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Artificial leaf could grow a layer of ice in desert conditions

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posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 04:07 PM
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Well, it's about time someone started thinking! One Norweigan artist got a bright idea and is now making it happen.

Every so often you hear about people who successfully invent something that was featured in futuristic sci fi movies years prior. The movie Star Wars featured within it a form of occupation which was found upon the planet Tatooine, the home world of Luke Skywalker, and of Anakin Skywalker, his father.

That occupation consisted of the use of a mechanical device known as evaporator, which rightly should have been called a condensor. Anywho... what these machines did was extract water molecules from the atmosphere, and collected them to formulate drinkable water... which on a hot and desert - like planet such as Tatooine was most likely a very expensive necessity. Let's go back to the planet Earth... circa 2011:

Artificial leaf could grow a layer of ice in desert conditions


‘Sunglacier’, as the project has been dubbed, will feature a 200m2 surface covered in photovoltaic solar cells, which will power cooling condensers on the underside of the elm leaf-shaped structure to soak up humidity from the desert air and turn it into ice.

Ap Verheggen, the artist behind the project, hopes it will encourage people to believe that the impossible is possible when it comes to dealing with climate change.




imagine that! walking through the Sahara Desert and comming across one of these man made oasis'...

The future is definitely here. It's evolving rapidly... my eyes can barely keep up.

This article showed how people can make a difference - if sincerely interested in doing so, that is.



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 04:12 PM
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So if I understand this correctly, its an art project...
essentially a solar powered fridge, with the door left open.
(but nicer looking)



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 04:18 PM
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underside of the elm leaf-shaped structure to soak up humidity from the desert air and turn it into ice.


There in lies the problem........I dunno how many Deserts youve been to....but the ones i have , had almost zero humidity......

How would it function without being able to pull this from the air?



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 04:19 PM
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reply to post by Heyyo_yoyo
 


Very cool, I always love when sci-fi becomes sci-reality. This sounds promising, but I hope it is not one of those innovations we catch a glimpse of only to never here of them again, I hate when that happens. Either because the advent will cut into the profits of competing energy co's or there is not enough profit in the project to justify it's development. It's kind of a shame that these type of things will only rise if there is money to be made, but that's how it is I reckon. Nice find though.

Peace,
spec



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 04:19 PM
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Portable devices would be more ideal I would think.
I can't imagine that concept in the picture would be easy to keep the affects of wind from
altering it's purpose.



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 05:11 PM
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Originally posted by Corruptedstructure
Portable devices would be more ideal I would think.
I can't imagine that concept in the picture would be easy to keep the affects of wind from
altering it's purpose.


Not only that, structures in the desert have a hard time not being burried



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 05:22 PM
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reply to post by ManBehindTheMask
 


Hehe!
Exactly what I was implying...MUD!



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 08:56 PM
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I can definitely see someone setting up a farm of these devices that are sheltered from the other conflicting elements somewhere in the Sahara, Negeb, etc. that ultimately serves as a main stream water utility for the region, in similar fashion as we have done with solar energy and main stream electrical utilities.

Of course this artist wants to turn a profit on this lol... as well as the refrigeration company he's working with to create this apparatus. I can foresee wealthy oil - bearing countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, etc. finding this an attractive prospect, seeing that their country's all exist in the desert and have a need for water.



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 09:07 PM
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Great idea for the environment.
Just one question....are the coils filled with FREON?



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 09:42 PM
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reply to post by BadNinja68
 


They don't seem to specify what type of refrigerant is being used.
They just call it a "cooling fluid".



posted on Nov, 12 2011 @ 10:56 PM
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Some deserts these would work great in and some they would not work at all.

Other places these could be used in conjunction with solar stills to get fresh water from salt water wells.

Putting the condenser inside a solar still and collecting the fresh water that is evaporated from the salt water.



posted on Nov, 13 2011 @ 03:52 AM
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I can do that with a window unit of an air conditioner.. clog the filter.. the intake fins will freeze solid until the compressor overheats and dies or shuts down via a sensor... they just found a way around the overheating part using the ice I would assume... too many of these would cause weather patterns to change though....



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