Bionics beyond the Arctic Circle: reindeer noses are the best heat exchanger. Hard to believe, but engineers are very interested in reindeer noses. In the northernmost university city in the world, Tromsø in Norway, the Institute of Arctic Biology is researching...
... the functioning of the olfactory organs, which can compensate for temperature differences of up to 80 degrees Celsius, and thus function much more effectively as heat exchangers than technical constructions.
There are also practice-oriented projects in the field of bionics 350 kilometres above the Arctic Circle. In the icy city of Tromsø, from whose harbour many historical Arctic expeditions set out, scientists at the world's northernmost university are researching the extremely powerful olfactory organs of cloven hoofed animals. Despite the extreme polar conditions and freezing temperatures, the reindeer nose, which has a particularly high density of blood vessels, can withstand a lot. It serves — as needed — for heating or cooling and is therefore a kind of double heat exchanger. In biting cold, it rapidly heats inhaled air to a body temperature of 38 degrees, and in contrast during exhalation, the air is cooled down as far as five degrees, in order to keep heat in the body. For research purposes, the scientists have gathered a small herd of eight female and one male reindeer near the university campus. Since reindeer do not overheat even at room temperature, it is believed that the nose is connected to the body's own "thermostat" for regulating brain temperature. Only as a last resort do the animals pant with mouth open. However as a rule, it is enough for them to turn their nose from heater to cooler. Reason enough for engineers from Germany involved in the design of exhaust pipes or ventilation technology for hospital patients to stick their noses into the reindeer research.
You can read about how fascinating the reindeer nose is for research, technology and specialized engineering disciplines in the following article on Spiegel Online:http://www.spiegel.de/rentiernase
