Namib Desert beetle inspires self-filling water bottle - Polidicks

[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20465982[/url] [QUOTE][B]A US start-up has turned to nature to help bring water to arid areas by drawing moisture from the air.[/B] NBD Nano aims to mimic the way a beetle survives in an African desert to create a self-filling water bottle capable of storing up to three litres every hour. The insect harvests moisture from the air by first getting it to condense on its back and then storing the water. Using nature as an inspiration for technology, known as biomimicry, is increasingly widespread. NBD Nano, which consists of four recent university graduates and was formed in May, looked at the Namib Desert beetle that lives in a region that gets about half an inch of rainfall per year. Using a similar approach, the firm wants to cover the surface of a bottle with hydrophilic (water-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repellent) materials. The work is still in its early stages, but it is the latest example of researchers looking at nature to find inspiration for sustainable technology. "It was important to apply [biomimicry] to our design and we have developed a proof of concept and [are] currently creating our first fully-functional prototype," Miguel Galvez, a co-founder, told the BBC. "We think our initial prototype will collect anywhere from half a litre of water to three litres per hour, depending on local environments." The founders want to use a fan to get the surrounding air to pass over the surface of the bottle. The air would then condense and get stored inside the device. "Dry places like the Atacama Desert or Gobi Desert don't have access to a lot of sources of water," said Mr Galvez. "So if we're creating [several] litres per day in a cost-effective manner, you can get this to a community of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and other dry regions of the world. And if you can do it cheaply enough, then you can really create an impact on the local environment." About three billion people on Earth - almost one in two - live in water-scarce conditions, with demand growing drastically, while supply remains constant, according to the World Health Organization. [B] Energy efficiency [/B] In some countries, condensation devices on rooftops already harvest water from the air - but these technologies consume large amounts of energy to produce small amounts of water. NBD Nano's prototype seems to be more energy-efficient, but it still would not be able to satisfy the needs of an entire community, Erik Harvey from WaterAid charity told the BBC. "Even in water-scarce areas, communities need more water than what they would consume for themselves - livestock and agriculture in arid environments are very important," he said. But it does not mean the start-up is wasting time developing a water bottle, he said. "There is a range of viable markets for them, like the military or the outdoors market, people going camping, and the advantage that they may have is a much lower energy input device," said Mr Harvey. [B] Nature copycats [/B] A number of companies have recently been researching nature-inspired solutions to real-life problems. Electronics firm Qualcomm studied light reflection on butterfly wings to design its Mirasol e-reader display. And Canadian company Whalepower mimics humpback whale flippers in its wind turbines and fans to reduce drag. San Diego Zoo in California recently opened a Centre for Bioinspiration. And there is a Biomimicry Institute in Montana, US, where consultants work with companies, helping them to apply nature-inspired solutions to particular problems. [/QUOTE]

Wouldn't this cause future problems with rain if the idea was widely adopted?

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38595051]Wouldn't this cause future problems with rain if the idea was widely adopted?[/QUOTE] I doubt it'd have a significant enough impact on the air's moisture for it to have any influence on rain.

Two days old. To quote myself from the ITN thread: Self filling bottle? [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/cNAur.png[/IMG] Nurelion would be proud.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38595051]Wouldn't this cause future problems with rain if the idea was widely adopted?[/QUOTE] You do realize water doesn't stop existing when we drink it right

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38595051]Wouldn't this cause future problems with rain if the idea was widely adopted?[/QUOTE] I think that's one of those problems that is thrown out the window the moment you actually apply any scientific or basic knowledge to it, so I wouldn't worry about that.

[QUOTE=Tacosheller;38595130]You do realize water doesn't stop existing when we drink it right[/QUOTE] WHAT

So like a bottle that refills itself every time you take a drink from it.

I don't know if this is a good idea though, won't this just further deplete what little water makes it to the desert? Unless the water is used to fertilize the desert, it won't do anything to stop the desertification of the region.

^ [QUOTE=Tacosheller;38595130]You do realize water doesn't stop existing when we drink it right[/QUOTE]

Any pictures of the prototype?

[QUOTE=Loen;38596212]^[/QUOTE] I know, but the issue is where the water goes once it leaves the body. The water captured needs to end up in the desert. [editline]25th November 2012[/editline] tl;dr terraforming

[QUOTE=-Get_A_Life-;38595090]I doubt it'd have a significant enough impact on the air's moisture for it to have any influence on rain.[/QUOTE] I was thinking if they had this on a really big scale (for millions of people in an area) it might have an effect.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38595051]Wouldn't this cause future problems with rain if the idea was widely adopted?[/QUOTE] Holy fuck that is the stupidest question I've heard all week.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38596344]I was thinking if they had this on a really big scale (for millions of people in an area) it might have an effect.[/QUOTE] I'd imagine that as long as they don't take a huge amount of water out of the area it shouldn't be an issue.

It's a valid question. You guys realize rain comes from moisture in the air right? He was simply asking if rainfall amounts could be reduced if a larger scale version of this technology was used.

This reminds me of stillsuits from Dune for some reason

[QUOTE=laserguided;38596470]Holy fuck that is the stupidest question I've heard all week.[/QUOTE] While that is a dumb question you have to admit this is ironic coming from [del]chernarus[/del] laserguided.

[QUOTE=Falubii;38596518]It's a valid question. You guys realize rain comes from moisture in the air right? He was simply asking if rainfall amounts could be reduced if a larger scale version of this technology was used.[/QUOTE] just place it in florida to dry the old people out.

I seriously think that if used on a large scale (given that this technology would be exploited to provide water for people, agriculture, washing, cooking, etc) for large numbers of people, then its going to cause a great deal of moisture to be removed from the air.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38597122]I seriously think that if used on a large scale (given that this technology would be exploited to provide water for people, agriculture, washing, cooking, etc) for large numbers of people, then its going to cause a great deal of moisture to be removed from the air.[/QUOTE] It will by definition, but if they use it for any of those purposes it should just evaporate back into the air in the end. It might alter the water cycle there slightly, but the benefits of using it are probably much more significant.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38597122]I seriously think that if used on a large scale (given that this technology would be exploited to provide water for people, agriculture, washing, cooking, etc) for large numbers of people, then its going to cause a great deal of moisture to be removed from the air.[/QUOTE] They would become their own part of the water cycle. As long as the water is USED for something and not just hoarded (id est, drunk [piss it out, piss evaporates,] used to water something, used in irrigation,) then there will be water to go back into the cycle. I'd actually love to see an array of these brought to Mississippi to do something about the damn humidity. Maybe it will make all the insects go away.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;38597122]I seriously think that if used on a large scale (given that this technology would be exploited to provide water for people, agriculture, washing, cooking, etc) for large numbers of people, then its going to cause a great deal of moisture to be removed from the air.[/QUOTE] It's an intriguing promise to pull water out of the air, and certainly worthy of questions like this. It's worth considering the drawbacks, people. However, we do have enough knowledge of environmental processes to know that most likely, this won't impact things so drastically. Ultimately, water is consumed, water is returned. It's like (in a way, it [i]is[/i]) the law of energy conservation. Even if some water is 'wasted' and sinks down below the table to sit for hundreds of years, it will still be displacing other water, which will replace other water in turn, etc. There are no holes in the Earth's safety net for water conservation.

[QUOTE=Kinglah Crab;38595974]WHAT[/QUOTE] water is just recycled urine your drinking dino peepee

[QUOTE=Hunt3r.j2;38596282]I know, but the issue is where the water goes once it leaves the body. The water captured needs to end up in the desert. [editline]25th November 2012[/editline] tl;dr terraforming[/QUOTE] If someone takes a drink while they're in a desert, chances are they'll sweat and piss the moisture back out in a desert too.