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It's research-in-progress, but I think the promise is slightly different from dehumidifier bags (also in other parts of the world, Thirsty Hippos [1]) which are
by wenc 1y ago
It's research-in-progress, but I think the promise is slightly different from dehumidifier bags (also in other parts of the world, Thirsty Hippos [1]) which are single use.
You're correct in that: (1) it doesn't break the law of physics; (2) to remove the droplets, you still need energy. But it sounds like if the droplets are moving to the surface, the energy needed to release the droplets could be far lower than most active dehumidification methods (e.g. Peltier junctions).
[1] Thirsty Hippos -- which are very effective in small spaces.
https://www.amazon.sg/Thirsty-Hippo-Dehumidifier-Moisture-Absorber/dp/B0713TGZD6 https://www.amazon.sg/Thirsty-Hippo-Dehumidifier-Moisture-Ab...
Basically a supercharged silica gel.
- EA-3167 1y agoThose are usually just calcium chloride in a bag, it's very hygroscopic and fairly cheap... also makes a halfway decent de-icer. The issue I see with this thin-film method is that no mention is made of the rate of production at a given relative humidity for a given area of the film. It's interesting, but without the details (and with a lot of PR speak) I'm skeptical as hell about this in practice.
- the__alchemist 1y agoDehudifier bags (e.g. silica, CaCl) aren't single-use. Microwave, then reuse. Some even are color-changing so you know how much moisture they've absorbed.
- dotancohen 1y agoMicrowaving is adding energy, obviously. But the idea here is that the water is recoverable, not that the air is now drier.
- the__alchemist 1y agoConcur; the idea behind this class of devices is to take advantage of a daily humidity cycle. Whether it's CaCl (absorption) or Silica (adsorption), or the latest lab-designed adsorption surface. This is a good time to note that I see one of these articles ~once every two years, for the past 10 years. I haven't observed one make it beyond the initial discovery phase.
- adnauseum 1y agoThis, and solutions for male pattern baldness.
- dotancohen 1y agoBy the 24th century, no one will care that you are bald.
- Groxx 1y agoI'm doubtful that President Camacho could've gained so much power without that fantastic coif
- chiefgeek 1y agoUnless you are Brian “Hairlacher” formerly of the Chicago Bears and shilling hair replacement on Chicago area billboards for years now.
- wizzwizz4 1y agoMale pattern baldness is a solved problem, if caught early enough; people just don't usually bother, because the cleanest solution (a 5α-RI) can interfere with sexual function, the "proper" fix for that (low-dose topical application) is time-consuming (so people normally just kludge it with Viagra), and the medicines involved can (indirectly) cause breast growth with prolonged use (unlikely to be a problem with low-dose topical application, and can also be mitigated, although overshooting that mitigation can cause osteoporosis) and are "don't even touch this if you're pregnant" class (they can interfere with fœtal development).
- dotancohen 1y agoIf I have to relinquish my sexual function and grow breasts to reduce baldness, then baldness is not a solved problem.
- nagaiaida 1y ago
- incompatible 1y agoDevices that automate this are readily available, I have one running now. "Desiccant dehumidifiers."
- throwanem 1y agoProbably a small piezo junction could be used to provide a solid-state vibrator for releasing water from a proportionately considerably larger area of the material, or at larger scales perhaps a technique similar to the ultrasonic sensor cleaners built into interchangeable-lens cameras.
- dieselerator 1y agoDo you mean like an ultrasonic humidifier[1]? [1] https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Humidifiers/s?k=Ultrasonic+Humidifiers https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Humidifiers/s?k=Ultrasonic...
- throwanem 1y agoSure, why not?
- jodrellblank 1y ago> > Ultrasonic humidifier > Sure, why not? https://dynomight.net/air/ https://dynomight.net/air/ estimates that using an ultrasonic humidifier for one night shortens your life by 50 minutes. Getting rid of any ultrasonic humidifiers is his top tip to extend your life cheaply. Dedicated post on them: https://dynomight.net/humidifiers/ https://dynomight.net/humidifiers/
- aziaziazi 1y agoThat was a great read. I didn’t know that blog and a quick glimpse at the about page made me bookmarked it. Thanks for sharing.
- throwanem 1y agoI've got some bad news if you live near a road.
- jodrellblank 1y ago
- Aardwolf 1y agoIf something breaks the laws of physics it simply means the laws of physics were incomplete, so we update them and now it no longer breaks them
- therein 1y agoIt is really as simple as that and even applies to soon what will seem like free energy. It is not free energy, it is just energy from a field we were previously ignoring and previously fighting against.
- cassianoleal 1y agoWhat is the source of this seemingly free energy that we've been ignoring and fighting against (I assume at different points in time)?
- yencabulator 1y agoFor example, Earth's magnetic field has been claimed as a source of "free" energy.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- danaris 1y agoHowever, if something claims to break the laws of physics, 99 times out of 100, it simply means that either a) the person making the claim missed something, or b) the person making the claim is lying.
- shermantanktop 1y agoOr c) the person making the claim has no interest in the truth, but strong interest in some other thing.
- passwordoops 1y ago
- cryptonector 1y agoYes this requires energy to extract the water, but if it's much less energy than dehumidifiers -say, one order of magnitude less- then it could make harvesting water from humid air economical.