Lift your eyes

Summer has come.  And there must be many of us use the Shinkansen (the bullet train) to visit their home town during the summer break.  The Shinkansen has been evolved over years, but recently, I found some secretsabout the Shinkansen.  To increase its speed as securing comfort for those passengers, it was designed based on birds.

In order to obtain the top speed in operating in Japan, the problems relating to noisehad to be resolved.  Because it runs through residential areas, the noise had to be kept at minimum level.  In order to tackle this problem, the designers decided to look into owls.  The wings of an owl have zig zag shape like a saw,which diffuses air, so it can fly much quieter than other birds.  This idea was used to design pantographs.  As the result, the designerswere able to reduce the noise drastically.    

Another problem was the noise made when trainsenteredinto a tunnel.  For those older types of Shinkansen, theymade large noise and terrible shakes as they entered into a tunnel at fast speed.  So, the designersthen looked into kingfishers.  A kingfisher can dive into the water to feed itself without making splashes.  This is possible because it has a beak which is designed to reduce the air resistance.  So, this design was also used to design the Shinkansen.  As the result, the noise problem as they entered a tunnel was solved.

These technologies are called “biomimicry.”  “Bio” means a life, and “mimicry” means copying.  Without those clever designers and technologists, we could never enjoy a comfortable ride of the Shinkansen.   But why do those owls and kingfishers have ideal designs?  Are those designs naturally evolved?  No, not really.  Just as theShinkansen has its designer, owls and kingfishers also have their designer.  It is God, the Creator who designed the whole nature.

In this world, there are full of God’s creations such as birds, animals, fishes, oceans and mountains.  The Bible says “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:  Who created all these? (Isaiah 40:26)” As you find more and more, God’s creations amaze us for their perfection.  It must be rather logical to think that all things were created by the enormous grace of God.  

God created us with the purposes and the meanings. I hope that you will find God who is your root.

Youth Pastor　KenshiroGoto