From thin air
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| Water from thin air, Fontus condenses moisture to produce clean drinking water for bicyclists. |
Hares from hats, fire from flowers
and jingling coins from a child’s ear are simple tricks for a magician. Now, an
Austrian designer has gone ahead and tried his hand at something that looks
like magic, but is a matter of simple science. Kristof Retezar, an industrial
designer from Austria’s University of Applied Art has designed Fontus, a water
bottle that allows it to condense moisture in the air and collect it as clean,
drinking water. Initial experiments done show that it can produce half-a-litre
of water in just an hour; of course it works best in humid climate.
While Retezar’s invention is bound to
attract cyclists and bike racers, it might just be an ideal solution for
countries where groundwater levels have depleted and fresh water is hard to
find.
The applied art designer says he was
inspired by the technique that was tapped by ancient civilisations in Asia and
Central America to trap water in the earth’s atmosphere. He has entered the
Fontus for the James Dyson Award, an international design competition that is
held every year.
As Retezar says on jamesdysonaward.org, “According to UN
statistics, more than 2 billion people in more than 40 countries live in
regions of water scarcity. In 2030, 47 per cent of the world’s population will
be living in areas of high water stress. Water scarcity may be the more
underestimate resource issue facing the world today. Every measure to ease this
upcoming crisis is a welcome one.”
Winning the award will provide
Retezar with the capital needed to launch his design on a bigger scale for the
market. The world needs people like Kristof Retezar and his designs such as the
Fontus. Good luck, we say!
Do you know? The roots of a tree grip the ground
and act like thousands of “fingers” to anchor the tree as it keeps soil from
washing away. The amazingly complex root network — often an area underground
larger than the tree’s branches — also filters harmful substances out of water
as it soaks downward.
Sustainable Green Initiative plants
trees to combat hunger. poverty and climate change. To know more about us or to
learn how we can help plant trees for you, please click here