TECHNOLOGY

Solar-power to provide safe drinking water in rural parts of India

London: Scientists are developing a low-cost, solar-powered water purification system that may help over 77 million people in remote parts of India get access to safe drinking water. According to researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK, there is no systematic treatment of sewage in rural India.

The government has focused on purifying contaminated water in rivers and streams, but the situation could be greatly improved by tackling the problem at source, researchers said. To make contaminated water safe to drink, visible traces of waste are first removed using filters. Then any remaining organic matter and bacteria is broken down.

The team, including researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Pune, is adapting its existing technologies to power this second stage in the decontamination process. The system uses sunlight to generate high-energy particles inside solar-powered materials, which activate oxygen in the water to incinerate harmful pollutants and bacteria.

The initiative will not only provide safe drinking water, but could also help reduce the spread of disease, researchers said. “We are aiming to provide people in rural India with a simple off-grid water decontamination system. This could be achieved by simply fitting our modified solar-activated materials to containers of contaminated water positioned in direct sunlight,” said Aruna Ivaturi from the University of Edinburgh.

The team hopes to incorporate technologies developed during the five-month pilot project into larger-scale initiatives that deal with water contamination – a major problem in the developing world.

Around 77 million people in India do not have access to safe drinking water – more than any other country in the world, researchers said. “Working closely with our Indian partners, we aim to harness the sun’s energy to tackle a huge problem that affects many people around the world,” said Professor Neil Robertson from the University of Edinburgh.

Earthquake- Proof Bed

Pacific Northwest: The bed is the brainchild of Russian inventor Dahir Semenov. Here’s how it works: When the ground starts shaking, sensors detect the movement and automatically trigger a series of events. The mattress drops you down into a panic-room-like chamber, and a lid slides over top to protect you from debris. There are a few different designs featured in the video, but the most disconcerting is the one where the sides of the mattress flip up before you sink into the box, like a scary magic trick. The tops could close with hinges, like a trunk; slide over sort of like a trapdoor; or have a two-door design and close over you from both sides of the bed. The beds also seem to require stepstools to get in them, so that the boxes below have enough room for you, your mattress, and a bunch of food and water supplies.

This biomimetic tree can generate electricity

New York: It is true that money does not grow on trees but electricity might someday, as scientists have developed a prototype biomimetic tree that mimics the branches and leaves of a cottonwood tree and generates electricity when its artificial leaves sway in the wind. Researchers from Iowa State University found that the technology could spawn a niche market for small and visually unobtrusive machines that turn wind into electricity.

“The possible advantages here are aesthetics and its smaller scale, which may allow off-grid energy harvesting. We set out to answer the question of whether you can get useful amounts of electrical power out of something that looks like a plant,” said Michael McCloskey, associate professor at Iowa University.

Cell phone towers in some urban locations, such as Las Vegas, have been camouflaged as trees, complete with leaves that serve only to improve the tower’s aesthetic appeal. “Tapping energy from those leaves would increase their functionality,” McCloskey said.

This prototype device features a metallic trellis, from which hang a dozen plastic flaps in the shape of cottonwood leaves.”It’s definitely doable, but the trick is accomplishing it without compromising efficiency. More work is necessary, but there are paths available,” said Curtis Mosher of Iowa State University. 

Researchers explained that small strips of specialised plastic inside the leaf stalks release an electrical charge when bent by wind.