will demand breakfast at 5 am or sleep on your bed , trying in every possible way to take up more space and push you out of there. And in all these situations, as well as hundreds of others that are simply inevitable, you will have to come to terms with it, react calmly and systematically educate.
6. Devotion and fidelity
“If you pick up a hungry dog and give it a luxurious life, it will never bite you. This is the main difference between a dog and a person.” Mark Twain. In addition to the unconditional love that has already been mentioned, animals are also incredibly loyal, and this is something we can also learn from them.
7. Sociability and communication skills
Having an animal automatically expands your social circle and adds topics and reasons for conversation. After all, if your dog runs in the yard to meet the dog of a seemingly unapproachable handsome neighbor, then you definitely have a reason to do the same. But even with less obvious options, you have plenty of opportunities - exhibitions, owner clubs, online forums and communities where you will be incredibly welcome simply because you are also a lover of rats / cats / annelids, which means, by definition, you cannot be bad person =)
8. The ability to forgive insults
Let's admit, we are not always ideal owners. It happens that we are too lazy to get up early in the morning on a weekend and go for a walk, sometimes we have to stay late in the evenings, and our pets have to get bored at home alone, and even hungry, sometimes we have to make the animals unpleasant and even painful, for example, by performing some kind of hygiene procedures. But how long does it take for your pets to be offended by you? As a rule, even if an animal shows offense, it does not last very long. After all, one of the main qualities of animals is the ability to forgive and forget.
9. Be content with little
Animals, as a rule, have a rather monotonous diet, they do not attach importance to the cost of a food bowl or a leash, it does not matter to them whether the sofa is old or new, as long as it is comfortable to lie on it, etc. The ability to be happy regardless of material things and not rowing more than is really necessary for life is another important quality that we can to some extent adopt from our four-legged friends.
10. Attention to the human condition and the ability to correspond to it
Many pet owners notice that their pets sense their mood and behave accordingly. If a person is upset or something hurts, the animal feels it and tries, to the best of its ability, to support its beloved owner. This sense of empathy and tact will be useful for many people to adopt.
