Nature of Water News

December 5, 2023

Top Headlines

Harvesting Water from Air With Solar Power

Dec. 5, 2023 — Researchers have developed a promising new solar-powered atmospheric water harvesting technology that could help provide enough drinking water for people to survive in difficult, dryland areas: They synthesized a super hygroscopic gel capable of ...

Snail-Inspired Robot Could Scoop Ocean Microplastics

Dec. 4, 2023 — Inspired by a small and slow snail, scientists have developed a robot protype that may one day scoop up microplastics from the surfaces of oceans, seas and ...

Researchers Decode Aqueous Amino Acid's Potential for Direct Air Capture of CO2

Dec. 4, 2023 — Scientists have made a significant stride toward understanding a viable process for direct air capture, or DAC, of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This DAC process is in early development with ...

Boiled Bubbles Jump to Carry More Heat

Dec. 4, 2023 — The topic of water and the way it can move producing water droplets that leap -- propelled by surface tension -- and frost that jumps -- by way of electrostatics -- is a central focus of a group of scientists. Having incorporated the two phases ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:06pm EST

Control Over Friction, from Small to Large Scales

Dec. 1, 2023 — Friction is hard to predict and control, especially since surfaces that come in contact are rarely perfectly flat. New experiments demonstrate that the amount of friction between two silicon ...

A Single Bitcoin Transaction Could Cost as Much Water as a Backyard Swimming Pool

Nov. 29, 2023 — Cryptocurrency mining uses a significant amount of water amid the global water crisis, and its water demand may grow further. Researchers provides ...

Slippery Toilet Bowl Treatment Causes Bacteria to Slide Right Off

Nov. 29, 2023 — When entering public restrooms, it's hard not to dwell on what germs previous users have left behind in the toilet bowl. Imagine, instead, a self-cleaning system that doesn't require a brightly ...

New Method for Determining the Water Content of Water-Soluble Compounds

Nov. 21, 2023 — Researchers have developed a new method for the accurate determination of the water content of water-soluble compounds. This plays a significant role in various areas, including determining drug ...

Research Reveals Rare Metal Could Offer Revolutionary Switch for Future Quantum Devices

Nov. 20, 2023 — Quantum scientists have discovered a rare phenomenon that could hold the key to creating a 'perfect switch' in quantum devices which flips between ...

Novel Measurement Technique for Fluid Mixing Phenomena Using Selective Color Imaging Method

Nov. 17, 2023 — A novel measurement technique has been developed to visualize the fluid flow and distribution within two droplets levitated and coalesced in space ...

Water Splitting Reaction for Green Hydrogen Gas Production Improved

Nov. 15, 2023 — Electrochemical catalysts used in water splitting often show poor performance due to low electrical conductance of (oxy)hydroxide species produced in situ. To overcome this challenge, researchers ...

New Water Treatment Method Can Generate Green Energy

Nov. 14, 2023 — Researchers have designed micromotors that move around on their own to purify wastewater. The process creates ammonia, which can serve as a green energy source. Now, an AI method will be used to tune ...

New Tool Models Viability of Closed-Loop Geothermal Systems

Nov. 14, 2023 — Researchers have used computer models of closed-loop geothermal systems to determine if they would be economically viable sources of renewable energy. They found that the cost of drilling would need ...

Recycling of Water-Based Adhesive Achieved by Changing pH

Nov. 13, 2023 — A research team has developed a reversible, water-based glue that has good adhesion in the neutral pH range, but can be detached again in strongly acidic or alkaline environments. The novel adhesive ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Promising Salt for Heat Storage

Nov. 27, 2023 — Salt batteries can store summer heat to be used in winter, but which salt works best for the ...

Solar-Powered Device Produces Clean Water and Clean Fuel at the Same Time

Nov. 13, 2023 — A floating, solar-powered device that can turn contaminated water or seawater into clean hydrogen fuel and purified water, anywhere in the world, has been developed by ...

A Breath of Fresh Air Keeps Drug-Producing Cells Alive Longer

Nov. 9, 2023 — Researchers have developed a novel device that produces oxygen inside of a 'living pharmacy' implant in order to keep cells alive inside the self-contained device. The device produses ...

Want the Secret to Less Painful Belly Flops? These Researchers Have the Answer

Nov. 6, 2023 — Researchers investigated belly flop mechanics and found surprising insights about air-to-water impacts that could be useful for marine engineering applications. They set up a belly flop-like water ...

Two Fins Are Better Than One: Fish Synchronize Tail Fins to Save Energy

Nov. 6, 2023 — They say two heads are better than one. But in the world of fish, it appears two fins are better than one. Researchers have produced a theoretical model that demonstrates the underlying mechanisms ...

Predicting Saltwater Intrusion Into Groundwater Using Plymouth, Mass. as Test Case

Nov. 2, 2023 — As the world warms and ice sheets melt, the ocean continually rises. The greater Boston area can expect to see between one and six feet of sea level rise by 2100, according to recent estimates. To ...

In a Surprising Finding, Light Can Make Water Evaporate Without Heat

Nov. 1, 2023 — At the interface of water and air, light can, in certain conditions, bring about evaporation without the need for heat, according to a new ...

A Mathematical Model for Studying Methane Hydrate Distribution in the Nankai Trough

Nov. 1, 2023 — Naturally occurring methane hydrate deposits are potential sources of energy. However, their observation in natural environments remains challenging. Researchers have now developed a one-dimensional ...

Reverse Engineering Jackson Pollock

Oct. 31, 2023 — Researchers combined physics and machine learning to develop a new 3D-printing technique that can quickly create complex physical patterns -- including replicating a segment of a Pollock painting -- ...

Humans Are Disrupting Natural 'Salt Cycle' on a Global Scale, New Study Shows

Oct. 31, 2023 — A new paper revealed that human activities are making Earth's air, soil and freshwater saltier, which could pose an 'existential threat' if current trends continue. Geologic and ...

The Race of Water Droplets

Oct. 27, 2023 — How fast does a droplet flow along a fiber? It depends on the diameter of the fiber... and also on its substructure! These are the findings of a study conducted by researchers who are interested in ...

Pottery Becomes Water Treatment Device for Navajo Nation

Oct. 25, 2023 — Large chunks of the Navajo Nation in the Southwest lack access to clean drinkable water, a trend that has been rising in many parts of the U.S. in recent years. A research team aims to change ...

Diapers Can Be Recycled 200 Times Faster With Light

Oct. 25, 2023 — More than 100,000 tons of diapers are disposed of annually in Germany. Vast amounts of valuable resources, such as diaper liners, end up in the trash. The liners consist of special polymers, ...

Researchers Create the Most Water-Repellent Surface Ever

Oct. 23, 2023 — A revised method to create hydrophobic surfaces has implications for any technology where water meets a solid surface, from optics and microfluidics to ...

Sweet Victory: Sensor Detects Adulteration in Honey

Oct. 10, 2023 — Scientists developed a microwave microstrip line planar resonator sensor tool to detect water adulteration in honey. The tool is compact, cost-effective, and easily fabricated. The microstrip line ...

Staying Dry for Months Underwater

Oct. 4, 2023 — Researchers have developed a superhydrophobic surface with a stable plastron that can last for months under water. The team’s general strategy to create long-lasting underwater superhydrophobic ...

Next-Generation Printing: Precise and Direct, Using Optical Vortices

Oct. 2, 2023 — Researchers have succeeded in printing uniformly sized droplets with a diameter of approximately 100 µm using a liquid film of fluorescent ink. This ink, with a viscosity roughly 100 times that of ...

Intense Lasers Shine New Light on the Electron Dynamics of Liquids

Sep. 29, 2023 — The behavior of electrons in liquids is crucial to understanding many chemical processes that occur in our world. Using advanced lasers that operate at the attosecond, a team of international ...

Ultrasound May Rid Groundwater of Toxic 'Forever Chemicals'

Sep. 29, 2023 — New research suggests that ultrasound may have potential in treating a group of harmful chemicals known as PFAS to eliminate them from contaminated ...

Watching Paint Dry -- To Understand and Control the Patterns It Leaves Behind

Sep. 28, 2023 — A coffee spill leaves behind a dark stain around the puddle’s edge when it dries. But as drops of paint dry, some look like “fried eggs,” with “yolks” of color surrounded by pristine white ...

Monday, November 27, 2023