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Heck, that’s a bad article even for the already low standards of The Guardian. Could someone explain what this technology actually is about and if it is serious

Heck, that’s a bad article even for the already low standards of The Guardian. Could someone explain what this technology actually is about and if it is serious?

gus_massa 3y ago
I'm very skeptical. IIRC they harvest the small charge that is in some water molecules/droplets in the air, but it does make too much sense. (Perhaps I'm misremembering, perhaps I didn't understand, perhaps it makes no sense.) The biggest previous discussion I found is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36112815 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36112815 (95 points | 34 days ago | 94 comments)
seamac3 3y ago
Something like: using a board with nano sized holes, water's electrons fit through the holes and an imbalance is created. Something like solar panels p and n junctions with the air's moisture. Wish I could explain it better, just skimmed an article.
- bilsbie 3y ago
  Is there a reason we can’t submerge them and make more electricity?
  - seamac3 3y ago
    Total speculation but perhaps gravity of the air's moisture may be at play?
    - seamac3 3y ago
      "The invention involves two electrodes and a thin layer of material, which must be covered with tiny holes less than 100 nanometers in diameter—thinner than one-thousandth the width of a human hair, according to a statement from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where the researchers work. As water molecules pass through the device, from an upper chamber to a lower chamber, they knock against the tiny holes’ edges, creating an electric charge imbalance between the layered chambers. In effect, it makes the device run like a battery. The whole process resembles the way clouds make electricity, which we see in the form of lightning bolts." https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-device-generates-electricity-from-thin-air-180982263/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-device-ge...
      - gus_massa 3y ago
        So ... it transform air movement into electricity? Like a wind turbine? Does it absorb the humidity? Can it be used in a closed circle recirculating the air with a fan? (obviously this will produce less electricity than the used to move the fan.)
  - c_o_n_v_e_x 3y ago
    Presumably water has to be in gaseous form for this to work... gases being more kinetically energetic than liquids.

Heck, that’s a bad article even for the already low standards of The Guardian. Could someone explain what this technology actually is about and if it is serious?

gus_massa 3y ago

I'm very skeptical. IIRC they harvest the small charge that is in some water molecules/droplets in the air, but it does make too much sense. (Perhaps I'm misremembering, perhaps I didn't understand, perhaps it makes no sense.) The biggest previous discussion I found is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36112815 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36112815 (95 points | 34 days ago | 94 comments)

seamac3 3y ago

Something like: using a board with nano sized holes, water's electrons fit through the holes and an imbalance is created. Something like solar panels p and n junctions with the air's moisture. Wish I could explain it better, just skimmed an article.

bilsbie 3y ago
Is there a reason we can’t submerge them and make more electricity?
- seamac3 3y ago
  Total speculation but perhaps gravity of the air's moisture may be at play?
  - seamac3 3y ago
    "The invention involves two electrodes and a thin layer of material, which must be covered with tiny holes less than 100 nanometers in diameter—thinner than one-thousandth the width of a human hair, according to a statement from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where the researchers work. As water molecules pass through the device, from an upper chamber to a lower chamber, they knock against the tiny holes’ edges, creating an electric charge imbalance between the layered chambers. In effect, it makes the device run like a battery. The whole process resembles the way clouds make electricity, which we see in the form of lightning bolts." https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-device-generates-electricity-from-thin-air-180982263/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-device-ge...
    - gus_massa 3y ago
      So ... it transform air movement into electricity? Like a wind turbine? Does it absorb the humidity? Can it be used in a closed circle recirculating the air with a fan? (obviously this will produce less electricity than the used to move the fan.)
- c_o_n_v_e_x 3y ago
  Presumably water has to be in gaseous form for this to work... gases being more kinetically energetic than liquids.